The World Health Organization (WHO) chief on Wednesday called for a massive influx of food and medicines into Ethiopia’s war-embattled Tigray region following the ceasefire deal, saying the urgently-needed aid had not yet been allowed in, reported The VOA News.
The WHO said people in Tigray are in need of urgent assistance after two years of war, with access to the region severely restricted. The conflict between the Ethiopian government forces and Tigrayan rebel groups has plunged Tigray into a severe humanitarian crisis.
Last week, the two factions agreed on a ceasefire deal to put an end to the war that has killed thousands and displaced millions. The two parties indicated in a joint statement that they would stop hostilities immediately, disarm the rebels, allow the resumption of aid deliveries and restore basic services.
The Tigray People’s Liberation Front (TPLF) has vowed to disarm its forces within 30 days under the agreement.
WHO Chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus welcomed the breakthrough ceasefire agreement but warned it was already a week on and nothing is moving in terms of food aid or medicines.
“Many people are dying from treatable diseases. Many people are dying from starvation,” he told a press conference.
Tedros said civilians need food, need medicine even in the middle of fighting. He insisted that it cannot be a condition.
“Let’s give a chance to peace,” the WHO chief added. “But we would also urge the immediate delivery of food and medicine.”
Tedros originally hails from Tigray and was Ethiopia’s health minister and foreign minister.
He called for restarting of basic services such as banking and telecoms into the region. He said six million people for two years had been shut off from the rest of the world as if they didn’t exist.
The ceasefire deal has raised hopes that the brutal conflict in Africa’s second most populous country could be nearing its end.
