The United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) reported on Friday that additional aid is continuing to arrive in northern Ethiopia. Food assistance is reaching tens of thousands of people affected by the conflict and the impacts of El Niño across the northern regions. However, the ongoing response is not keeping up with the growing humanitarian needs, making additional resources and sustained access essential.
Renewed fighting in northern Ethiopia has worsened the situation for communities already affected by years of armed conflict, displacement, and disruption to essential services. In the Tigray region, reports of drone strikes and clashes have raised concerns about civilians' safety and access to essential services.
Humanitarian organizations have reported several incidents of drone strikes in Tigray that have impacted civilians and essential infrastructure. One such incident occurred on Wednesday when a strike hit a local non-governmental organization's humanitarian warehouse. The extent of the damage and loss of supplies is still being assessed.
In neighboring Amhara, continued armed violence has affected communities, health facilities, and essential infrastructure. According to aid agencies, multiple drone strikes have been reported in eastern Amhara. Reports indicate that recent strikes killed at least 15 civilians and injured several others, including children, while several schools were damaged.
WHO scales up emergency response in northern Ethiopia
Earlier this week, the World Health Organization (WHO) announced that it is scaling up emergency health response operations in the Afar, Amhara, and Tigray regions to address the growing humanitarian and health needs resulting from the ongoing hostilities.
WHO stated that it has strengthened emergency coordination mechanisms, deployed technical teams, and expanded operational support to ensure the continued delivery of essential health services in affected areas. In collaboration with regional authorities, the UN agency is supporting preparedness, response coordination, disease surveillance, and the provision of life-saving health interventions.
To sustain frontline health services, WHO has delivered over 71 metric tons of essential medical supplies to Tigray, Amhara, and Afar. These supplies include emergency health kits, cholera response materials, reproductive health kits, and medicines for noncommunicable diseases. By providing these supplies, WHO is helping health facilities maintain critical services and respond to priority health needs.
WHO is also supporting disease surveillance, outbreak investigation, vaccine distribution, emergency preparedness, and response coordination across the affected regions. Additional support focuses on sustaining emergency referrals, strengthening outbreak response capacities, and enhancing public health monitoring systems in areas affected by insecurity and displacement.
As part of a broader humanitarian effort, WHO is collaborating with other United Nations entities to coordinate health assistance and improve the delivery of essential services and medical supplies to affected communities.
Thes include OCHA, the Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS), the International Organization for Migration (IOM), the UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR), the UN Children's Fund (UNICEF), and the UN Population Fund (UNFPA), as well as government institutions and other humanitarian organizations,
Ongoing military escalation exacerbates already dire humanitarian situation
On September 22, long-standing tensions between the Tigray People's Liberation Front (TPLF) and the federal government of Ethiopia, led by Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed, escalated into a large-scale military confrontation. This marked a significant departure from sporadic clashes and airstrikes, leading to widespread combat in northern Ethiopia, including the regions of Tigray, Afar, and Amhara.
The renewed hostilities pit the Ethiopian National Defense Force (ENDF) and their allies against the Tigray Defense Force (TDF), as well as other regional armed groups. These groups include the Amhara Fano militia and the Oromo Liberation Army (OLA), who have formed a seven-member alliance with the aim of toppling the federal government.
Observers warn of the potential for a regional conflict that could destabilize the entire Horn of Africa. Eritrean troops have reportedly crossed into neighboring Tigray. During the two-year civil war that ended in 2022, Eritrea was a key ally of the Ethiopian federal government, fighting alongside ENDF troops against the TDF.
The renewed conflict is exacerbating the already dire humanitarian situation in northern Ethiopia. Disruptions to essential services and supply routes, including access to healthcare, the internet, communication services, air travel, and banking, are causing additional suffering for the civilian population.
Echoes of a devastating prior war
The sudden escalation of violence has sent shockwaves through the population of Tigray, which is still recovering from the horrific civil war that ended just four years ago. Rooted in a power struggle between the regional and federal governments, the previous conflict left more than an estimated 600,000 people dead and pushed the region to the brink of famine.
The Tigray War was one of the deadliest conflicts of the 21st century. Though the 2022 peace deal aimed to resolve political tensions, key provisions, including the disarmament of Tigray’s armed forces and the return of hundreds of thousands of displaced people, were never fully implemented.
Before the recent large-scale fighting began, approximately 1.9 million Ethiopians were still displaced internally due to conflict, insecurity, and climate-related shocks. Ethiopia is also facing a massive influx of refugees and currently hosts over 1.1 million people, mostly from South Sudan, Somalia, Eritrea, and Sudan.