{"id":39354,"date":"2024-07-27T09:55:55","date_gmt":"2024-07-27T09:55:55","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/kede.com.br\/news\/two-million-at-risk-of-starvation-in-tigray-aid-official-warns\/"},"modified":"2024-07-27T09:55:56","modified_gmt":"2024-07-27T09:55:56","slug":"two-million-at-risk-of-starvation-in-tigray-aid-official-warns","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/kede.com.br\/news\/two-million-at-risk-of-starvation-in-tigray-aid-official-warns\/","title":{"rendered":"Two million at risk of starvation in Tigray, aid official warns"},"content":{"rendered":"


\n<\/p>\n

\n
\n
\n
\"EdEd Ram\/Getty<\/span><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/figure>\n
\n

A humanitarian crisis is unfolding in the north of Ethiopia, driven by drought, crop failure and continued insecurity in the aftermath of a brutal war.<\/p>\n

With local officials warning that more than two million people are now at risk of starvation, the BBC has gained exclusive access to some of the worst affected areas in Tigray province, and analysed satellite imagery to reveal the full scale of the emergency the region now faces.<\/p>\n

The month of July is a critical period for food security, when farmers need to plant crops to take advantage of the seasonal rains.<\/p>\n

The satellite images we have identified show that reservoirs, and the farmlands they help irrigate, have dried up because the rains failed last year. They now need to be replenished by seasonal rains if farmers are to stand any hope of a successful season later in the year.<\/p>\n

The images below are of the Korir dam and reservoir, about 45km (28 miles) north of the regional capital, Mekele.<\/p>\n

A small lake with an artificial barrier, known as a micro-dam, is clearly visible in the first photograph, taken in June 2023. Below the dam is fertile land irrigated by the reservoir.<\/p>\n

Systems such as this have been able to support more than 300 farmers growing wheat, vegetables and sorghum – a grain crop.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

\n
\n
\"Satellite<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/figure>\n
\n

The lower image shows the same area in June 2024, with the reservoir empty and parched fields.<\/p>\n

Without adequate rainfall, the irrigation system cannot operate and farmers are unable to survive off the land.<\/p>\n

\u201cEven though our dam has no water, our land will not go anywhere,\u201d says Demtsu Gebremedhin who used to farm tomatoes, onions and sorghum.<\/p>\n

\u201cSo we don\u2019t give up and we hope we will go back to farming.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

\n
\n
\"Man<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

Farmer Demtsu Gebremedhin<\/figcaption><\/p>\n<\/figure>\n

Food and security<\/h2>\n<\/p>\n
\n

Tigray\u2019s population is estimated to be between six and seven million.<\/p>\n

Until the end of 2022, the region was engulfed in a bitter two-year war pitting local Tigray forces against the federal government and its allies.<\/p>\n

It is estimated that hundreds of thousands of people were killed in the conflict, or died because of starvation and lack of health care.<\/p>\n

Dozens of displacement camps were set up to provide refuge, and humanitarian support.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

\n
\n
\"EdEd Ram\/Getty<\/span><\/div>\n<\/div>\n

Camps provide security, food and water for the displaced population<\/figcaption><\/p>\n<\/figure>\n
\n

Now the war is over, some have been able to return home – but most have remained in camps, reliant on food aid being delivered there because the lack of rainfall has meant they have no crops to harvest and eat.<\/p>\n

One of these camps is near the town of Shire about 280km (174 miles) by road to the west of the Korir dam. Set up by UN agencies, it now provides shelter to more than 30,000 people.<\/p>\n

The blue tents seen in this satellite image have been provided by the International Organization of Migration (IOM) and the white by the UN refugee agency (UNHCR).<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

\n
\n
\"Satellite<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

More than 30,000 people live in this camp near the town of Shire<\/figcaption><\/p>\n<\/figure>\n
\n

Tsibktey Teklay looks after five of her children in the camp. Her husband was killed in the war.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe had animals. We used to harvest crops in winter,\u201d she told the BBC in May. \u201cIn short, we had the best lifestyle. Now we are down to nothing.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

\n
\n
\"Woman<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

\u201cFood grown on our land is better than food aid,\u201d says Tsibktey Teklay<\/figcaption><\/p>\n<\/figure>\n
\n

In the camp, she does some cooking and some handicraft work to earn money, but some of her children have had to beg.<\/p>\n

\u201cI hope I will get my land back at least. Food grown on our land is better than food aid,\u201d she says.<\/p>\n

\u201cIf we can return to our home town, our children can work or go to school.<\/p>\n

\u201cSo I hope that after our miserable life here, this will be the best future for them.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

Children facing malnutrition<\/h2>\n<\/p>\n
\n

The BBC has spoken to doctors at a hospital in the town of Endabaguna, some 20km (12 miles) south of Shire about their growing concerns.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019ve been treating increasing numbers of children in recent months,\u201d says the hospital\u2019s medical director, Dr Gebrekristos Gidey.<\/p>\n

One woman – 20-year-old Abeba Yeshalem – gave birth prematurely as a result of malnutrition, he says.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

\n
\n
\"Two<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

Dr Gebrekristos says the hospital doesn’t have enough resources to help those in need<\/figcaption><\/p>\n<\/figure>\n
\n

At the hospital, Abeba told us: \u201cMy husband went away to study, leaving me on my own, and he was unable to help me financially. I don\u2019t have enough food to feed either myself or the baby.\u201c<\/p>\n

