Germany’s top official visiting Ethiopia this week and expressed her government’s commitment to continue providing humanitarian assistance to the east African country.
“Germany has not reduced its global humanitarian spending because of the Russian war of aggression in Ukraine,” said, Deike Potzel, Germany’s Foreign Office Director General for Crisis Prevention, Stabilization, Peacebuilding and Humanitarian Assistance. “Germany has been an important provider of humanitarian assistance to Ethiopia. In 2022, Germany allocated 82.3 million Euros to Ethiopia, making it the second biggest humanitarian donor.”
“In a few days, a ship sponsored by Germany with 15 million USD will arrive in Djibouti bringing Ukrainian wheat to Ethiopia. The Director General noted that “We will continue supporting Ethiopia in 2023,” she said during her official visit to Ethiopia this week.
Ms Deikel Potzel said that the people in Germany are very aware that Ethiopia – and the Horn of Africa – are suffering from severe drought and the consequences of armed conflict. She noted that the Federal Republic of Germany is a strong supporter of the Ethiopian people and has provided life-saving assistance for many years.
“Our humanitarian assistance is based on the principle of neutrality and is purely needs-based. We are extending aid to anybody in need regardless of ethnicity or political considerations,” she said.
Co-hosting OCHA’s launch of the Global Humanitarian Overview (GHO), Mrs. Potzel, as many others, noted that global humanitarian needs are reaching new heights this year; another disturbing record that is also the consequence of Russia’s war of aggression against Ukraine, which is adding to food shortages in many countries. Climate change is an additional aggravating factor causing more and more natural disasters.”
On 30 November 2022, Director General Ms Deike Potzel visited the Somali Region. She expressed her gratitude to the World Food Program (WFP), Doctors of the World, UN organizations, international and national NGOs as well as our Ethiopian partners for their committed work to help people in need.