ICRC, ERCS distribute emergency assistance to 2,615 displaced households in North Ethiopia

The ICRC and the Ethiopian Red Cross Society (ERCS) jointly distributed 1,167 essential household items to people affected by ethnic violence in Gondar town and its environs in Amhara Region in northern Ethiopia.

Plastic sheets, sleeping mats, blankets, jerry cans, cooking utensils and soaps were delivered to each displaced household in Zobel, Ershasaebel and Arebaba areas located in Gondar town and its vicinity.

Banchialem Derege, is one of the recipients of the assistance and has four family members. "Our houses and properties were destroyed during the violence. We have nothing. Thus, the support we got is very important in partially mitigating our problems," she remarked.

According to Wilson Mondal, an ICRC delegate, the support, aimed at meeting the basic needs of the displaced persons, had benefitted about 7,000 displaced people.

A local official in charge of facilitating support for displaced persons, Melaku Gebre said the goods provided by the Red Cross would have paramount importance in alleviating the problems of the affected communities.

Meanwhile, 1,448 other displaced persons in Tekele Dingay area in Central Gondar Zone received cash assistance from the ICRC and the ERCS. Each household received a sum of 4,000 Birr. Tagash Zemedagegnehu, an economist working for the ICRC, noted the cash assistance would allow the beneficiaries to cover their essential needs.

In Ethiopia, the ICRC provides assistance to displaced people, consisting mainly of essential goods, cash, seeds and farming tools, and re-establishes basic services such as water supply and health care, with the objective of protecting the lives and restoring livelihoods of communities affected by ethnic violence.