Horn Highlights: Amnesty launches Ethiopia campaign amidst failing media attention, Horn drought has major impact on children
In this week’s Horn Highlights: Amnesty International sections launch campaign to raise awareness on Ethiopia; Increase in child marriage due to drought, states UNICEF; US welcomes Tigray withdrawal from Afar; 2 muslims killed in clash in Addis Ababa; Severe environmental impact on Tigray a setback for the region; Malnourishment high among children and pregnant women in Tigray; TPLF accuses OCHA of misrepresenting Western Tigray areas as Amhara region; Ethiopian government says that soldiers who requested asylum in Sudan are victims of propaganda; Health workers say that healthcare in Tigray is failing; Protests take place on anniversary of al-Bashir’s ousting in Sudan.
Ecological and political factors are stacking the deck against the population in Ethiopia amidst severe drought
On 19 April, the World Food Program announced that the number of people pushed to hunger by the severe drought in the Horn of Africa could rise from the current 14 million to 20 million by the end of the year. This is the latest in a long list of warnings from various international organisations that have been drawing attention to the agropastoral and food crises caused by this drought since 2020. But contrary to the 2016-2017 drought in the Horn, sufficient measures have not been put in place upstream, organisations warn. Although the whole region faces alarming consequences, with for example half a million already starving people in Kenya, Ethiopia is currently the most affected country with more than 7 million people already affected by famine. This is due to various climatic, but also political circumstances.
News Highlights: Millions face humanitarian crisis in the Horn, Hundreds forcibly returned to Libya, UK pushback plan abandoned
In this week’s News Highlights: UN warns of humanitarian catastrophe in the Horn of Africa; Tigray forces say they have withdrawn from the Afar region; ‘Collapse’ of the health system in Tigray; Twenty muslim worshippers killed in clash in Ethiopia; UN pushed towards the exit door of Sudan; UN warns against escalation in Darfur; 171 migrants and refugees rescued, hundreds more forcibly returned to Libya; 17 migrants and refugees found dead off Tunisian coast, several others still missing; New European plan to facilitate legal immigration; Pushback plan in the Channel from the UK abandoned for legal reasons; EU questions ecological aspects of the anti-migrant wall between Poland and Belarus; Bulgarian human trafficking network targeted in France.