A humanitarian crisis is developing in northern Ethiopia, driven by drought, crop failure, and ongoing insecurity following a devastating war. Local officials have warned that over two million people are now at risk of starvation. The media has gained exclusive access to some of the worst-affected areas in Tigray province and analyzed satellite images to show the full extent of the emergency.
July is a critical period for food security as farmers need to plant crops to benefit from seasonal rains. Satellite images show that reservoirs and the farmlands they irrigate have dried up due to last year’s failed rains. These need to be replenished by seasonal rains for any chance of a successful harvest later in the year.
Images of the Korir dam and reservoir, located about 45km (28 miles) north of Tigray’s capital, Mekele, illustrate the crisis. A June 2023 photograph shows a small lake with an artificial barrier, known as a micro-dam, and fertile land irrigated by the reservoir. By June 2024, the reservoir is empty, and the fields are parched. Without adequate rainfall, the irrigation system cannot operate, leaving farmers unable to sustain themselves.
Demtsu Gebremedhin, a former farmer of tomatoes, onions, and sorghum, remains hopeful despite the dire situation, saying, “Even though our dam has no water, our land will not go anywhere. So we don’t give up and we hope we will go back to farming.”
Tigray’s population is estimated to be between six and seven million. The region recently emerged from a two-year crisis between local Tigray forces and the federal government and its allies, resulting in hundreds of thousands of deaths from conflict, starvation, and lack of healthcare. Displacement camps were established to provide refuge and humanitarian support.
Despite the war’s end, many people remain in camps, dependent on food aid due to the lack of rainfall and subsequent crop failure crisis. One camp near the town of Shire, about 280km (174 miles) by road from the Korir dam, shelters over 30,000 people. Tsibktey Teklay, who lost her husband in the war, now cares for her five children in the camp. She hopes to return to farming, saying, “If we can return to our hometown, our children can work or go to school. So I hope that after our miserable life here, this will be the best future for them.”
Doctors at a hospital in Endabaguna, about 20km (12 miles) south of Shire, report increasing numbers of malnourished children. Medical director Dr. Gebrekristos Gidey notes that 20-year-old Abeba Yeshalem gave birth prematurely due to malnutrition. “We don’t have the resources to care for all those in need,” he says.
Dr. Gebrehiwet Gebregzabher, head of Tigray’s Disaster Risk Management Commission, describes the current period as the “peak hunger season,” when food supplies run low, and crops must be planted for the October harvest. He estimates 2.1 million people are at risk of starvation, with another 2.4 million reliant on uncertain aid supplies.
Data from Ethiopia’s meteorology agency shows that poor rains last year led to drought in Tigray’s northern regions and neighboring Afar, while heavy rains in the south caused flooding. Rainfall in early 2024 was below normal in large parts of Tigray, with some improvement in March.
Prof. Alex de Waal, executive director of the World Peace Foundation at Tufts University, warns that famine is a man-made disaster that often goes unrecognized until it’s too late. He compares the current situation in Tigray to the 1984 famine that killed as many as a million people. De Waal criticizes the lack of attention to the crisis, noting that aid agencies have mapped the scale of the emergency based on failed rains, ongoing insecurity, and limited access for aid distribution.
The federal government in Addis Ababa disputes warnings of critical food shortages. Shiferaw Teklemariam, head of Ethiopia’s national Disaster Risk Management Commission, asserts there are no impending dangers of famine in Tigray or elsewhere in Ethiopia. He says officials are addressing the country’s challenges and prioritizing those most in need.
Relations between the Ethiopian government and aid agencies have been strained, with allegations of blocked food aid during the conflict. In 2021, the government expelled seven senior UN workers, accusing them of interfering in the country’s internal affairs. Last year, the UN’s World Food Programme and USAID suspended food aid to Ethiopia, citing evidence of stolen humanitarian supplies, resuming deliveries only in November.
Despite these tensions, aid agencies continue to call for increased funding to meet the extensive humanitarian needs. The UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (UNOCHA) acknowledges that current funding is insufficient but emphasizes that available resources are directed towards the most urgent, life-saving responses.
