Tigray, Ethiopia, facing world’s biggest health ‘catastrophe’, WHO warns

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https://www.telegraph.co.uk/global-health/terror-and-security/tigray-facing-worlds-biggest-health-catastrophe-warns/

Tigray facing world’s biggest health ‘catastrophe’, WHO warns


UN also warns that attacks on health workers and facilities are becoming commonplace, with 43 confirmed in Ukraine since Russia invaded

By Global Health Security Team 16 March 2022 • 4:51pm

Six million people “sealed off from the outside world” for 500 days in Tigray are facing an unparalleled health crisis, the head of the World Health Organisation has warned.

In a renewed plea for Ethiopian and Eritrean forces to “end the blockade” of the region, Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus – who grew up in Tigray – warned that the situation there was “catastrophic”.

“Yes, I’m from Tigray and this crisis affects me, my family and my friends very personally,” he said. “But I, as the director general of WHO, have a duty to protect and promote health wherever it’s under threat. And there is nowhere on earth where the health of millions of people is more under threat than Tigray.”

He added: “Just as we continue to call on Russia to make peace in Ukraine, so we continue to call on Ethiopia and Eritrea to end the blockade, the siege, and allow safe access for humanitarian supplies and workers to save lives.”

Tigray has been largely cut off from the world for 16 months, after a power struggle between the federal government and the regional government of Tigray, northern Ethiopia, exploded into a civil war based along ethnic lines in November 2020...

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AFP

First aid convoy in three months to enter Ethiopia's Tigray soon: UN

Aymeric VINCENOT
Fri, April 1, 2022, 9:30 AM·3 min read

The first international aid convoy in three months is on its way to Ethiopia's war-stricken Tigray region, the UN said on Friday, one week after the government and Tigrayan rebels agreed to a conditional truce.

The arrival of aid in Tigray, where hundreds of thousands of people face starvation, could help shore up the shaky ceasefire between Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed's government and the Tigray People's Liberation Front (TPLF).
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https://news.yahoo.com/first-aid-convoy-three-months-133014133.html?fr=sycsrp_catchall

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WHO Director-General's opening remarks at media briefing – 19 October 2022

19 October 2022
...
Finally, I’m running out of diplomatic language for the deliberate targeting of civilians in Tigray, Ethiopia.

Earlier this week, the UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said that, I quote, “The situation in Ethiopia is spiralling out of control. The social fabric is being ripped apart and civilians are paying a horrific price. Hostilities in Tigray must end now – including the immediate withdrawal and disengagement of Eritrean armed forces from Ethiopia.” End of quote.

The United Nations Human Rights Office has received reports of civilian casualties and destruction of civilian objects due to airstrikes and artillery strikes.

Indiscriminate attacks or attacks that deliberately target civilians or civilian objects amount to war crimes.

There is no other situation globally in which 6 million people have been kept under siege for almost two years.

Banking, fuel, food, electricity and health care are being used as weapons of war. Media is also not allowed and destruction of civilians is done in darkness.

Even people who have money are starving because they can’t access it.

Children are dying every day from malnutrition.

There are no services for tuberculosis, HIV, diabetes, hypertension and more – those diseases, which are treatable elsewhere, are now a death sentence in Tigray.

Yes, I’m from Tigray, and yes, this affects me personally. I don’t pretend it doesn’t. Most of my relatives are in the most affected areas, more than 90% of them.

But my job is to draw the world’s attention to crises that threaten the health of people wherever they are.

This is a health crisis for 6 million people, and the world is not paying enough attention.

I urge the international community and the media to give this crisis the attention it deserves.

There is a very narrow window now to prevent genocide in Tigray.

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https://www.who.int/news-room/speeches/item/who-director-general-s-opening-remarks-at-media-briefing---19-october-2022

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WHO Director-General's opening remarks at media briefing – 2 November 2022

2 November 2022
...
This week marks two years since the siege of Tigray began.

The Afar and Amhara regions are also affected by the conflict, but WHO and our partners have access to those regions and have been able to deliver humanitarian aid.

However, the humanitarian situation in Tigray remains catastrophic. As I have said before, the siege of 6 million people by Ethiopian and Eritrean forces is the worst humanitarian crisis in the world.

Since the beginning of the siege, food, medicine and other basic services have been weaponised.

It has now been more than two months since the last humanitarian aid reached Tigray.

But even before that, the aid reaching Tigray was a trickle – nowhere near enough to meet the needs.

Large numbers of displaced people are now arriving in, or moving towards, the regional capital Mekelle.

Most UN agencies and NGOs have now left towns in the region’s northeast because of security concerns.

Some health partners have shut down because they cannot access the funds, fuel and other supplies they need to serve the community.

WHO continues to call for unfettered humanitarian access for the millions of people who are in dire need.

And we continue to call on the international community to give the crisis in Tigray the right attention.

The only solution to this situation remains peace, and we hope that the talks now taking place in South Africa will lead to a peaceful and enduring resolution.

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https://www.who.int/director-general...-november-2022

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Cessation of Hostilities Agreement between the Government of the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia and the Tigray Peoples’ Liberation Front (TPLF)

Last Updated on Wednesday 02 November 2022


Pretoria South Africa, 2 November 2022: The African Union (AU) High Representative for the Horn of Africa, H.E. Olusegun Obasanjo, former President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, together with the other members of the High-Level Panel for the AU-led Ethiopian Peace Process, H.E. Uhuru Kenyatta, former President of the Republic of Kenya, and H.E. Dr. Phumzile Mlambo-Ngcuka, former Deputy President of the Republic of South Africa, and member of the AU Panel of the Wise, are pleased to announce the successful conclusion of the Ethiopian Peace Talks in Pretoria, South Africa. The Talks, between the Government of the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia, and the Tigray People’s Liberation Front (TPLF), which were launched on 25 October 2022, sought to secure a Cessation of Hostilities Agreement between the parties, paving the way for the restoration of peace, security and stability in the Tigray Region.



The agreement marks an important step in efforts to silence the guns, and provides a solid foundation for the preservation of Ethiopia’s sovereignty and territorial integrity, the immediate cessation of hostilities, the resumption of unhindered humanitarian access, the restoration of services as well as healing and reconciliation.

The Panel congratulates and commends the Parties for their commitment, diligence and stellar leadership throughout the process, and for prioritizing the Ethiopian people and the supreme interests of the Ethiopian nation. As the country embarks on this next chapter in its great history, the Panel affirms its commitment and readiness to continue accompanying the process towards a more democratic, just and inclusive Ethiopia in which youth, women and men participate fully and in peace.

The High-Level Panel expresses its gratitude to the Chairperson of the African Union Commission (AUC), H.E. Moussa Faki Mahamat, for entrusting them with this historic task, and encourages the Commission to continue supporting and accompanying the implementation of the Cessation of Hostilities Agreement.

The Panel is grateful to the Government and People of South Africa for hosting the Peace Talks, consistent with the spirit of African solutions to African problems. The Panel also wishes to thank the Inter-Governmental Authority on Development (IGAD), the United Nations, the United States of America and other partners for their support towards the process.



PDF Version

Press Release: Cessation of Hostilities Agreement between the Government of the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia and the Tigray Peoples’ Liberation Front (TPLF) [Download ...]
Related Documents

Joint Statement between the Government of the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia and The Tigray Peoples'Liberation Front (TPLF) [Download ...]

https://www.peaceau.org/en/article/cessation-of-hostilities-agreement-between-the-government-of-the-federal-democratic-republic-of-ethiopia-and-the-tigray-peoples-liberation-front-tplf