However, fuel shortages have hampered distribution.
Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus of the World Health Organization, an Ethiopian national who considers the region his home, tweeted late Monday, saying that the aid shipment allowed in only a “small amount” of the needed aid. He also said that his agency “calls for unfettered access to humanitarian aid.”
WHO stated that the supplies included essential medical equipment, personal protection equipment, and medications for malaria and diabetes. They also include treatment for severe acute malnutrition, and medicines and supplies to support reproductive health.
Friday saw the start of an airlift of supplies via the U.N. World Food Program. They are part of 33.5 metric tonnes of planned shipments.
Months of tension between the government of Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmad and Tigray leaders, who once dominated Ethiopia’s government (which included Tedros), culminated in war in November 2020.
Ethiopia’s government closed off nearly all food aid, fuel, and medical supplies to Tigray in June. WFP reported last month that more than three quarters of Tigray’s 6 million inhabitants are using “extreme coping strategies to survive” while more than a third of them “are experiencing an extreme shortage of food.”
