WFP Delivers Food to Another 1 Million People in Ethiopia's Tigray

Addis Ababa: The World Food Programme (WFP) delivered food to over a million people in the north-west and parts of southern Tigray in June and July under the second round of distributions, despite numerous challenges.
 
However, severe shortages of food, cash, fuel and functioning telecommunications equipment mean the United Nations (UN) agency has only reached half of those it planned to reach, including communities on the verge of famine.
 
WFP aims to reach 2.1 million people with emergency food assistance from August onwards and needs at least 6,000 metric tons of food each week to do so. 

Due to insecurity and operational constraints, it has been unable to bring these quantities into Tigray in recent weeks.
 
According to WFP, more than 175 trucks arrived in the Tigray region, via the Abala corridor, during the first week of August. This included 90 trucks loaded with over 5,000 metric tons of life-saving food. An additional 90 trucks are expected to arrive in the coming days to further replenish stocks of food, fuel, nutrition, health, WASH and shelter items in the region. But with 5.2 million people in the region (90% of the Tigray population) in need of humanitarian food assistance – WFP and partners require at least 100 trucks to be arriving daily to meet the vast needs.
 
"People in Tigray are suffering due to lack of humanitarian support over the past month – we need to reach them now before they fall into famine. WFP is calling for all parties to agree to a ceasefire and guarantee an unimpeded flow of humanitarian supplies into Tigray, so that we can deliver lifesaving food and other emergency supplies safely before it’s too late," said Michael Dunford, WFP’s Corporate Response Director for Tigray in a press release on Monday. 
 
According to Dunford, others in neighbouring regions are also falling deeper into hunger as a result of the conflict and WFP is working with the Government to reach communities in Afar and Amhara with life-saving food as soon as possible.

 
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