Ethiopia – Tigray Region Humanitarian Update Situation Report #14 – July 8, 2021
FAST FACTS
- In Ethiopia, International Medical Corps has directly reached roughly 125,450 people with services across all our operations.
- International Medical Corps has screened 31,641 children and pregnant women for acute malnutrition since we started delivering services in the area.
- In Hamdeyet refugee camp in Sudan, community leaders and mobilizers who have been trained by International Medical Corps on how to screen people for COVID-19 have referred more than 1,000 people for COVID-19 testing.
The security situation in the Tigray region of Ethiopia remains volatile. The nature of the conflict changed significantly last week when the government declared a unilateral ceasefire on June 28, withdrawing all troops from Mekele. At the same time, according to news reports, Eritrean troops withdrew from the region, all of which has had a marked impact on the security situation. Increases in uncertainty have led to disruption in humanitarian assistance across the region.
Nevertheless, significant humanitarian needs persist in both Ethiopia and Sudan, with more than 5 million people in need of assistance. Humanitarian partners in Ethiopia have already reached approximately 3.7 million people with food assistance, in an effort to counteract the effects of persistent food insecurity and increasing levels of malnutrition. However, the risk that significant portions of the population slip into severe food insecurity—and potentially famine— remains. It is difficult to get accurate estimates of the extent of malnutrition, as many people remain in inaccessible parts of the region, but UNICEF estimates that more than 56,000 children will require treatment for acute malnutrition this year alone.
According to UNHCR, more than 46,000 Ethiopian refugees have fled to Sudan due to the violence, crossing the border through Kassala, Gefaref and Blue Nile. As a result of the rainy season, which began in early June, tents, latrines and other facilities in Um Rakuba and Tunaydbah camp have been damaged, meaning flood-prevention measures remain a priority in the area. The humanitarian community also continues to respond to the health, nutrition, and water, sanitation and hygiene (WASH) needs of refugees in Sudan.
Source: International Medical Corps