According to information released by the UN World Food Program (WFP), 50 relief workers died in Ethiopia in 2024 while performing their humanitarian duties.
In a late-Sunday Ethiopia country brief, the World Food Program (WFP) stated that the country’s various security situations are having an impact on its humanitarian operations.
The most recent victim of relief worker violence, according to the statement, was a driver for a WFP partner organization who was 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 added that fuel shortages, road blockages, and insecurity continue to cause supply chain interruptions across its operations. “These issues have impacted WFP’s operational efficiency in resources and time,” it stated.
The UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (UNOCHA) said in February of this year that, as of 2019, 46 humanitarian workers had died in Ethiopia, 36 of them were connected to hostilities in the country’s north.
“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.
In the meantime, the WFP added in its most recent brief that a budget shortfall is impeding its work in Ethiopia. It made a plea for immediate financial assistance from foreign donors, stating that it needs $374 million to fund its response in Ethiopia for the ensuing six months.
