282,934MT of humanitarian aid distributed in northern Ethiopia: EDRMC

Addis Ababa, March 27, 2023 (FBC) – The Ethiopian Disaster Risk Management Commission (EDRMC) disclosed that 282,934 metric tons food items humanitarian aid has been distributed to citizens in northern Ethiopia since November 2022.

Debebe Zewde, EDRMC’s Director of Public Relations, told Fana Broadcasting Corporate’s Melaku Gedif that the distribution of humanitarian aid has continued to conflict-affected citizens in Tigray, Amhara, and Afar regions.

The PR Director revealed that more than 5.2 million citizens in Tigray region, more than 2.4 million in Amhara region, and more than 715 thousand in Afar region, totaling more than 8.3 million citizens currently need humanitarian assistance.

He stated that the beneficiaries are located in all zones of Tigray region, North Gondar, North Wollo, and Wag Khemra zones of Amhara region, as well as zone two, four, and five of Afar region.

More than 141,671 metric tons of humanitarian aid food was distributed to these citizens in the first round and 141,263 metric tons in the second round, Debebe said.

Hence, 282,934 metric tons of food items humanitarian aid has been distributed to all three regions so far, he underscored.

The Director mentioned that the government provided 15,666 metric tons of humanitarian aid, adding that the rest of the assistance was provided by partners.

He noted that 5,938 metric tons of nutritious food was distributed to nursing mothers, children, pregnant mothers, and the elderly.

So far, 2.3 billion birr in cash to be used for administrative expenses and service implementation in Tigray region was sent to Mekele and Shire.