Govt Institutions Provide 102mln Birr worth Aid to Displaced People in Afar

ADDIS ABABA – The National Emergency Coordination Centre Ministerial Committee has provided a 102 million Birr worth humanitarian aid to displaced people in Afar regional state.

TPLF’s recent incursions into the Amhara and Afar regional states has left at least half a million people displaced, according to the Office of the Prime Minister.

The government together with its partners are mobilizing resources to support the displaced with 7,655 quintals of food distributed in Afar region alone as of Aug. 31.

Government institutions are now providing support to the northwestern Ethiopian region.

In a statement, the Ministry of Peace announced members of the Committee along with other governmental institutions have handed over 62 million birr in cash and 40 million birr worth materials to go towards supporting those affected on Sunday.

The announcement came on a day members of the Ministerial Committee, chaired by Minister of Peace, Muferihat Kamil, visited displaced people in Afar’s Semera town.

The Ministry of Education, Ministry of Revenues, Ministry of Water, Irrigation & Energy, Customs Authority, Housing Corporation and the Construction Works Corporation are among the government institutions that provided the support.

Muferihat reiterated that strengthened efforts to rehabilitate persons affected by the different disasters in the region will continue.

The leadership of the institutions that made their contributions have underlined that everyone has the responsibility to support rehabilitation efforts, the peace ministry’s statement reads.

Afar Regional State President, Awel Arba, has commended the support provided at this critical time and underscored that all forces of destruction will continue to be defeated through unity.

IDPs need More aid

The Press Secretary for the PM Office), Billene Seyoum told reporters last week that there is urgent need for humanitarian assistance in Afar as well as Amhara region.

She said, apart from 4800 quintals of food distributed to IDPs in Afar, the Word Food Program (WFP) has allocated three rounds of food distribution to the Afar region. The first one has already underway.

In Amhara region, the government also provided 2800 quintals of food items to the Waghemra Zone and 2000 quintals of food aid is on the move to Debark Gonder, she said.

She also indicated that humanitarian partners have mobilized resources for 60,000 IDPs residing in the South Wollo zone of Dessie, most of whom fled from the northern Wollo Zone. Over 5000 quintals of food items have also been delivered to 30,000 beneficiaries in Dessie, the office said.

Billene said there is still a shortage of support to feed the huge number of displaced in both Amhara and Afar regions. She called on international partners to scale-up their assistance.