Ethiopia

In Ethiopia, since 23 July, the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs have been on the ground in areas impacted by the landslide. The Organization, along with its partners, are already dispatching assistance, including food, nutrition, health and other critical supplies.

The following statement was issued today by the Spokesman for UN Secretary-General António Guterres:

In Ethiopia, the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs and UN agencies are conducting a humanitarian assessment today of the displacement and damage caused by heavy rains and landslides impacting over 14,000 people, with the aim of bringing food, medicine and water, sanitation and hygiene support.

The Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs, Martin Griffiths, warns that the humanitarian nightmare in El Fasher, the capital of North Darfur, in Sudan, is worsening by the hour, stressing that civilians must be protected, aid must be able to reach them and the fighting must stop now.

UN High Commissioner for Refugees Filippo Grandi and UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Türk today jointly sounded the alarm on the new asylum law and plans to transfer asylum-seekers from the United Kingdom to Rwanda, calling for practical measures instead to address irregular flows of migrants and refugees.

In Cameroon, the United Nations and its partners today launched the Humanitarian Response Plan jointly with the Government, seeking $371 million to assist 2.3 million people. Last year, the appeal was less than one third funded.

The World Food Programme (WFP) warned today that nearly 55 million people in West and Central Africa will struggle to feed themselves during the next lean season — which is from June to August. This is an increase of 4 million in the number of food-insecure people as compared to the previous forecast published in late 2023.

In Ethiopia, the UN Emergency Relief Coordinator has allocated $17 million from the Central Emergency Response Fund to address worsening food insecurity in the country. The new funding reflects the Organization’s deep concern over the impact of a new El Niño-driven drought that is impacting Ethiopia.

In Ethiopia, the World Food Programme (WFP) today said that it is scaling up its operations to deliver food assistance to up to 3 million people in the country in the coming weeks; 2 million of those are in Tigray.

The massive humanitarian needs of over 2 million people in Gaza risk deepening, and the UN Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA) will likely be forced to close operations by the end of the month if donor funding remains suspended, UNRWA Head Philippe Lazzarini warned today.