(Nairobi) The Ethiopian government on Saturday rejected allegations from Tigray authorities that famine is imminent in this northern region devastated by two years of war.
More than 90% of the population of Tigray is “exposed to the risk of famine and death”, declared Friday on X Getachew Reda, the president of the interim administration of the region, calling for help from the Ethiopian government and the international community.
Mr Getachew had compared the situation to the famine of the 1980s in Ethiopia, which left around a million people dead.
“A recent statement that the crisis in the Tigray region is evolving into a famine and drought comparable to those of 1984-85 is completely false,” federal government spokesperson Legesse Tulu said on Saturday. , during a televised press conference in Addis Ababa.
However, he acknowledged that 3.8 million people “face the risk of drought” in several areas of Tigray, as well as in the neighboring regions of Amhara and Afar.
In addition, 1.1 million people were affected by flooding, he said, adding that the federal government was providing assistance to those who needed it.
In his message on the temporary suspension this year of aid from the United States and the UN World Food Program (WFP).
USAID and WFP cut off all food aid to Ethiopia in June, citing embezzlement, and their deliveries are only slowly resuming.
The situation on the ground in northern Ethiopia cannot be independently verified, as media access to Tigray is restricted by the federal government.
In a press release on December 22, the UN agency responsible for humanitarian coordination (OCHA) had already warned of the risk, until May 2024, of a deterioration of the food situation in Tigray.