Ethiopian PM arrives in Jigjiga to assess the drought situation in the region

Goobjoog News/Jigjiga: Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed together with a high-level delegation arrived today morning in Jigjiga, the capital of the Somali Regional State of Ethiopia to assess the drought situation in the region.

Abiy Ahmed was received by the Regional President Mustafa Omar, and is expected to visit areas severely affected by the drought and review humanitarian operations.

The Ethiopian Prime Minister’s visit to Jigjiga was in response to a request from the Omar administration to address the worsening drought situation in the area.

The severe drought has forced hundreds of pastoralists from some of the most drought-stricken zones in Ethiopia’s Somali Region to move to a neighboring town 50 kilometers South-East of Jigjiga, in search of livelihood.

The drought situation in the region has been exacerbated by floods and the recent locust invasion which has rapidly depleted food levels.