50 Aid Workers Lost Lives on Humanitarian Duty in Ethiopia in 2024: WFP

ADDIS ABABA, Xinhua: Some 50 aid workers have lost their lives while in line of humanitarian duty in Ethiopia in 2024, the United Nations World Food Program (WFP) has disclosed.

The WFP said, in an Ethiopia country brief published late Sunday, that insecurity situations are affecting its humanitarian operations in different parts of the East African country.

It said the latest of aid worker casualties was a driver of a WFP cooperating partner organization, who was recently shot and killed in Ethiopia’s Amhara region.

“The driver of Medical Teams International, a WFP cooperating partner, was shot and killed in Amhara region. He is one of the 50 aid workers who have lost their lives in line of humanitarian duty in Ethiopia in 2024,” it said.

WFP further said it continues to face supply chain disruptions across its activities due to insecurity, road blockage, and fuel shortage. “These issues have impacted WFP’s operational efficiency in resources and time,” it said.

In February this year, the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (UNOCHA) said that since 2019, 46 aid workers have lost their lives in Ethiopia, of whom 36 were related to conflicts in northern Ethiopia.

“Humanitarian partners are not targeted by weapon bearers, however, the volatility of the security situation and the multiplicity of armed actors involved, including local militias and armed civilians, pose a high risk for aid personnel and relief operations,” the UNOCHA said.

Meanwhile, the WFP in its latest brief further said funding gap is hampering its operations in Ethiopia. It appealed for urgent funding from international donors as it requires 374 million U.S. dollars to cover its response in Ethiopia for the next six months.