A second flight of the EU humanitarian airlift to Tigray (Ethiopia), co-organised by the EU, France and Italy, and carrying 10.6 tonnes of vital goods, landed at Mekelle airport on 6 October. As the European Commission announced on Thursday 7 October, the EU is mobilising a further €30 million to fund emergency aid for victims of the conflict.
The shipment will allow UNICEF to provide food to approximately 400 malnourished children for 6-8 weeks, and cover the basic medical needs of 280,000 people for 3 months.
According to the Commission, 4.4 tonnes of ready-to-use therapeutic food for severely malnourished children were delivered to UNICEF on 11 September.
In a statement, the European Commissioner for Crisis Management, Janez Lenarčič, stresses that this vital aid “covers only a very small part of the needs on the ground” in Tigray, where some 5.5 million people (90% of the population) require humanitarian assistance (see EUROPE 12807/23).
He added: “I urge the Government of Ethiopia to facilitate access, by air and by road, into Tigray and allow humanitarian organisations to work in an independent, impartial and neutral manner, without interference or intimidation. The neighbouring regions of Afar and Amhara are also suffering.” (Original version in French by Aminata Niang)