The first foreign aid shipment to enter the Tigray region of Ethiopia since the Tigrayan forces and the federal government of Ethiopia agreed to a cease-fire earlier this month came in two trucks Tuesday bringing medical supplies.
40 tons of “critical goods, emergency medications, and surgical equipment” were delivered by the ICRC convoy to Mekelle, the regional capital of Tigray, according to an ICRC statement.
Since late August, there has been no outside help travelling by road into Tigray.
Millions of people in the region are in desperate need of food and medication as a result of restrictions on humanitarian access since the violence started in November 2020.
The federal government of Ethiopia is obligated by the provisions of the cease-fire agreement, which was reached in South Africa earlier this month, to provide unrestricted humanitarian access to Tigray and to restore its phone, internet, and banking services.
In the upcoming days, according to Jude Fuhnwi, a spokesman for the ICRC in Ethiopia, more help, including food and essential household items, would be transported by air and land to Tigray.
“Today’s delivery gave the people of Tigray cause for optimism.
For some of them, it also represents a chance for survival because many patients in the area may have passed away for want of medicine, for want of competent medical attention, or because the majority of the hospitals and health facilities in the area had run out of medical supplies.
“This health system in the region was completely or has always been under tremendous duress, and we had several facilities that were no longer operational,” said Fuhnwi.
Redwan Hussein, the lead negotiator for Ethiopia in the peace negotiations, stated last week that services were “being restored” to Tigray, and Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed stated on Tuesday that his administration was dedicated to carrying out the cease-fire agreement.
In Tigray, where food supplies have largely run out, a World Food Program spokeswoman told VOA that their agency has not yet started relief delivery again.
In Tigray, around one-third of children and 75% of breastfeeding moms who were evaluated for malnutrition last month were underweight.
