Saturday July 31, 2021
MOGADISHU (HOL) - USAID chief Samantha Power is heading to Ethiopia and Sudan in the backdrop of an escalating situation in the Tigray region that has seen aid supply routes cut off as hundreds of thousands face starvation.
According to a statement from USAID, Power will ‘meet with humanitarian assistance partners and observe how USAID-provided food is stored and prepared for delivery throughout Ethiopia, including to the Tigray region, to feed families who need it most.’
Administrator Power will also be pressing the Ethiopian government for unimpeded humanitarian access to prevent famine in Tigray and meet urgent needs in other conflict-affected regions of the country.
Government and rebel forces have been accused of blocking aid tracks from entering the Tigray region where thousands of people are facing starvation.
Meanwhile, the US has announced an additional $149 million to boost humanitarian efforts in the Tigray region.
The funding announced Friday by USAID ‘will address life-threatening hunger by providing more than 172,000 metric tons of wheat, yellow split peas, and vegetable oil—enough to feed five million people for nearly two months. ‘
“This food is desperately needed and the Government of Ethiopia must allow it to reach Tigray.” USAID said.
Fighting in Tigray which has lasted for over eight months now has spread to involve other regional states such as Afar, Amhara, Somali and Oromo.