This report was issued by the Regional Emergency Coordination Center of Tigray on January 27, 2023. It includes updates for the period between January 20-26 from the following clusters:

• Food
• Logistic
• Nutrition
• Health
• WASH
• Emergency Shelter & NFI
• CCCM
• Education
• Protection
• Agriculture

The document ends with a framework of a plan to support IDP return, which is still in an early stage.

Major Highlights

• New areas of Tigray are now considered accessible, however in many cases no humanitarian supplies have actually made it in. 

• [DB Note: A significant amount of food has been reportedly transported into Naeder, Adet, and Chila, if the next Food Cluster Update shows that food distribution is happening in these areas, the blockade of Tigray will be confined to Western Tigray and Irob/Zalanbesa.]

• Within Tigray, 1,986 MT of food and NFI were dispatched from Jan 20-26.

Select Cluster Updates:

Food Cluster Update

• Food partners report that 487,771 people were reached from Jan 20-26, this is nearly half of the planned weekly target.

• The ECC report puts the total food dispatched into Tigray at 116,800 metric tons and notes that Zala Anbesa town, Aheferom, Emba Sieneti, Erob, and Gulo Mekeda are receiving food rations in neighboring worederas. 

• The Food Cluster reports that they are still unable to deliver food to 525,519 (10%) of the people known to be in urgent need of food assistance in round 2 (2022).

• They need access. As noted, there are still areas of Tigray where hostile forces are present. 

• There is a cash shortage. With the banking system in Tigray still down, aid groups are forced to fly cash into Tigray in planes.

• They need assessments. Aid groups are trying to ensure that those in most urgent needs are covered. This is difficult due to multiple displacements, limited government structure, and the presence of armed groups.

• They need the local civil society of Tigray to be allowed to restart. Local governments have not been able to pay staff, commercial supplies are not available, and basic services have still not resumed in areas of Tigray. 

• Food assistance needs to be complimented with agriculture and livelihood support in order to improve food security. For more on Tigray’s agricultural needs see this report, which is also included in this analysis.

Logistics Cluster

• Coming into Tigray: Last week 408 trucks of humanitarian supplies arrived in Tigray (404 into Mekelle from Semera, 3 in Shire from Gondar, 1 from Kombolcha)

• Transported within Tigray: 2MT of health items to Ayder hospital and IDP sites in Maichew, Abi Adi, Mekoni, Koraro; 58.5MT of agricultural supplies transported from Mekelle to Shire. 

Nutrition Cluster

• Nearly 17,000 children under 5 screened: 3% SAM Rate, 18 MAM rate. 480 admitted for treatment 

• 4,300 pregnant or lactating women screened: 45% acutely malnourished

• The welfare of health workers is cited as the greatest hurdle to the delivery of timely and quality health and nutrition services; secondary challenges are supply misuse and increasing cost of RUSF. 

Health Cluster

• Cases of malaria appear to have skyrocketed in Tigray compared to last year, but it is unclear how much of the increase is due to increased access. 

• WHO investigated suspected measles outbreaks in Abiadi and Shire and concluded that the cases were chicken pox.

• Six maternal deaths reported and 16 neonatal deaths.

• 61 cases of anthrax(?) and one death. 

• No supplies to test COVID or HIV

• OPD service has been reduced by 75% compared with pre-war, emergency care nearly halved.

• Delivery of medicines and supplies is still well below the demand.

• There are 79 Mobile Health teams operating in Tigray.

• Major needs include rabies and anthrax vaccines, chemotherapy drugs, lab supplies; and a formal line of communication with FMoH

WASH Cluster

• WASH partners are preparing to scale up services and have supplies in hand to operate.
• What appear to be very low WASH goals are not being met. Further context is needed.

Agricultural Cluster

• Several livestock outbreaks reported.
• Major challenges cited were: (1) animal disease outbreaks, (2) limited livestock input support, (3) inadequate agricultural inputs (seeds, pesticides, fertilizers), damages to vet clinics

Duke Burbridge summarized the update for Tghat.

Report Below