Over 15bn Birr worth of humanitarian assistance distributed in 3 rounds: EDRMC

Addis Ababa, December 19, 2023 (FBC) – The National Disaster Risk Management Commission (NDRMC) has announced today that 15.2 billion Birr worth of humanitarian assistance distributed in three rounds to people who were in need in Ethiopia.

Chief Commissioner of the Ethiopian National Disaster Risk Management Commission (EDRMC) Shiferaw Telekemariam said that the assistance has been delivered since July 2023 to the populations that have been affected by drought, conflicts and flooding in parts of Ethiopia.

In particular, the extreme weather events are constantly bringing unprecedented new phenomena, he underlined.

Acknowledging that climate change is becoming a global problem, the commissioner mentioned that drought related disasters affected nearly 11 million people in Ethiopia last year.

“Climate change is constantly bringing new and unprecedented events. Of course, this is an international situation and it is a problem that is happening in our country too. As a result, drought and drought related disasters have caused tremendous problems. In this regard, Southwest part of Ethiopia as well as other regions including Gabella, part of Oromia, Amhara, Somalia have been hit by drought induced impacts,” he indicated.

Sheferaw explained that the government has distributed close to 250,000 quintals of food assistance to 7.3 million people in the first-round. In addition, 3.7 billion Birr was also provided to these affected populations, ENA reported.

Similarly, in its second-round humanitarian supply, the commission distributed about 613,000 million quintals and 4.4 billion Birr, he added.

In the third-round of humanitarian operation, some 487,000 quintals of food grains are being distributed by the government and 376,000 quintals provided by partners.

The commissioner further explained that 8.6 billion birr worth of food aid and material support is being made available to 6.5 million beneficiaries in this third-round.

In these three phases of the humanitarian support, the government of Ethiopia has taken a lion’s share by providing 11 billion Birr worth of relief, the commissioner noted.

According to him, other humanitarian partners also contributed 4 billion Birr outlay of assistance.

Reminding that some humanitarian agencies paused their supplies since June 2023 due to some challenges, the commissioner appreciated the recent resumption of operation and cooperation with the government.

He has also reaffirmed the commitment of the National Disaster Risk Management Commission (NDRMC) to strengthen collaboration with humanitarian agencies and operators for proper distribution of assistance in Ethiopia.

Various frameworks have already been developed on establishing collaboration with humanitarian agencies and operators, it was indicated.

The development of national guideline is one of the measures being taken with a view to encourage a collaborative process that would govern all stakeholders including government, aid agencies, and operators.