Addis Ababa May 18, 2022(Walta) – The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) has transported over 55 cargo flights and 4 convoys of humanitarian assistance to Tigray.
Media Relations Delegate at ICRC, Daniel Sidler told Ethiopian News Agency that the medical supplies sent will be used to treat 65,000 patients in 13 primary health care facilities for three months, 6,600 diabetic patients for a year in four hospitals, in addition to significant support for services in operations in various hospitals.
The inhabitants of Mekele, Adigrat, Adwa, Axum and Shire could also benefit from safe drinking water thanks to the treatment and maintenance of the hydraulic installations of the cities, he added.
In addition to medical support and the contribution to the water supply, the help provided by the ICRC included essential household items for 15,000 people as well as the distribution of seeds to 20,000 farmers which will also support 20,000 patients in 19 primary health care centers for one month as well as the health professionals and their families by providing them with food.
However, Sidler stressed that the assistance remains limited in view of the needs identified.
According to him, the ICRC continues providing its main assistance programs without ever being interrupted in the border of Afar and Amhara regions as well as in Oromia and Somali regions.
Activities of the ICRC in the field of health would also continue with the provision of emergency medical equipment for the care of the wounded in conflict situations and support for existing health structures in order to provide basic services to the community and displaced persons, the public relations officer stated.
In cooperation with the Ethiopian Red Cross Society (ERCS), the ICRC is providing Restoring Family Links services which include phone calls and free written messages as well as other family tracing services to individuals separated by conflict, migration or disaster, in all parts of the country.
Daniel further revealed that the ICRC has adopted a transversal approach, including prevention, risk reduction and care activities to deal with the conflict-related sexual violence in Ethiopia and its humanitarian consequences for survivors and the community as a whole.
He pointed out that all ICRC humanitarian aid distributions are carried out without any intermediary, directly to the people affected and are subject to strict controls, adding that post-distribution evaluations are carried out in order to ensure the relevance of operations.