NEW YORK, 18 December, 2020, (TON): The UN has released $36.6 million for civilians caught up in the conflict that has roiled Ethiopia’s Tigray region since early last month, in order to secure water, sanitation and lifesaving medical supplies.

Violence broke out in Tigray in early November when Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed launched military operations targeting Tigray's ruling party.

In Ethiopia itself, $25 million will go toward the purchase of medicine and medical gear to help sick or wounded civilians, and to buy food and provide drinking water, the UN said.

In neighboring Sudan, where more than 50,000 people have fled to escape the fighting, another $10.6 million is being disbursed to help these refugees.

The UN Emergency Relief Coordinator, Mark Lowcock, said that after six weeks of conflict, “the civilian toll is mounting. Women and children arrive in Sudan with disturbing stories of violence, deprivation and abuse. Many have not made it out.

Relief chief Lowcock has released $13 million from the UN’s Central Emergency Response Fund (CERF) to help people inside Ethiopia, with a further $5 million allocated for refugees newly arrived in Sudan.  On top of this funding, $12 million has been released from the UN’s Humanitarian Fund in Ethiopia and $5.6 million from the UN’s Sudan Humanitarian Fund.

Women, children, older people and disabled people will be prioritized as the funding is disbursed, the UN said.

The UN’s emergency funds will help health facilities get medicines, gloves and other supplies to care for the sick and injured, and fund nutrition, drinking water and shelter. In Sudan, the funding will prioritize life-saving assistance to refugees, including shelter, health care and drinking water.

Tigray, an impoverished region of about six million people, faced formidable food security challenges before the conflict began, compounded this year by the coronavirus pandemic and the worst desert locust infestation in decades.