A senior official in Ethiopia’s northern Tigray region has told the BBC that at least 1,400 people have starved to death since international food aid was suspended.
Gebrehiwet Gebrezgabher said the number of dead could be much higher.
The UN World Food Programme and the US aid agency, USaid, halted food relief to the region several months ago because donations were being stolen.
Tigray was hit by acute food shortages when a brutal conflict broke out in 2020 between the Ethiopian government and the Tigray People’s Liberation Front. Six million people were affected.
The conflict ended last year with a peace deal brokered by the African Union.
The WFP told the BBC it was accelerating efforts to resume food aid, and ensuring that the most stringent processes were place to best serve those most in need.
Credit || BBC Africa
