Source · Select Committees · International Development Committee
Recommendation 32
32
Acknowledged
There is an urgent need to scale up the response to meet the existing critical...
Conclusion
There is an urgent need to scale up the response to meet the existing critical needs of displaced people.77 Paul Turnbull, UN WFP Ethiopia, told us that coordination was difficult, especially in a covid19 environment where the number of people able to meet face-to-face is limited and where other forms of communication are unreliable.78 Access
Government response summary AI-generated
The government acknowledges the importance of ensuring access and safety for humanitarian actors, stating it is a key FCDO priority and has been raised bilaterally with Ethiopian authorities and with partners to improve access.
Summary of the government's response below — read the verbatim text to verify.
Government Response
Acknowledged
HM Government · verbatim extract
Acknowledged
The humanitarian situation has become increasingly dire, with the UN assessing that only around 1 million people have received basic food assistance out of up to 5.2 million people in desperate need. HMG has been at the forefront of the international response throughout the conflict. We work with a variety of partners including OCHA to understand the extent of needs and identify critical gaps, and have undertaken an assessment of humanitarian needs and funding gaps across Ethiopia. Due to the urgent needs in the region, we have redirected some of our aid for Ethiopia to the Tigray response. We will continue to review our aid programme in light of the situation. We do not share this assessment. There remain pressing issues regarding the importation of communications equipment and travel approvals, for example, that Mr Beasley’s visit did not address. Whilst there have been some, more recent, small improvements in access to telecommunications equipment by UN agencies, NGOs still have very little access. Weapons bearers also continue to routinely deny access to humanitarian agencies and loot humanitarian aid that has been delivered. There remains a need to continue to press the Government of Ethiopia, the Government of Eritrea, TPLF and other forces controlling territory to ensure widespread and sustained access for humanitarian actors in the region.
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