News: Ethiopia seeks 11 billion birr for emergency humanitarian mission through June 2024

Addis Abeba – The Ethiopian Disaster Risk Management Commission (EDRMC) has declared that an estimated amount of 11 billion birr will be necessary to furnish humanitarian aid until June 2024.

Commissioner Shiferaw Teklemariam has elucidated the commission’s goal to provide assistance to over eight million citizens impacted by natural disasters like drought and man-made crises such as conflict within this three-month period.

To address the upcoming three-month funding requirement, the Ethiopian government is expected to contribute 5.1 billion birr, while the remaining 5.9 billion birr is anticipated to come from donors and partner organizations.

In February 2024, the United Nations announced its need for $3.2 billion for the fiscal year to deliver vital assistance to millions of Ethiopians confronting severe circumstances. Prolonged droughts, climate change-induced flooding, and persistent security challenges across multiple regions of the country have exacerbated substantial humanitarian requirements.

However, as of 23 April, 2024, only $287 million had been funded through the Humanitarian Response Plan, according to the United Nations.

Two weeks ago, a high-level pledging event held in Geneva, co-sponsored by the governments of Ethiopia, Britain, and the United Nations, received $630 million in pledges, falling short of the targeted $1 billion to respond to the humanitarian situation in Ethiopia.

Shiferaw emphasized that the commission is actively engaged in collaborating with diverse stakeholders to ensure the efficient distribution of humanitarian aid to vulnerable communities nationwide in the forthcoming quarter.

Additionally, he highlighted ongoing efforts to mitigate disasters through a comprehensive risk profile study conducted in more than half of the districts across the country.

During the preceding quarter, spanning from January to March, the commission rendered support to 6.6 million individuals requiring aid.

Within the current fiscal year’s initial six months, the Tigray region received 238 million birr, benefiting 1.6 million individuals. Furthermore, an allocation of 277 million birr in cash was disbursed to nearly two million residents of the Amhara region. AD