The United States is providing nearly $52 million in additional humanitarian assistance to help people affected by the conflict in Ethiopia’s Tigray Region - from the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) and the State Department. According to the United Nations, there are four and a half million people in need of aid, out of a population of six million.
With this new funding, USAID will provide more than 57,100 metric tons of urgently needed food assistance—including wheat, yellow split peas, and vegetable oil—to the most vulnerable communities. In addition to the aid announced today, USAID deployed a Disaster Assistance Response Team (DART) on March 1, which continues to lead the United States humanitarian response efforts.
While this aid has been critical to saving lives, the outbreak of conflict, power outages, insecurity, and bureaucratic obstacles have hindered aid workers from scaling up response efforts and reaching the communities most in need. While the United States acknowledges public commitments and progress made by the Government of Ethiopia on increasing humanitarian access, the government must follow through on these commitments, including lifting restrictions on the import of and use of communications equipment by humanitarian organizations and providing extended visas for international humanitarian workers. Immediate, full, safe, and unhindered access for humanitarian organizations and workers is essential to providing timely, needs-based assistance to those affected by the conflict.
The additional funding announced today is just the beginning of the aid the United States will provide to the people of Ethiopia this year. The United States is the largest humanitarian donor in Ethiopia and remains committed to helping people affected by this ongoing crisis. Since the beginning of the crisis, the United States has provided nearly $153 million in aid. The United States welcomes the contributions of other donors toward this response and urges still others to generously support the immediate humanitarian needs. Ultimately, an end to the conflict is needed to stop the suffering in Tigray.
For the latest updates on US humanitarian assistance for the Tigray response, visit: https://www.usaid.gov/humanitarian-assistance/ethiopia