Italian agency AICS reaffirms its support to the Ethiopian Government to tackle the humanitarian crisis in the West Guji and Gedeo zones.
ADDIS ABABA (OnuItalia)–The Italian Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation, in close coordination with the Italian Agency for Development Cooperation (AICS), has granted a financial contribution of 500,000 Euros to IOM (International Organization for Migration), the UN Migration Agency, in response to the humanitarian crisis in the Gedeo and West Guji zones in Ethiopia.
The Italian contribution will be used to deliver emergency shelters, distribute essential aid items and provide support to mobile health clinics serving the population affected by the crisis.
According to IOM, since April 2018 some 970,000 people have been displaced by conflict between communities living along the border of two of Ethiopia’s Regional States. The majority of those displaced fled West Guji and are sheltering in Gedeo, although, there are displaced communities in West Guji too.
With this allocation, Italy reaffirms its support to the Ethiopian Government to tackle the humanitarian emergency in the West Guji – Gedeo zones. Civil Society Organizations (CSOs) will also be involved in the delivery of the Non Food Items provided through the Italian contribution which will support around 100,000 Internally displaced people (IDPs).
“In close coordination with the Government authorities of Ethiopia and UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), IOM will use the Italian contribution to scale up the response for internally displaced people in Gedeo and West Guji and to alleviate the critical situation in the region with special attention to the most vulnerable,” said Maureen Achieng, IOM Ethiopia Chief of Mission and Representative to the African Union, IGAD and UNECA.
According to OCHA’s update on the humanitarian crisis, the Ethiopian Government and partners have taken several measures to enhance response coordination and to boost response capacity at site level. Two Emergency Operation Centers (EOCs) were established in Dilla Town of Southern Nations, Nationalities, and Peoples Region and in Bule Hora Town of Oromia Region.
Source: OnuItalia