The scale of need in Ethiopia
Many people need humanitarian support
Large numbers of people are displaced
Countless families are in need of shelter
What is happening in Ethiopia?
Ethiopia is in crisis. People have been forced to flee their homes due to violent conflict, rising hunger and economic instability.
One of the most notable armed conflicts has been in Tigray, where many people are now in need of humanitarian assistance and have been displaced. Although a ceasefire has now been agreed, the needs are still great. Other areas of Ethiopia as also seeing significant conflict and displacement.
In addition to the conflict, the Horn of Africa has experienced five below-average rain seasons. People are struggling to meet their basic food and water needs, and are taking drastic action to survive.
Large numbers of people have left their homes because of the drought.
Rising food prices are making the situation worse. Below average harvests and rising international prices, partly caused by the Ukraine conflict, have caused the cost of a food basket to increase by 66%.
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Where is Ethiopia?
Ethiopia is a landlocked country in East Africa. It borders Eritrea, Djibouti, Somalia, Kenya, and Sudan.
It is a hugely diverse country, with ten ethnic regions.
The country is affected by four crises. The conflict in Tigray, the drought in the Horn of Africa, seasonal flooding in the West, Central and Northern regions, and inter-communal violence. These crises have caused millions of people to leave their homes.
How is ShelterBox supporting people in Ethiopia?
The crisis in Ethiopia has left millions of people in need. We have supported over 157,000 people in Ethiopia since 2018.
Working with our partner IOM, we have supported a total of 35,000 people in the Afar and Somali regions in the last year. Families have received shelter kit packages.
These contain: a tarpaulin, rope, sleeping mat, mosquito net, high thermal blanket, kitchen set, wash basin, jug, solar light, a jerry can for carrying water and a non-food item bag, which provides essential living materials.
Our next project is underway to support thousands of people either displaced or returning home, in Tigray. This is with our partner Positive Action for Development (PAD).
We are tailoring our response for different communities because people living in low lying areas need different support to people living in the highlands which are cooler and less susceptible to flooding. We’ve also adjusted our aid to support people with disabilities.
Emergency shelter kits have arrived in Tigray and are being distributed, with other items like kitchen sets, solar lights, blankets, sleeping mats, and mosquito nets. All remaining items should be distributed by the end of the month.
Our team had a successful deployment to Ethiopia for training, distributions and content collection workshops to PAD teams in Shire.
We also started planning our next project (project 8), visiting an area home to 35,000 internally displaced people across three extremely overcrowded sites. There were up to 1,900 people in one shelter without partitions, minimal wash facilities, and security risks.