The government of Ethiopia appeals to the international donors to help 8.3 million Ethiopians who need humanitarian aid including emergency food assistance.
The appeal has come from Ethiopia’s Disaster Prevention and Preparedness Commission (DPPC). Commissioner Mitiku Kassa of DPPC indicated today that $1.3 billion is needed to help the people in need of humanitarian assistance. Out of the total 2.8 million are internally displaced people due to conflicts.
“Out of the 2.8 million displaced, we have helped 1,020,000 people to return to where they were. Meanwhile, these people still need our assistance at least for the coming six months because they don’t have any income at the moment,” he said, presenting the current state of humanitarian assistance to the donor community today.
The report the Commission has presented to the donors this morning shows that of the total 8.3 million people, over 4.5 million people are I urgent need of food and financial aid. The reports shows that people in need of urgent assistance are mainly found in Oromia, Amhara and Somali regions of Ethiopia.
In addition there are also many people who need emergency assistance in Benishangul Gumz, Gambella, Tigray, Harar, Dire Dawa and Southern regions of Ethiopia, according to Commissioner Mitiku.
He stated that of the total people who need the emergency assistance, 12% are found in Amhara, 10% in southern part, and 4% are found in Tigray and Afar regions of Ethiopia. The remaining people are found in Gambella, Benishangul Gumz, Harari and Dire Dawa regions.
Last year the same period Ethiopian government has secured $595 million foreign aid to help several millions of people who were in need of emergency assistance.