Hunger and malnutrition are on the rise in Ethiopia as ongoing conflict, regional instability, displacement, drought and economic shocks leave millions without sufficient nutritious food, the UN World Food Program (WFP) warned Tuesday.
The organisation’s life-saving response has been severely hampered by critical funding shortfalls as 3.6 million of the most vulnerable are at imminent risk of losing food assistance, including malnutrition treatment for 650,000 women and children, WFP said in a statement.
It said more than 10 million people are facing hunger and malnutrition across Ethiopia. These include three million people forced from their homes due to conflict and extreme weather.
“Malnutrition rates are alarmingly high, with 4.4 million pregnant and breastfeeding women and children in need of treatment. In parts of Somali, Oromia, Tigray, and Afar regions, child wasting has surpassed the 15 percent emergency threshold,” the statement noted.
According to WFP humanitarian needs in Ethiopia are rising due to conflict in neighboring countries.
WFP already supports 800,000 refugees in Ethiopia, including 100,000 Sudanese refugees, while escalating insecurity in northeastern South Sudan could drive 10,000 more refugees across the border.
It said poor rainfall expected in south-eastern Ethiopia through May risks another drought in the Somali region as families are still reeling from the 2020-2023 drought – the country’s longest on record.
MG/as/APA