Ethiopia: Drought, Food Shortages and Child Malnutrition Deepen Humanitarian Needs in Afar, Amhara and Tigray

The three regions are facing overlapping humanitarian needs. Drought and crop failures are reducing food supplies, while rising prices make basic food harder to buy. Displaced children are especially vulnerable to acute malnutrition. Health services are also weakening because medicines are scarce, facilities have been damaged or looted, and insecurity blocks travel.

Tigray shows the crisis clearly. Screening in Laelay Adiabo, Axum and Adwa found moderate acute malnutrition among about 15% of roughly 11,800 children in internally displaced communities. In Amhara, a cholera outbreak in Wag Hamra has been complicated by limited treatment supplies. Conflict-affected parts of Afar continue to report high mental health needs.

Some access has improved, but needs remain high. Flights to Mekelle have resumed, supplies have arrived, and hospitals are restarting. Yet active fighting, road blockages and harassment still delay assistance, while the full scale of needs remains unclear without broader assessments.

About 15% of approximately 11,800 displaced children screened in Tigray had moderate acute malnutrition. That equals roughly 1,770 children. Moderate acute malnutrition is a level of recent undernutrition in which a child is too thin for their height or shows another recognized sign of inadequate nutrition. It can impair growth and increase vulnerability to illness.

The screening took place in September and October in Laelay Adiabo, Axum and Adwa. These children lived in internally displaced communities, where access to food and health services is already difficult. Their condition reflects the combined effects of displacement, drought, crop failures, rising food prices and reduced household resources.

The figure is a warning, not a complete regional total. The assessment says information about the overall scale and severity of needs remains fragmented. It identifies rapid humanitarian assessments as a priority as access improves, so agencies can better target food and health support.

Raya Azebo’s farming system has been severely damaged by drought. More than 15,000 of the woreda’s 26,000 hectares had reportedly been cultivated, but only around 400 hectares showed crop growth. Another 10,000 hectares were never planted because rainfall failed in May. This left households with little new food or income.

The main mechanism is a double squeeze. Families have less harvest to eat or sell, while food prices are rising. Many households had already exhausted their savings after almost a year without a meaningful harvest. Livestock owners also lost income as animals died from hunger and disease, prices fell, and buyers became scarce.

Food has therefore become harder to afford even as needs increase. A farmer described households struggling to buy basic food. FEWS NET projected Crisis-level food insecurity through January 2027 in parts of southern and eastern Tigray and nearby lowland areas.

Health facilities are struggling because the crisis damages every part of care delivery. Insecurity makes it difficult to transport medicines and prevents civilians from safely reaching hospitals. Shortages of medical supplies reduce treatment capacity. Delayed salaries also weaken staffing, especially where health workers leave because payments have not arrived.

Sheraro hospitals reportedly face insecurity, supply shortages and prolonged salary delays. Facilities in Wukro and Adwa, and at Adigrat University, have reportedly been looted or vandalized. In Wag Hamra, Amhara, a cholera outbreak continues while treatment supplies, including fluids, are limited. Afar also has high mental health needs in conflict-affected areas.

There are signs of recovery, but they are uneven. The World Health Organization sent more than 71 tons of medical supplies, and hospitals in Tigray began resuming operations. Still, active hostilities, road blockages and unsafe access continue to limit reliable healthcare.

Today’s humanitarian needs are rooted in a chain of crises. The 2020–2022 northern Ethiopia conflict left major needs unmet. Later fighting caused additional displacement and damage. El Niño-related drought then reduced agricultural production and household resources, adding food and livelihood pressure to communities already affected by conflict.

These pressures reinforce one another. Displaced people may lose farmland, livestock, savings and access to services. New insecurity can force civilians to move again and restrict humanitarian workers. Fighting also damages or disrupts hospitals, roads and supply routes. The assessment specifically links current needs to the earlier war, subsequent episodes of fighting and displacement, and drought.

The result is a crisis that cannot be measured fully yet. Information remains fragmented, and no overall needs assessment data was available when the document was written. Needs are likely to remain high, making rapid assessments and improved access important for planning assistance.

Humanitarian transport matters because supplies cannot help people while they remain blocked by fighting or damaged roads. Convoys carry large quantities of medicines and essential materials. Flights move personnel and urgent cargo into places that are difficult to reach by road. Open routes also allow health workers and aid organizations to resume operations.

On October 14, an inter-agency convoy delivered essential supplies, including medicines, to northern Ethiopia. The World Health Organization dispatched more than 71 tons of medical supplies. Resumed flights to Mekelle and increased movement along the Semera-Abaala-Mekelle corridor helped organizations bring staff and supplies into Tigray. The Red Cross groups also delivered equipment and medicines to several hospitals and a health centre.

These efforts can restore treatment and support hospitals as they reopen. But they do not remove the danger. Active hostilities still make access difficult or unsafe, and Amhara road blockages delay convoys. Continued access improvements are therefore essential for reliable food, medicine and care delivery.

Food insecurity occurs when households cannot consistently obtain enough safe, nutritious food for their needs. It can result from too little food being produced, too little income to purchase it, or barriers that prevent supplies from reaching markets. In these regions, all of those pressures are operating together.

Drought damaged crops in Raya Azebo, and only around 400 hectares showed growth after more than 15,000 hectares were cultivated. Families therefore had less harvest to eat or sell. Livestock losses and falling animal prices reduced income. Rising food prices then increased the cost of what remained, while insecurity and road blockages disrupted movement and market access.

The result is a powerful squeeze on households. Savings are exhausted, purchases shrink and children face greater malnutrition risks. FEWS NET projected Crisis-level food insecurity through January 2027 in parts of Tigray and nearby lowland areas. Better access and humanitarian support are needed to ease the pressure.