Over 10,000 residents in Amhara’s Bugna district face severe food shortages amid drought, conflict
Addis Abeba– Over 10,000 residents in Bugna District, North Wollo Zone, Amhara Region, including children under five, are experiencing severe food shortages due to prolonged drought and ongoing conflict, according to the District Health Bureau.
Gebremeskel Alemu, head of the Bugna Health Office, told the BBC that the district’s food insecurity stems from natural disasters and the impacts of militarized conflict. He attributed the crisis to insufficient rainfall and environmental degradation.
“The community’s inability to produce sufficient food has made it difficult for mothers to adequately nourish their children, resulting in health concerns,” Gebremeskel explained. He added that relief organizations have been unable to provide sufficient assistance to the affected population.
Yekaba, a resident of Birko Kebele in the district, shared her struggles, describing the dire situation of her one-year-and-three-month-old twins. “Until now, we managed, but since the New Year, there’s nothing. It has become critical,” she said.
“I have no capacity to bottle-feed. I’ve only been breastfeeding them, but now my breast milk is decreasing. How will they survive? The available food doesn’t suit them,” she added.
Mekonnen Ashagrie, head of the Ayna Health Center in Ayna Bugna, a town in the district, stated that relief organizations working on nutrition ceased their support after the start of the new budget year. He also noted that the area’s natural challenges, combined with the withdrawal of aid, have worsened conditions for the local population.
The Amhara region has experienced fourteen months of severe militarized conflict between government forces and non-state Fano militias, leading to the death of civilians, widespread school closures, and a humanitarian crisis.
A previous report by the Amhara Public Health Institute states that over 250,000 children are suffering from “emergency food shortages” in drought-affected areas of the Amhara region. AS
