Seven million people need humanitarian aid including emergency food assistance, according to the National Disaster Risk Management Commission (NDRMC). The Commission conducted an assessment beginning in June 2019 and discovered that seven million people have been in need of food assistance, requiring over one billion dollars in humanitarian aid, according to Debebe Zewede, public relations director at the Commission. Noting that six million people are now receiving food aid, the Commission says that is a reduction from the preceding year when the country had eight million people on food aid. Debebe stated that Ethiopia has been facing a recurrent drought phenomenon unlike past years. “The incident is affecting the country’s economy and the lives of the people,” he said.