Ethiopia: WHO chief warns northern violence is pushing the health system to the brink after weekend drone strikes

The head of the World Health Organization called on 2 November for greater protection of civilians in northern Ethiopia, after what he described as deadly drone strikes over the weekend in the Amhara and Tigray regions. Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said the violence is pushing an already fragile health system closer to collapse, according to UN News.

Writing in a post on social media, Tedros said reports of attacks on civilians in the two regions were “deeply disturbing”. He said children, including a newborn, were among those killed at a displacement camp in Amhara. In a separate strike in the town of Rama, in Tigray, several people were reportedly killed while trying to get food. The WHO chief’s account is the only description of the incidents available so far, and the UN report does not give a death toll.

A health system under strain

“Drone attacks and civilian casualties have tragically become frequent across Ethiopia,” Tedros said. He listed the pressures on the health system: hospitals face shortages of health workers, medicines and equipment, ambulance services are severely limited, and insecurity is obstructing the delivery of life-saving medical supplies to some areas.

The WHO and its partners, he said, are working around the clock to deliver additional medical supplies to all the affected regions. He warned that as fighting continues, more people are likely to lose access to essential healthcare, including emergency services, maternal and child care and treatment for diseases. “The best medicine is peace,” he said.

Fighting that resumed in September

UN News reports that fresh fighting between Ethiopian government forces and rebel groups resumed in Amhara, Tigray and Afar in September, nearly four years after a peace deal. UN Secretary-General António Guterres has warned of the risk of escalation and wider destabilisation. According to UN News, he said last Friday that he was appalled by recent attacks on civilians, including on health facilities.

In that statement, issued by his Spokesperson, the Secretary-General called on the parties to spare the civilian population and critical infrastructure and to agree “without delay to a cessation of hostilities as a first step towards ending this devastating conflict”. He renewed his appeal for the parties to engage in good faith with mediation efforts.

Earlier coverage

On 21 October the WHO announced it was scaling up its emergency health response across Afar, Amhara and Tigray, having delivered more than 71 metric tonnes of supplies; we reported it in WHO scales up emergency health response in Afar, Amhara and Tigray, delivering 71 tonnes of supplies. The UN’s humanitarian funding for the north is covered in UN releases $8.5 million for northern Ethiopia as access to Tigray improves but fighting continues.

The Ethiopian government and the rebel groups have not been quoted in the UN report on the weekend strikes, and the circumstances of the attacks have not been independently established in the sources read for this article.