Today's top news: Ethiopia, Syria

August 2022. Mothers and children being treated for malnutrition at the Haro Maya stabilization Centre, Oromia region. OCHA/Manuel Morini/

Ethiopia

In the north, access continues to improve and we and our non-governmental organizations’ partners have expanded operations in Afar, Amhara, and Tigray regions.

In Tigray, over 4.7 million people have received food assistance this year. And in Afar and Amara, over 2.5 million people have received food assistance since mid-November last year.

Along with the Government, we are also scaling up the response in the south and the east, where some 11 million people in drought-affected areas need emergency food support.

In the past week, floods in parts of the Somali region have impacted close to 230,000 people. Homes, farms and infrastructure have been significantly damaged. As we are already present in the region for the drought response, we are now mobilizing support for those affected by the floods.

Meanwhile, the cholera outbreak in parts of Oromia and Somali regions is spreading with more than 2,300 cases reported – this is twice the number of reported cases in January. Fifty-one people have died, according to authorities. The response is ongoing, but we need more resources to contain the outbreak.

Given the scale of the needs across the country, additional funding is critical. We need close to $4 billion this year, but we have only received $727 million - or 18 per cent - so far.

Syria

Across the country, the UN and our partners have provided water, sanitation and hygiene support to more than 440,000 people affected by last month’s earthquakes. Rehabilitation work and emergency repairs have restored water and sanitation access for some 250,000 people.

We and our partners have provided more than 790,000 emergency protection interventions – including psychosocial support, legal assistance and services for people with special needs.

UN agencies have completed 46 cross-border missions to northwest Syria since the first interagency visit to Idleb on 14 February. More than 1,200 trucks with aid from seven UN agencies have crossed into the northwest from southern Türkiye via the three available border crossings since the earthquakes.