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UN needs millions for aid in Ethiopia 

Ethiopian farmer, Haile Gebre Kirstos, 70, uses a cattle-drawn plough to tend to his field in Mai Mekden, in the Tigray region of northern Ethiopia. Once-lush fields lie barren.
Ethiopia’s government is trying to boost food production through peace and development initiatives to protect the country from hunger crises. KEYSTONE/Copyright 2023 The Associated Press. All rights reserved

With the hunger crisis in Africa not only affecting Sudan, but also neighbouring Ethiopia, the United Nations (UN) wants to support 15.5 million people there this year. However, there is a lack of funds.   

At a donor conference in Geneva on Tuesday, the UN campaigned for the funding of a requirement plan. Less than 5% of the $3.24 billion (CHF2.96 billion) needed for this year has been raised so far, the UN emergency aid office OCHA reported. 

The UN hoped that governments at the conference would raise a third of the sum needed for the most pressing aid over the next five months. On Monday in Paris, a donor conference for Sudan, which has been devastated by a civil war for the last year, raised €2 billion (CHF1.94 billion) in aid.   

+Switzerland promises millions to help fight poverty and climate change in Africa

In addition to conflicts that repeatedly displace people, Ethiopia also suffers from droughts and floods, and around 4.5 million people are displaced in the country. According to the UN, many people in parts of the Afar, Ahmara and Tigray regions are severely malnourished and fields, water supplies, clinics and schools have been destroyed by years of conflict.   

+Switzerland renews contribution to climate fund for developing countries

Ethiopia’s Foreign Minister Taye Atske Selassie said that dealing with the consequences of climate change was a global responsibility. The government is trying to boost food production through peace and development initiatives to protect the country from hunger crises. 

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Translated from German by DeepL/kp 

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