Oxfam warns of growing hunger crisis in Tigray as families resort to extreme measures to survive
Families still reeling from the aftermath of a two-year conflict in Tigray are now resorting to increasingly desperate measures to survive. The conflict and erratic rainfall have further exacerbated the planting season which threatens to plunge the region into deeper humanitarian catastrophe if nothing is done, warns Oxfam.
Hareyat (50), a mother of four girls in Kola Tambien at Meles Preparatory school which is now sheltering displaced people, said: “We are hungry, our children have nothing to eat sometimes for an entire day. Pregnant women and mothers with small babies are suffering. The hunger is so unbearable that mothers are forcing their children to sleep for longer hours to avoid hunger pains since there is nothing to feed them. Mothers are also having to feed their children roots meant for animals in order to survive.”
Nearly 400 people according to the national Ombudsman in the Tigray region – mostly children and elderly – have already died of starvation in the last six months. 3.5 million people in Tigray are in urgent need of food assistance with one million people facing acute hunger. Unless humanitarian efforts are drastically scaled-up, the region could risk plunging into further starvation.
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