The United Nations has allocated an additional $8.5 million from the Central Emergency Response Fund (CERF) to address rapidly growing humanitarian needs in northern Ethiopia. Escalating conflict has displaced civilians and disrupted relief operations across the Tigray, Amhara, Afar, and Benishangul-Gumuz regions.
Announced by Tom Fletcher, UN Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs and Emergency Relief Coordinator, this funding is expected to reach over 202,700 people affected by recent and secondary displacement, loss of basic services, and severely restricted humanitarian capacity.
“Escalating conflict and renewed security threats are compounding humanitarian tensions in northern Ethiopia,” Fletcher stated, adding that the funds will enable humanitarian organizations to swiftly deliver shelter, health, food, protection, and water, sanitation, and hygiene (WASH) services.
The allocation covers critical sectors—including WASH, shelter, health, nutrition, and protection—as well as operational and logistics services required to deliver aid. Priority will be given to communities where basic services have been interrupted and relief capacity is insufficient.
Ozonnia Ojielo, the UN Resident and Humanitarian Coordinator in Ethiopia, noted that this additional support “complements the major ongoing efforts and response initiatives already being undertaken by the government and humanitarian partners.”
The funding allocation comes at a time when conditions in northern Ethiopia have sharply worsened due to renewed fighting in late September between Ethiopian federal forces and Tigrayan forces, jeopardizing the peace secured through the November 2022 Pretoria Agreement.
The conflict has disrupted fuel supplies, market operations, and transportation services, restricting access to food and essential commodities for households. Access to aid has been severely limited as telecommunications blackouts, flight suspensions to and from Tigray, and road closures hinder aid delivery and the movement of humanitarian workers.
With this latest allocation, CERF’s total support for Ethiopia in 2026 exceeds $22.5 million. This includes anticipatory action measures aimed at mitigating humanitarian impacts before conditions worsened in areas affected by El Niño-induced drought in the Afar and Amhara regions.
The Central Emergency Response Fund rapidly disburses funding to deliver life-saving relief during humanitarian emergencies, particularly when available resources are insufficient to meet urgent needs. The fund was established to help humanitarian agencies respond swiftly to crises and reach vulnerable populations most in need of assistance.
This new support highlights the scale of unmet needs in Ethiopia, where severe funding shortages continue to limit the reach and continuity of life-saving operations. UNICEF’s humanitarian appeal for Ethiopian children requires a total of $401.5 million, yet it remains 86 percent unfunded.