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The head of the UN Humanitarian Office believes that we can talk about famine in the Tigray region. The region is experiencing record levels of malnutrition, seven months after the start of the civil war between the Ethiopian government and Tigrayan rebels. The numbers are truly catastrophic, but Addis Ababa absolutely refuses to use the word famine, which could obviously increase pressure on the government.
as reported from Addis Ababa, Noé Rochet-Bodin
It is a document that may well change the international attitude to the war in Tigray. A UN study shows that out of 6 million Tigrayans, 350,000 have reached catastrophic levels of malnutrition. Mark Lowcock prefers another term. The UN humanitarian chief is really talking about famine.
Since then, the United States has been in the driver’s seat on this issue. After sanctioning Ethiopia, Washington is now trying to bring the matter to the UN Security Council, where Tigray will be at the center of debates next Tuesday.
On the Ethiopian side, we are all too familiar with the political power of the word famine after the 1984 disaster in the same province of Tigray, which had provoked a wave of international indignation.
Stuck in this war for seven months, the Ethiopian government refuses to use the word at all costs, arguing that 90% of Tigrayans receive humanitarian aid.
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