United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees Filippo Grandi has appealed for increased funding for UNHCR’s operations for the welfare of refugees in Ethiopia.
The East African country continues to receive refugees fleeing conflicts and instability in its neighbouring.
While visiting Ethiopia over the weekend, the high commissioner called on donors to invest in infrastructure development in Ethiopia so that both refugees and host communities would be benefited.
“This is the very volatile region. We have the Sudan war just next door, South Sudan is very unstable, Somalia very fragile, these are the places which the refugees in Ethiopia have come from for many years and as we speak this is continuing,” Grandi said.
The appeal came after Ethiopian authorities appealed for urgent action to address funding gaps to meet basic needs of refugees and host communities during a high level dialogue on advancing refugee inclusion and support to host communities on Friday in Addis Ababa, the capital of Ethiopia.
Speaking at the event, Semereta Sewasew, State Minister of Finance for Economic Cooperation, said the underfunding has directly affected healthcare, education and water provisions to refugees and host communities.
“As humanitarian funding declines, critical services—especially education, health, and water—remain far below both national and international standards. This under-funding should be urgently addressed through collaborative, solution-oriented approaches,” Sewasew said.
She said insufficient funding has also left those fleeing conflict in neighbouring countries with limited access to clean water, putting them vulnerable to diseases.
“The ongoing instability in the horn of Africa region continues to generate new inflows of refugees, placing additional strain on the refugee handling system of Ethiopia which came at a time when we are witnessing a decline in humanitarian funding,” the state minister said.
Teyiba Hassen, Director General of the Refugees and Returnees Service (RRS) expressed concern over the impact of under-funding for refugees stating, “Humanitarian services in both emergency and protracted refugee settings are under substantial pressure due to declining funding.”
“Funding reductions and uncertainties in critical lifesaving sectors are affecting not only refugees but also host communities who continue to bear the burden with limited support,” Hassen said.
MG/as/APA