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.

Horn/News Highlights: Rain remains absent in the Horn, UK plan to send asylum seekers to Rwanda criticised, Human trafficking in Cyprus on the rise

This week, the Horn and News highlights are sent out in a combined format on Wednesday. In this week’s Horn and News Highlights: Conflict renewed in Oromia special zone of the Amhara region; Horn of Africa faces fourth consecutive crop failure;$300 million grant approved by the WB to finance reconstruction in Ethiopia; MSF staff member killed in South Sudan; Boat sinking leaves 6 dead and 29 missing off Libyan coasts; Migrants and refugees in Tunisia ask for evacuation through sit-in outside UN Office; Cigarette plant using refugee forced labourers dismantled in Italy; New UK plan to send asylum seekers to Rwanda for processing widely criticised; Migrant and refugee collective takes control of office building in Paris; Large building of migrants and refugees evacuated in Brussels; Human trafficking on the rise in Cyprus; Number of entries in Europe highest since 2016, says Frontex; Seventy-third session of the Committee against Torture of the OHCHR.