Food security in Tigray has plummeted after 15 months of conflict with almost 40% (2 million people) of the Tigrayan population now severly food insecure, said the UN World Food Programme (WFP) at today's release of its latest food security assessment. 

It found that more than 80 % of the population (4,6 million people) are food insecure and struggle to find enough to eat.  

“Severe hunger is tightening its grip on northern Ethiopia”, said Tomson Phiri, WFP’s spokesperson at a news briefing at the UN in Geneva. “After 15 months of conflict, almost 40% of Tigrayans are suffering in extreme lack of food. Meanwhile, across all three conflict affected regions of the north, it is estimated 9 million people are in need of humanitarian food assistance, the highest number yet”.

Families are exhausting all means to feed themselves with three quarters of the population using extreme coping strategies to survive. Diets are increasingly impoverished as food items become unavailable and families are forced of limiting portion sizes.

“In terms of nutrition, they say they found that 13% of Tigrayan children under the age of five and half of all pregnant and nursing women are malnourished”, said WFP’s Tomson Phiri. “This obviously is leading to poor pregnancy outcomes, low-birth weight, stunting and even maternal death”. He added that “famine is not being declared in Tigray. We have people who are in IPC phase 4 and IPC phase 5.”

However, IPC phase 4 and IPC phase 5 means “famine like conditions”, according to Mr. Phiri. WFP is calling on all parties to the conflict to agree to a humanitarian pause and formally agreed transport corridors, so that supplies can reach the millions besieged by hunger.  

“WFP estimates that on average, crisis-affected families in northern Ethiopia were getting less than 30 percent of their caloric needs in the past months, pushing people deeper into crisis”, said Mr. Phiri. “It’s expected that that constant humanitarian food assistance will be required at least throughout 2022.”

According to WFP, in the Amhara region, hunger has more than doubled in five months because of the fighting between the Ethiopian National Defense Force (ENDF) and the Tigray Forces (TF).

In Afar region, to the east of Tigray, conflict-driven displacement is pushing hunger and malnutrition rates up. Malnutrition rates for children under five were at 28 percent, far above the emergency threshold of 15 percent.

“Most recently, however, no convoy has reached Tigray since mid-December”, reported WFP’s Tomson Phiri. “Fighting and insecurity means the World Food Program and other humanitarian actors are struggling to reach areas that have been cut off by the conflict, in conditions that risk the safety of both our staff and other volunteers as well as the security of humanitarian supplies.”

Since March, WFP has reached almost 4 million people across northern Ethiopia with food and nutrition assistance.

Jens Laerke, Spokesperson for the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) raised the lack of access due to the ongoing fighting: “In Tigray, the United Nations and our NGO partners have been forced to scale back operations because of the severe shortages of supplies, fuel and cash. Organizations have warned that operations could seize completely by the end of February. Nutrition supplies for supplementary feeding and treatment of severe acute malnutrition have already run out.”

Laerke added that “the reason why these supplies are not getting through over land at the moment is the fighting that is going on around Abala”.  

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1. Exterior wide shot, United Nations Palace of Nations, Geneva. UN flag flying.
2. Wide shot, press room UN Geneva.
3. SOUNDBITE (English): Tomson Phiri, Spokesperson for the World Food Program (WFP): “Severe hunger is tightening its grip on northern Ethiopia. After 15 months of conflict, almost 40% of Tigrayans are suffering in extreme lack of food. Meanwhile, across all three conflict affected regions of the north, it is estimated 9 million people are in need of humanitarian food assistance, the highest number yet.”
4. Medium shot, masked participants listening.
5. SOUNDBITE (English): Tomson Phiri, Spokesperson for the World Food Program (WFP): “In terms of nutrition, they say they found that 13% of Tigrayan children under the age of five and half of all pregnant and nursing women are malnourished. This obviously is leading to poor pregnancy outcomes, low-birth weight, stunting and even maternal death.”
6. Wide shot, podium speakers seated with TV screen on his left side.
7. SOUNDBITE (English): Tomson Phiri, Spokesperson for the World Food Program (WFP): “No, famine is not being declared in Tigray. We have people who are in IPC phase 4 and IPC phase 5.”
8. Medium-wide shot, camera screen showing participants, podium speakers to rear.
9. SOUNDBITE (English): Tomson Phiri, Spokesperson for the World Food Program (WFP): “WFP estimates that on average, crisis-affected families in northern Ethiopia were getting less than 30 percent of their caloric needs in the past months, pushing people deeper into crisis. It’s expected that that constant humanitarian food assistance will be required at least throughout 2022.”
10. Medium shot, masked participant looking at laptop.
11. SOUNDBITE (English): Tomson Phiri, Spokesperson for the World Food Program (WFP): “Most recently, however, no convoy has reached Tigray since mid-December. Fighting and insecurity means the World Food Program and other humanitarian actors are struggling to reach areas that have been cut off by the conflict, in conditions that risk the safety of both our staff and other volunteers as well as the security of humanitarian supplies.”
12. Medium shot, participant looking at laptop, podium speakers to rear.
13. SOUNDBITE (English): Jens Laerke, Spokesperson for the Office of the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA): “In Tigray, the United Nations and our NGO partners have been forced to scale back operations because of the severe shortages of supplies, fuel and cash. Organizations have warned that operations could seize completely by the end of February. Nutrition supplies for supplementary feeding and treatment of severe acute malnutrition have already run out.”
14. Medium shot, masked participant taking notes on laptop.
15. SOUNDBITE (English): Jens Laerke, Spokesperson for the Office of the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA): “The reason why these supplies are not getting through over land at the moment is the fighting that is going on around Abala”.
16. Medium shot, masked participants looking away with cameraman to rear.
17. Wide shot, press room UN Geneva, podium speakers to rear.
18. Medium shot, journalists with cameraman