Addressing gender inequality amid conflict: Humanitarian situation in conflict-affected areas of Northern Ethiopia

The escalating conflict in northern Ethiopia left over 5.2 million people in Tigray Region in dire need of humanitarian assistance, including 2.1 million internally displaced persons (IDPs). At the time of the assessment, most of the Tigray population (91 percent) were facing crisis levels of food insecurity. The destruction of health facilities, water structures, and schools combined with acritical shortage of food, medicine, and other supplies as well as restricted humanitarian access increased the scale of humanitarian needs of all population groups.

The conflict in northern Ethiopia has affected all genders, ages, and people at-risk and marginalized groups differently. In November 2021, and in light of the growing humanitarian needs, the Humanitarian Country Team commissioned an inter-agencyi rapid gender analysis (IARGA) to identify the drivers of gender inequality that impacting access to humanitarian services in the three northern Ethiopia conflict affected regions (Tigray, Amhara and Afar, plus Oromia region of Southern Ethiopia), and to propose practical actions across the different cluster responses. The IARGA findings, which can be used to inform the 2022 Humanitarian Needs Overview and Results Plan, are collated through are view of secondary data, and a primary data collection conducted with 95 key informants in the Tigray Region from November to December 2021.

Source: UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs