Tigray: Conflict Affected Areas – Update #1, Research, Assessment and Monitoring (Ethiopia CO & RBN) – Issued: 23 September 2021

Business
September 27, 2021

Highlights

Food insecurity remains dire in Tigray (2.2 m, 1.8 m and 401,000 people are in crisis, emergency and catastrophe respectively). The situation continues to worsen because of renewed fighting between June and September 2021–the prevalence of households with insufficient food consumption increased by 16 percent (from 5% to 21%). The malnutrition situation is critical.
Food prices are exceptionally high in Tigray because of food shortages in the markets. The annual food price inflation in Tigray increased by 6.8% in August 2021.
Delivery of food assistance is still below plan because of low humanitarian food stocks. In the first week of September, more than 448,000 people received only one commodity (2 kg of pulses per person) out of the planned full basket (maize, beans and oil) for 547,000 people.
The renewed conflict in the last three months resulted in an additional 200,000 new IDPs in Tigray. In early September 2021, there were in excess of 2.46 million IDPs linked to the Tigray crisis (2.1 M, 250,000 & 112,000 IDPs in Tigray, Amhara and Afar respectively). This number has increased because of 195,000 new displacements in Amhara Region over that last one week.
Meher cereal seasonal production is expected to be 50% to 75% below average because of significant disruption of the agricultural season.

Context

Tigray is a complex humanitarian crisis – alarming levels of food and nutrition insecurity, limited humanitarian access and unpredictable operating environment. Tigray region was completely inaccessible during the initial months of the conflict but improved slightly in the few months preceding the middle of the year. From late June 2021, renewed fighting spilled-over into neighboring Amhara and Afar regions led to new population displacements, reversed the access gains, slowed down humanitarian operations, disrupted markets and livelihoods. Given humanitarian assistance is the main lifeline for the displaced populations, low supplies and limited access increases the risk of worse food and nutrition insecurity situation.

Source: World Food Programme