Ethiopia: 91% of Tigray population at risk of starvation, death: Regional president

FILE - Getachew Reda, representative of the Tigray People's Liberation Front, looks on during a press conference regarding the African Union-led negotiations to resolve conflict in Ethiopia, in Pretoria, South Africa, Nov. 2, 2022.

Ethiopia’s northern region is suffering from dire humanitarian conditions as the risk of starvation and death hovers above the population, the presidency of an interim regional administration said Friday.

Getachew Reda, the war-torn regional leader of Tigray, said in a statement that the situation is a “catastrophe” comparable to the deadly 1984 famine that left millions dead in Ethiopia.

The legacies of the destructive war in Tigray and drought-induced famine have created a deadly combination that exposed 91% of Tigray citizens to the risk of starvation.

Reda said thousands of Tigrayans have perished due to lack of food since the signing of the Pretoria Agreement that ended the conflict between the Ethiopian government and The Tigray People’s Liberation Front (TPLF) in November 2022.

“While this looming catastrophe has only commanded a fraction of the attention it deserves, harrowing evidence of the most vulnerable segments of society- children, the elderly, and pregnant and nursing women- succumbing to hunger and death abound. Indeed, at the moment, millions of Tigrayans are simply awaiting their gut-wrenching fate: death,” said the statement.

The decimation of Tigray’s economic base, the destruction of health facilities, the plundering of private and public wealth, and the forced displacement of more than 1 million people have impoverished millions of Tigrayans, rendering them unable to fend for themselves, it added.

The shortage of seasonal rainfall in the region’s three zones and desert locust infestation have wreaked havoc, creating a humanitarian tragedy.

“Although aid has since been restored on a limited basis, the amount of aid reaching the needy is a fraction of what is necessary to meet current requirements,” said the statement, stressing that the temporary suspension of humanitarian aid has also played a significant role in this deteriorating crisis.

Reda warned that the lack of a concerted effort to address the tragedy will have deadly consequences and far-reaching ramifications for national and regional peace and stability.

While there have been hopeful signs to address the crisis in Tigray, the amount raised so far is too small to make a dent in Tigray’s looming catastrophe.

Reda called on the federal government and the international community “to fulfill their legal and moral responsibilities by intervening promptly to address the looming danger of starvation and death. Hunger is a deadly silent killer.”

He said the Ethiopian government and the international community have done their part to silence the guns, and “now, they should do their part to address the looming humanitarian catastrophe.”

The statement comes as the death toll in the region rises due to starvation. At least 176 people, including 75 women, have died from hunger in Tigray earlier this month. The interim government has declared a state of emergency due to the ongoing humanitarian crisis.