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The conflict in Tigray compounded by climate-fueled locust infestations and coronavirus has left millions of people in desperate need of humanitarian aid yet access to those affected continues to be restricted, warned Oxfam today. 

As the international community gathers in New York this week for the Horn of Africa High Level Pledging Conference, we urge global donors to address the impact of the climate injustice taking place in the region by making the financial pledges required to fully fund the humanitarian response and help address immediate and long-term needs across Ethiopia, Kenya and Somalia, where millions of people are trapped in a devastating cycle of hunger and displacement.

More than 52 million people in 18 countries across southern, eastern and central Africa are facing up to crisis levels of hunger as a result of weather extremes, compounded by poverty and conflict.  

The amount of money needed for UN humanitarian appeals involving extreme weather events like floods or drought is now eight times higher than 20 years ago — and donors are failing to keep up, reveals a new Oxfam brief today. For every $2 needed for UN weather-related appeals, donor countries are only providing $1.

Ethiopia is facing a massive drought and food insecurity crisis. The impact of failed rains and droughts have been worsened by the 2015 El Niño. Urgent humanitarian action and long-term investment is needed so that communities can become more resilient and reduce their vulnerability to weather events in the future.

In reaction to the GRFC 2023, Oxfam Global Food and Economic Security Lead, Emily Farr, said:  “For global hunger to rise for a fourth consecutive year in a world of plenty is a stain on our collective humanity. Decades of progress made to end poverty and hunger are being fast-reversed by conflict, economic shocks, and climate change.  

The Ethiopian government estimates that 10.2 million people will need humanitarian assistance this year after more than 12 months of erratic or failed rains have caused the worst drought in Ethiopia since the mid 1980s. Ethiopia is one of a number of countries struggling to cope with the effects of one of the strongest El Niños on record. 

Oxfam welcomes the ambitious Intended Nationally Determined Contribution (INDC) from Ethiopia, as it sets far-reaching short-term and long-term goals on adaptation and reducing emissions.

One in five people (282m) is now under-nourished and 93 million in 36 African countries are suffering extreme levels of hunger. Women and children are hit hardest. In Sub-Saharan Africa, one in three children under five is stunted by chronic undernutrition while two out of five women of childbearing age is anemic because of poor diets.

Six months after the conflict erupted in Tigray, thousands of farmers have nothing to plant ahead of the rainy season as the crisis compounded by climate-fueled locust devastated their tools and livestock and pushed over 5 million people to extreme levels of hunger, warned Oxfam today.