Geneva meeting raises nearly $630 million to meet humanitarian needs in Ethiopia

The high-level pledging conference in Geneva, co-hosted by Ethiopia, the United Kingdom and the United Nations, received pledges of $628.9 million to provide life-saving humanitarian assistance to millions of Ethiopians suffering the adverse impacts of conflict and climate change. It seeks $1 billion.

“We know this is just the beginning and we hope that additional support will continue throughout the year,” said Joyce Msuya, the United Nations Assistant Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs.

Among the 21 countries, the United States is the largest donor, providing $154 million, followed by the United Kingdom with $124.58 million and the European Union with $139 million.

Less than 5% of the multi-billion-dollar UN-backed humanitarian response package was funded last month, falling far short of meeting the urgent needs of 15.5 million people affected by conflict and successive climate shocks.

Ambassador Shifera Teklemariam, a member of the Ethiopian Disaster Risk Management Commission, told reporters in Geneva on Tuesday that he hoped the pledging campaign would turn the tide and that donor countries would provide critical life-saving support to Ethiopia. Failure to do so would have serious consequences, he said.

“We are coming out of the shadow of the COVID-19 pandemic. At the same time, as we have already mentioned, some disasters including epidemics, locusts, displacement are issues that we have to deal with, and that is why we say that we really have to deal with it before it’s too late. Take action before it’s too late,” he said.

The UN warns that a cycle of droughts, floods and conflict is exacerbating the emergency and could reach its peak during the lean season from July to September.

The United Nations estimates that nearly 11 million people may face food insecurity, leading to increased malnutrition levels during lean seasons, when food stocks are at their lowest.

Andrew Mitchell, the British deputy foreign secretary and secretary of state for development and Africa, who recently visited Ethiopia, said he was seeing increasingly worrying signs of famine in conflict areas in the north.

“What we found when we went to Tigray and looked at those areas where marginalization and hardship was occurring. What we found was that as pipelines increased, more and more people, especially children, suffered from malnutrition,” he said.

“Because of climate change, and especially because of the displacement of people, we’re seeing people’s coping mechanisms being severely eroded and people are selling everything they own,” he added.

El Niño is exacerbating drought in the northern highlands. UN agencies report that malnutrition rates are worsening in conflict zones such as Afar, Amhara and Tigray, forcing millions of people to face dwindling water resources, dry pastures and reduced harvests.

Ramiz Arakbarov, UN Assistant Secretary-General and Resident and Humanitarian Coordinator in Ethiopia, noted that the compounding effects of successive climate shocks and conflicts are “quite devastating.”

“On top of that, we have 4.5 million people displaced from their homes,” he said, noting that Ethiopia “is among the 10 countries with the highest internal displacement rates due to all these factors.”

At the same time, he said, “the conflict has destroyed and damaged thousands of schools, health facilities, water systems and other community infrastructure in some areas, adding to difficulties.”

Alakbarov said the United Nations is working with the Ethiopian government and international partners to strengthen national systems and civil society. He said humanitarian aid, which focuses on reaching the most vulnerable, was a major challenge.

“The challenge is to improve access, which is not set in stone. Sometimes we can’t reach people and people can’t reach us because they don’t feel safe. … In many areas of Ethiopia, that needs to improve, “He said.

Conference organizers said Ethiopia will need at least $1 billion to meet critical aid needs over the next three months.

Last year, the U.S. Agency for International Development and the U.N. World Food Program temporarily suspended food aid to Ethiopia amid allegations that food was being diverted. The Ethiopian government denies the claims.

The agencies have resumed food distribution after strict reforms to prevent similar situations from happening.

“USAID resumed food assistance to Ethiopia in December, following a six-month pause following the discovery of widespread aid diversion,” USAID Deputy Administrator Isobel Coleman told the conference.

“We work closely with the Ethiopian government and partners, including the United Nations, to reform the food aid system and prevent corruption,” she said.

“Since December, we have provided food assistance to more than 4 million people across the country, prioritizing drought- and conflict-affected areas with the greatest need,” Coleman said, noting that the United States is providing an additional $154 million to Ethiopia. donations, bringing its total aid this year to US$243 million.

Arakbarov described the reform system as “one of the most detailed and proven processes I have ever observed in my life.”

“This includes 30 verification points, including the issuance of digital ID cards, the establishment of a community complaints mechanism and various digital tracking of each bag of items,” he said.

“The problem is we don’t have enough resources to allocate,” he said.