Ethiopia Humanitarian Crisis

• Following five consecutive poor rainy seasons, Ethiopia endured its most severe and protracted drought in recent history from 2021-2023. Millions of people and livestock have been affected by the drought, with reports of alarming food insecurity and rising malnutrition.
• As of April 2023, more than 6.8 million livestock had died as a result of the drought since late 2021 with livelihoods severely impacted.
• In January 2024, the head of the Ethiopian Institution of the Ombudsman, which receives complaints from the public against government departments, said investigations found that 351 people had died in the Tigray region, while another 21 had died in neighboring Amhara in the last six months.
• In Amhara alone, more than 2.5 million children are estimated to be out of school because of the impact of the Northern Ethiopia conflict (2020-2022) and ongoing armed hostilities.
• Following the outbreak of armed conflict in Sudan on April 15, 2023, Ethiopia is receiving thousands of forcibly displaced people from Sudan. More than 133,000 people had fled Sudan into Ethiopia as of June 9, 2024.
• In 2023, donors provided 33.5% of $4 billion requested to fully fund Ethiopia’s Humanitarian Response Plan for that year.

In addition to climate-driven emergencies and economic conditions, conflict continues to be a primary driver of humanitarian needs, displacing thousands of people.

In Amhara, forces were allies of the government during the war between November 2020 and November 2022. However, when Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed announced his plan to disband the “special forces” clashes between Amhara forces and the government erupted. Amhara was put under a state of emergency by the government due to the deadly fighting. On Feb. 2, 2024, Ethiopia’s parliament extended by four months the state of emergency declared in August.

Conflict and violence remain persistent, which impacts humanitarian access and the safety of civilians. According to the Ethiopia Peace Observatory Weekly Update published on May 28, 2024, in the Amhara region, clashes between government forces and Fano militias intensified once again. In Tigray, several people were reportedly killed on May 21 by an unidentified armed group from the Afar region.

On Nov. 12, 2022, military leaders from the warring sides signed an accord in Nairobi, the Kenyan capital, to implement the truce signed earlier in the month. The International Committee of the Red Cross said on Nov. 15, 2022, that a convoy of trucks carrying medicine arrived in Tigray’s regional capital Mekele, the first aid delivery by the group to the region since August 2022.

Following the first in-person talks since the peace deal was signed between Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed and Tigrayan leaders on Feb. 3, 2023, the Ethiopian government transferred funds to Tigray’s capital as it starts to restore banking services there.

However, one year on from the signing of the truce, many people were unable to return to areas of Tigray controlled by forces allied with the federal government even though the fighting has ended. As reported by The New Humanitarian in November 2023, the peace deal remains unfinished and thousands of former fighters have not received proper support.

The primary shocks that have led to protracted displacement in Ethiopia are related to ethnic and/or territorial conflict and drought.

According UNHCR, there were 3.5 million IDPs in Ethiopia as of February 2024. Most IDPs are in Somali, Oromia and Tigray regions. IDPs, returning IDPs and returning migrants are among the priority population groups identified for humanitarian assistance by the 2024 HRP, showing the significant impact the crisis has had on displaced people.

Ethiopia is also one of the largest refugee-hosting countries in Africa, with more than 1,051,00 refugees and asylum seekers in the country as of April 2024. The refugees are mainly from South Sudan, Sudan, Eritrea and Somalia.

Since the outbreak of fighting in Sudan on April 15, 2023, more than 133,000 people had fled Sudan into Ethiopia as of June 9, 2024.

Disasters also cause displacement. According to the International Organization for Migration, while the majority of people internally displaced in 2023 were a direct result of conflict, drought and other climate induced events (like floods, landslides and fires) contributed to 17% and 9% respectively.

Ethiopia is grappling with its worst drought since 1981. The March to May 2022 rainy season in the Horn of Africa was likely the driest on record.

In a drought flash update published on Dec. 22, 2023, UNOCHA said, “The drought situation is worsening in some parts of northern, southern, and southeastern Ethiopia and is expected to deteriorate further unless aid is urgently scaled up.”

By April 2024, drought conditions continued to impact communities, particularly regarding the availability of pasture and water according to FEWS NET: “Areas impacted by drought along the Tekeze River basin in northeastern Amhara, as well as much of east Tigray, continue to experience dry conditions with minimal pasture available for livestock.”

Communities’ ability to cope with the effects of the drought is hampered by the lingering effects of the devastating northern conflict and other hostilities. FEWS NET’s projected outlook through September 2024 identified extreme livelihood coping strategies “such as begging, selling their last livestock (including donkeys), and migrating to towns within and outside of Ethiopia.”

More than 6.8 million livestock have died as a result of the drought since late 2021, with livelihoods severely impacted. The drought has had severe consequences for women and children. Sexual violence, sexual exploitation, intimate partner violence, early marriage and female genital mutilation have increased during the drought crisis, while services remain limited.

The WFP estimates 20.1 million people need food support. Millions of people and livestock are affected by the drought, with reports of alarming food insecurity and rising malnutrition. Ethiopia’s population faces multiple forms of malnutrition, including acute malnutrition and chronic malnutrition.

According to the Ethiopian Emergency Nutrition Coordination Unit and Nutrition Cluster, surveys reveal high prevalence of Severe Acute Malnutrition (SAM), especially in drought-affected regions such as Afar, Amhara, Oromia, and Tigray. The situation has deteriorated since 2023, with an increase in SAM cases and medical complications.

The Integrated Food Security Phase Classification (IPC) is a common scale for classifying the severity and magnitude of food insecurity and acute malnutrition. The scale includes five phases, with Phase 1 meaning there is no or minimal acute food insecurity and Phase 5 meaning famine has been reached.

According to FEWS NET in their April 2024 food security outlook update, “In Tigray, Emergency (IPC Phase 4) and Crisis! (IPC Phase 3!) outcomes are ongoing and expected to persist through at least the next harvest expected in September.” Additionally, the update from FEWS NET stated, “During the June to September period, food assistance needs are expected to peak seasonally for a third consecutive and record-breaking year, driven by drought, conflict, and poor macroeconomic conditions.”

Complicating the ability of some humanitarian organizations to provide food assistance is the theft of food. Following an internal investigation that revealed food theft meant for hungry people in Tigray, WFP announced in April 2023 it was suspending aid deliveries to the northern region. The U.S. Agency for International Development’s (USAID) Administrator Samantha Power said USAID-funded food assistance to the Tigray region is on pause until further notice.

The suspension of food aid by the UN and the U.S. affected 20 million people. Since food aid was first suspended in Tigray in March 2023, local officials and researchers say hunger killed at least 700 people in Ethiopia’s northern Tigray region as of early August.

In October 2023, WFP announced it had resumed distribution of food to roughly 900,000 refugees across Ethiopia after revamping safeguards and controls. In November 2023, USAID announced plans to restart food aid deliveries across Ethiopia and described wide-ranging new reforms in handling of food aid. USAID said it reintroduced reforms to improve the registration of beneficiaries and the tracking of donated grain.

Despite the UN and U.S. pauses being lifted, Tigray authorities say food is not reaching those who need it. One aid worker told the AP the food aid pause and the slow resumption meant some people in Tigray had not received food aid for over a year.