A report released on Thursday by the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) said more than 20 million people in Ethiopia are in need of humanitarian assistance.
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The UN report was released a few days after the organization's director, Ramesh Rajasingham, visited the African country to learn about current conditions in the country.
“Many parts of the country have been or continue to be devastated by hostilities, resulting in the ongoing displacement of currently 4.5 million people and enormous needs for humanitarian assistance,” the document said.
Ethiopia is currently the third African country to accept refugees. More than 942,000 people are cared for in 24 camps, most of them emigrants from Somalia and the humanitarian catastrophe there.
This is compounded by “excessive seasonal rainfall” that has caused flooding, displaced “tens of thousands of people” and caused “additional loss of livelihoods and infrastructure.”
Weather forecasts are far from rosy and suggest that El Niño weather events will lead to more rain and flooding in late 2023 and early 2024, likely increasing the number of new internally displaced people and the risks of increasing humanitarian needs.”
At Rajasingham's hearing, he allocated $8 million from the United Nations Central Emergency Relief Fund, which the official said “will provide invaluable assistance to flood-affected regions.”
The United Nations announced that $4 billion is needed to provide the region with the necessary aid.