Italy's deputy foreign minister Emanuela Del Re has organised €500,000 euros of emergency funding to help vulnerable Ethiopians, especially in conflict-hit Tigray, where around 2.3 million people - nearly half of the province's population - needs aid, according to the United Nations.
Italy's donation will help the UN's Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs step up its protection of needy Ethiopians with food supplies and healthcare, the foreign ministry said in a statement.
The funds will be channelled through the multi-donor Ethiopia Humanitarian Fund, which is managed by OCHA, the statement noted.
The statement said the humanitarian situation in the Tigray has "deteriorated sharply" since fighting broke out in November between federal forces and those of Tigray’s rebellious former ruling party, a war that killed thousands and sent tens of thousands fleeing from homes.
Some 2.3 million people - nearly half of Tigray’s population - need aid amid food shortages, lootings and inadequate healthcare facilities, according to the UN.
Clean water supplies are running out in Tigray, where the conflict has left infrastructure damaged and looted, equipment stolen and a dam inoperative, the state-run Ethiopian Press Agency reported this week.
