US hands over 250 MT of humanitarian supplies to IOM Office in Ethiopia

The 250 metric tons of supplies, worth over 1.5 million USD, include tens of thousands of blankets, hygiene supplies, tarps for temporary housing, and buckets.

 Today, the United States handed over 250 metric tons of humanitarian supplies to the International Organization for Migration (IOM) Office in Ethiopia. The supplies will support U.S. efforts to provide emergency support for tens of thousands of Ethiopians affected by the ongoing conflict in the Amhara and Afar regions of Ethiopia. Ambassador Tracey A. Jacobson, Chargé d’affaires of the U.S. Embassy in Addis Ababa, handed over the shelter supplies to IOM Acting Chief of Mission, Jian Zhao, and Nesibu Yasin, Deputy Commissioner of the Ethiopia’s National Disaster Risk Management Commission (NDRMC) at a warehouse in Addis Ababa.

The 250 metric tons of supplies, worth over 1.5 million USD, include tens of thousands of blankets, hygiene supplies, tarps for temporary housing, and buckets. This is the second time the United States Government has directly provided humanitarian supplies to Ethiopians displaced by the ongoing conflict in the north, through IOM. Today’s donation compliments the nearly 900 million USD the United States has devoted in humanitarian support to Ethiopia over the last year.

“Over the past 17 months, the United States has worked tirelessly with our Ethiopian and international partners to provide emergency assistance to Ethiopians in need, wherever they may live. This time USAID’s airlift of relief supplies will provide tens of thousands of families with their most fundamental needs: a warm place to sleep, a place to wash their food and hands, and shelter against the rain and sun,” said Ambassador Jacobson.

The IOM Acting Chief of Mission, Jian Zhao, added that: “Our continued partnership with the United States Government has been critical in enabling us to provide much-needed assistance to the people affected by the conflict in Ethiopia.  Currently about 4.2 million people were internally displaced across Ethiopia due to conflicts and climatic shocks such as drought and floods, and thanks to such generous support we will continue our effort to assist the Government of Ethiopia in ensuring displaced people in Ethiopia have access to safer shelter, and better sanitation and hygiene.”

These relief supplies are part of the United States, IOM, United Nations, and international humanitarian organizations’ broader effort to help people in all regions of the Northern Ethiopia conflict. Together the international community has contributed well over two billion USD in humanitarian assistance to Ethiopians in need in Afar, Amhara, and Tigray since the beginning of the conflict. The United States calls upon all parties to begin an immediate cessation of hostilities, allow unhindered humanitarian access, and negotiate a resolution to the conflict.

(With Inputs from APO)