PM Abiy Ahmed calls on int’l community to strengthen humanitarian support to Africa

Addis Ababa, May 27, 2022 (FBC) – Addressing the AU Extraordinary Humanitarian Summit and Pledging Conference in Malabo Equatorial Guinea, Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed stated that the Horn of Africa sub continent  is among the regions suffering from climate change impacts such as devastating drought conditions.

Some parts of Ethiopia have been hit by the worst condition of drought that caused death of a large number of cattle and displacement of people.

National measures are being taken to enhance effectiveness of natural disasters risk management. Works undertaken with support of partners have helped reduce the overall socio economic impacts.

“Lessons from our past experiences of recurrent droughts in the Horn of Africa region have shown us that stronger preventive measures are critical.”

To mitigate the impacts of climate change, Ethiopia has been implementing the Green Legacy Initiative that is helping it to plant billions of trees every year since 2019, the Prime Minister noted.

Ethiopia has also embarked on cluster farming and irrigation based lowland wheat farming to increase agricultural productivity and ensure food self-sufficiency.

Ethiopia is following an open door policy for refugees and asylum seekers sheltering hundreds of thousands of refugees from several parts of the world, he added.

The Premier also reiterated Ethiopia’s commitment to ensuring assistance reaches those afflicted by natural and manmade disasters.

Strengthening humanitarian operations need huge resources that can not be achieved without cooperation of international partners, he said, calling the international community to contribute its part in bridging the gaps in the provision of humanitarian assistance efforts in the continent.