It is to be recalled that the Government had declared an indefinite humanitarian truce on March 24 to facilitate the delivery of humanitarian assistance in the Tigray Region. The Government, in partnership with aid organisations, has since managed to deliver over 4,000 lorries of much-needed food, nutrition, and fuel to the Tigray Region. This endeavour allowed the delivery of over 150,000 metric tons of food supplies, 18,658 metric tons of non-food item, and 234.37 metric tons of medicine to 5.2 million beneficiaries across the Region. Additionally, ETB 2.42 billion cash and 987,137 litres of fuel have been sent to the Region to enable the distribution of the supplies. Unfortunately, out of the over 4,000 aid lorries, the TPLF confiscated 1,512 and turned them into military purposes. The government has been calling on the international community including the UK government to denounce the act and hold the TPLF to account for deliberately hindering aid and blaming it on the federal government.

Nevertheless, TPLF sympathisers still maliciously accuse the government of hindering humanitarian access. These groups never care to hold the TPLF to account for the 1,512 aid lorries that it confiscated and turned into military purposes. Seeking to absolve this criminal group, they put the blame on lack of fuel. This is evident from their recent celebration of the return of 100 lorries which they pretended lack of fuel to be the reason for the delay in returning them. The government calls up on the International Community to urge the TPLF to return all lorries and help expedite the delivery of the aid.

Apart from the existing humanitarian need in the Tigray Region, there emerged acute food shortage in other parts of the country as well. The shortage is caused by climate change and constitutes the large-scale drought currently being experienced in the Horn of Africa. The Government has responded in good time and been working to address the shortage through national efforts, mainly through the disaster risk management system. Yet, much is required to fully cater to the daily mounting need. The international community is encouraged to intensify its effort to meet the humanitarian needs across the entire country.