United Nations, August 4: Widening and worsening conflict and flash floods triggered a humanitarian emergency across and around Ethiopia's Amhara region, UN humanitarians said on Tuesday.
The UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) said intercommunal conflicts in the Central Gondar and Awi zones of Amhara continue to increase the number of internally displaced persons.
Worsening conflict along the Amhara-Tigray regional border is further increasing displacement, with an estimated 100,000 internally displaced people in various pockets across the region, it said.
Access to people along the borders between Amhara and Tigray to the north and between Amhara and Benishangul-Gumuz to the west is difficult because of intercommunal conflict and tensions, said OCHA.
"UN agencies are supporting our partners and government counterparts throughout Amhara, including in health and nutrition and cash programs," it said.
International nongovernmental organization (NGO) partners provide water, sanitation and hygiene services in western Amhara and mobile clinics in the North Gondar zone, the office said.
However, the humanitarian response is insufficient with limited humanitarian presence in the region, prompting a call for immediate resource mobilization to meet the urgent needs of affected communities.
"Emergency shelter, food and non-food items are the key priorities. Pre-positioning of supplies particularly for health, nutrition, shelter, and protection is urgently required," said OCHA.
UN Emergency Relief Coordinator Martin Griffiths is winding up his visit to Ethiopia, his first mission as undersecretary-general for humanitarian affairs.
He met in Addis Ababa with Ethiopian Deputy Prime Minister Demeke Mekonnen Hassen, who also serves as foreign minister. The humanitarian office said Griffiths also met with heads of UN agencies and international NGOs.
Source: Xinhua