UN raises $630mil, short of target $1bn, to tackle Ethiopia’s dire humanitarian crisis

A United Nations-led donor event held in its headquarters in Geneva on Tuesday (16 April) managed to secure financial pledges only for about two-thirds of the $1 billion it was seeking to raise to assist millions of Ethiopians affected by conflict, drought and floods.

The donor conference raised about $630 million, thus falling short of the $1 billion urgently needed, according to the UN, that will be used to boost humanitarian aid to Ethiopia, where over 21 million people require assistance amid an escalating food shortage. “The humanitarian situation in Ethiopia is critical — but there is a window to act right now to break the downward spiral,” the UN’s Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) said, adding that “cycles of droughts and floods, and conflict” contributed to the escalating situation in the African country.

The United States is providing nearly $154 million in humanitarian assistance in the Horn of Africa country to address “urgent needs resulting from conflict, insecurity, and climate shocks,” the US State Department said. According to the OCHA, The biggest donors among the 21 countries that had made pledges are the United States, the United Kingdom and the European Union. Last year, the UN’s World Food Programme and USAID temporarily halted all food aid to Ethiopia, Africa’s second-largest country, alleging a “widespread and coordinated” campaign to divert donated supplies — something Ethiopia’s government denied.