The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) says it has encountered a funding shortfall in meeting the needs of refugees and internally displaced people (IDPs) in conflict-hit northern Ethiopia. “A full-scale humanitarian and protection crisis continues to unfold in and around Ethiopia’s Tigray, Amhara and Afar regions since armed conflict broke out in early November 2020,” the UNHCR said in its northern Ethiopia situation update issued late Thursday. Over 1.1 million IDPs, refugees, returnees, and affected populations benefitted from UNHCR and partners’ protection services since January 2022 in northern Ethiopia, it was noted. While ensuring access to basic services, UNHCR also provided 142,886 displaced individuals with core relief items in Ethiopia’s northern Afar, Amhara and Tigray regions since January 2022. The humanitarian situation across northern Ethiopia is “deeply concerning”, with 2.6 million IDPs, over 240,000 returnees and 97,421 refugees and asylum-seekers across the three affected regions, it said.

Source: Ethiopian News May 07, 2022 21:15 UTC