Ethiopia: The humanitarian situation worsens as more than 800,000 displaced people face cold and heavy rains in Ethiopia



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Photo: Africa Renewal

Samira *, a displaced Ethiopian, holds one of her seven children in front of the tiny space she shares with other families on the Gedeb site.

By IOM

Samira *, displaced Ethiopian, holds one of her seven children in front of the small space she shares with other families on the Gedeb site

Dilla – More than 800,000 displaced people are living in Ethiopia without shelter and sanitation, exacerbating the humanitarian situation exacerbated by the cold and wet weather caused by the rainy season.

Clashes last month between communities along the border of two Ethiopian regions – Nations, Nationalities and People of the South The region (SNNPR) and the Oromia region – forced hundreds of thousands of people to flee their homes.

IDPs in June added to some smaller scale movements that occurred in April and May

. Displacement Tracking Matrix (DTM), there were already 1,776,685 internally displaced people in Ethiopia – most of them because of drought and subsequent floods – before these last moves. [1965] 9006] Walking for days to find safety, many sleeping in the open air, displaced communities have little or no possessions beyond the clothes they've left, and no food or money.

Samira *, 22 years old The mother of seven, arrived three months ago in one of the first waves of displacement, now lives in Gedeb (Gedeo Zone), where local authorities have asked the 39, IOM, the United Nations Migration Agency, to focus its support on site management. His family left the house with very little and barely had enough to support themselves during their travels. Her husband was also injured in the leg when they were fleeing

"We have managed to escape from our lives – we have not carried anything with us, only our children, but I know that 39 there are people here who have worse than "We are really grateful to have shelter to protect ourselves from the outside, but we need more food and clothes – our kids are cold .

The Ethiopian government, which has been leading the response since the beginning of the crisis, is trying to provide vital humanitarian services across many displacement sites in the western area of ​​Guji (Oromia) and the Gedeo area (SNNPR) .

Many IDPs live with relatives in local communities or in rented housing, while others are housed in collective centers such as schools, government buildings and abandoned factories. s. Those who remain in local communities always come to collective centers during the day to access humanitarian services.

Thousands of people are crammed into overcrowded collective centers and unfit for human habitation. Others sleep outside on dirt floors with nothing more than a tarpaulin to protect them from the cold and the rain. Open fire cooking in overcrowded buildings, poor sanitation and cold weather all contribute to the deterioration of the environment both from the point of view of health and protection.

IOM provides humanitarian badistance to displaced persons. in an integrated approach focused on the distribution of basic aid, emergency shelter, water, sanitation and hygiene (WASH), health care emergency primary and site management support. In addition, the IOM DTM supports the overall response by identifying the movements and needs of the population.

"With so many people displaced in such a short time, IOM mobilized intervention teams and resources to immediately help the government and Maureen Achieng, the chief of mission of the I & # 39; IOM in Ethiopia and representative to the African Union, IGAD and ECA, said: "However, the rains continue and people have very little chance of surviving – more support" [19659016] Last week, IOM distributed 1,000 blankets and began building 40 communal shelters to protect displaced communities from the weather.Only Thursday (12/07), IOM completed 15 of the 150 planned latrines and began digging several more.These activities are carried out in addition to rapid badessments of movements, and other ongoing support activities.

Source:

IOM

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