The dozens of children being treated are not only from families living in the camps, but also those from the nearby towns.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe don\u2019t have the resources to care for all those in need,\u201d says Dr Gebrekristos.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

Waiting for the rain<\/h2>\n<\/p>\n
\n

The region is facing its most critical time of the year, known as the \u201cpeak hunger season\u201d according to Dr Gebrehiwet Gebregzabher, head of the Disaster Risk Management Commission in Tigray.<\/p>\n

It is a time when food supplies traditionally run low – and crops must be planted to be ready for the October harvest.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere are 2.1 million people that are at risk of starvation,\u201d he tells the BBC, \u201cwith a further 2.4 million relying on an uncertain aid supply.\u201c<\/p>\n

Data obtained from the Ethiopian government\u2019s meteorology agency shows the consequence of poor rains last year.<\/p>\n

Tigray\u2019s northern regions and neighbouring Afar both suffered from drought.<\/p>\n

To the south of Ethiopia, heavy rains caused flooding, with damage to crops and livestock.<\/p>\n

Rainfall in January and February this year was also below normal in large parts of Tigray, although it improved in some areas in March.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

\n
\n
\"Map<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/figure>\n

Political tensions<\/h2>\n<\/p>\n
\n

Famine \u201ccreeps up in the darkness\u201d warns Prof Alex de Waal, executive director of the advocacy group, the World Peace Foundation at Tufts University. He says too little attention is being paid to the crisis. <\/p>\n

\u201cFamines are man-made, so the men who make them like to conceal the evidence and hide their role,\u201d he says.<\/p>\n

He says the current situation in Tigray has echoes of the catastrophic famine of 1984 in which as many as a million people died of starvation.<\/p>\n

\u201cIn 1984, the Ethiopian government wanted the world to believe that its revolution heralded a bright new era of prosperity, and foreign donors refused to believe warnings of starvation until they saw pictures of dying children on the BBC news.\u201d<\/p>\n

Aid agencies have mapped the scale of the crisis facing Ethiopia based on a range of factors, including failed rains, ongoing insecurity and a lack of access for aid distributions.<\/p>\n

The Famine Early Warning Systems Network (Fews Net) describes parts of Tigray, along with neighbouring Afar and Amhara, as facing an emergency<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

\n
\n
\"Getty\/EdGetty\/Ed Ram<\/span><\/div>\n<\/div>\n

Survival is tough in Tigray\u2019s parched landscape<\/figcaption><\/p>\n<\/figure>\n
\n

The federal government in the Ethiopian capital Addis Ababa disputes these warnings of critical food shortages.<\/p>\n

Shiferaw Teklemariam, head of Ethiopia\u2019s national Disaster Risk Management Commission, told the BBC that based on official assessments \u201cthere are no looming dangers of famine and starvation in Tigray\u2026[or] elsewhere in Ethiopia.\u201d<\/p>\n

He added that officials were \u201cdoing their best\u201d to address the challenges facing the country and that \u201cbeneficiaries most in need\u201d would continue to be prioritised.<\/p>\n

Relations between the Ethiopian government and aid agencies have been strained in recent years, amid allegations from the UN that food aid was being blocked from reaching Tigray during the conflict there.<\/p>\n

In 2021, the federal government denied reports of hunger in Tigray and expelled seven senior UN workers, accusing them of \u201cmeddling in the internal affairs of the country\u201d.<\/p>\n

Then in June last year, the UN\u2019s World Food Programme and the US Agency for International Development (USAID) suspended all food aid to Ethiopia, saying they had uncovered evidence that government and military officials were stealing humanitarian supplies.<\/p>\n

Deliveries were only resumed in November.<\/p>\n

There have also been public disputes within Ethiopia about the severity of the situation.<\/p>\n

In February, after Ethiopia\u2019s ombudsman reported nearly 400 deaths from hunger in the country, including in Tigray, Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed said: \u201cThere are no people dying due to hunger in Ethiopia.\u201d<\/p>\n

In response to these political tensions, Alex de Waal says aid agencies which are \u201cstrapped for cash and averse to controversy\u201d have been slow to respond to the current crisis.<\/p>\n

A spokesperson for USAID told the BBC they \u201ccontinue to urge the government of Ethiopia and other donors to increase funding to the humanitarian needs of the most vulnerable\u201d.<\/p>\n

The UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (UNOCHA) says the funding currently available is \u201cinsufficient to meet the extensive humanitarian needs\u201d, but the resources available are channelled \u201cto the most urgent, life-saving response.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

\n

Additional reporting by Daniele Palumbo and Kumar Malhotra<\/i><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

\n
\n
\"BBC<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/figure>\n<\/div>\n


\n
Source link <\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Ed Ram\/Getty A humanitarian crisis is unfolding in the north of Ethiopia, driven by drought, crop failure and continued insecurity in the aftermath of a brutal war. With local officials warning that more than two million people are now at risk of starvation, the BBC has gained exclusive access to some of the worst affected […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":39355,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[66],"tags":[2143,188,4721,583,9336,14476,346],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/kede.com.br\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/39354"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/kede.com.br\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/kede.com.br\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kede.com.br\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kede.com.br\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=39354"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/kede.com.br\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/39354\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":39356,"href":"https:\/\/kede.com.br\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/39354\/revisions\/39356"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kede.com.br\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/39355"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/kede.com.br\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=39354"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kede.com.br\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=39354"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kede.com.br\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=39354"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}