Left to Starve in Silence, Aid Fails the Displaced

Dec 27 , 2025. By YITBAREK GETACHEW ( FORTUNE STAFF WRITER )

The burden of the internal displacement crisis now falls on families like those in Hitsats and Bakielo camps, who are forced to depend on rapidly declining humanitarian aid while the country’s political actors debate responsibility. The failures in regional and federal responses have left hundreds of thousands at risk, with officials, aid workers, and displaced people alike warning that without immediate and comprehensive intervention, the spectre of famine will become a grim reality for many.

In the war-scarred northern regions, a humanitarian emergency is unfolding in slow motion, marked by rising starvation, eroding health conditions, and a sharp decline in international assistance.

Camps for internally displaced persons (IDPs) across Tigray and Amhara regional states are becoming epicentres of a disaster that has gradually slipped off the radar.

At the Hitsats camp of Asgede Wereda, near Indasilase–Shire in the north-west zone of the regional state, displaced families report a steep drop in food aid, both in quantity and reliability, leaving them in a precarious struggle for survival. The camp, surrounded by arid land, offers no means of subsistence, making the displaced entirely dependent on humanitarian relief that is now dwindling.

Among them is Abreha Mebratu, a priest and father of four. Separated from his children, who have gone to Eritrea and Sudan, Abreha lives alone, with no news of their fate. Once a prosperous farmer with nearly 10hct of land, Abreha now survives on meagre monthly rations of 15Kg of grain and half a litre of oil.

“There is no food to survive," he said. "We're now burying people because of hunger. This should never happen to people who can work and support themselves.”

The absence of medical supplies and the inability to meet other essential needs have compounded the crisis. He is unsure how people in the camp are expected to grind sorghum without support. Declining to detail the daily hardships, he stated "miraculous survival."

"It's an ugly life, and we need more treatment and more help to stay alive,” Abreha said.

He is one of the over 2.4 million people affected across Tigray Regional State, a number determined after a multi-sectoral seasonal assessment for the "meher" was conducted.

The crisis in Tigray Regional State is mirrored in the neighbouring Amhara Regional State. In South and North Wollo, humanitarian aid remains inadequate, and people continue to struggle, particularly in the Janamora District of North Gondar. Hunger-related deaths have been reported, with residents warning that the situation could deteriorate if conditions persist. Drought has worsened the food crisis in some areas, while ongoing security risks make it difficult for IDPs to find work or daily labour.

In both regional states, displaced families endure acute shortages in camps like Hitsats and Bakielo near Debre Birhan, 130Km northeast of Addis Abeba. Even at sites considered better managed, many families sleep in warehouses and depend on irregular labour to survive. For Abera Alemu, supporting a household shared with four families has become a tremendous burden due to unstable employment. After searching for work in the city, he found only two days of temporary labour, insufficient to meet essential needs.

“I was able to work and support my family," said Abera. "Now I'm losing everything. Hunger alone is overwhelming, and it becomes unbearable when I see my children suffering.”

Once a productive farmer in East Wollega Zone, Oromia Regional State, Abera now begs to feed his children.

“What kind of future can I expect for my children when they are exposed to things no child should face?” he asked. “We need urgent support to survive, not for me, but for my children.”

An official from the Debre Berhan city administration, who spoke on condition of anonymity, described the situation of IDPs as dire throughout the regional state, where 660,000 people are sheltered, according to UNOCHA data for this year. These are part of the 4.5 million internally displaced people in Tigray, Amhara, Oromia and Somali regional states.

However, humanitarian aid has dropped. As of mid-2025, the situation is projected to be even worse, where appeals were made for 46 billion dollars, but only 7.64 billion dollars (less than 17pc) had been received by the end of July this year, a vast shortfall compared to the previous year.  While some help comes from private sources and government bodies, it is far from enough. According to the official, there is a need for urgent intervention, warning that further delays could result in more deaths and worsening displacement.

The International Organisation for Migration (IOM) has mapped about 146 displacement sites as of August. In Tigray Regional State, most sites are in school compounds, disrupting the host community's education. Humanitarian partners have built 12 dedicated camps in the region and four in Amhara Regional State, yet conditions remain difficult. Since the conflict began in 2020, 56 organisations, including UN agencies and Ethiopia’s Disaster Risk Management Commission, have provided aid, distributing over 688,000 kits containing bedding, kitchenware, and hygiene items.

Nearly one million people have received plastic sheeting, but overall humanitarian supplies are increasingly strained as funding for shelter and non-food aid has sharply declined since 2024 and continues to fall.

A west Tigray zone under the Tigray Interim Administration, led by Gedey Azenew, is monitoring the situation at Hitsats camp, where more than 14,000 displaced people live. According to Gedey, over 330 recent deaths from “high-level starvation” were reported, and he warned that prolonged displacement weakens immunity and increases vulnerability to health complications. Food assistance from NGOs, which is limited to 15Kg of sorghum and one litre of oil per person per month, has proved insufficient, and many organisations have withdrawn their support. Restrictions on displaced individuals buying extra food have worsened the crisis.

“Aid from NGOs is of poor quality and, in some areas, not suitable for consumption,” Gedey told Fortune. “Beyond that, they only provide oil; no salt, no pepper, no money for grinding, and nothing else. At this point, lives are being lost to hunger and disease.”

Federal authorities accuse the Tigray People’s Liberation Front (TPLF), the political party controlling life in the regional state, of diverting aid, which they claim has worsened food insecurity. Shiferaw Teklemariam (PhD), commissioner of the Disaster Risk Reduction Management Commission, has stated that humanitarian supplies provided by the federal government are being misused, with aid redirected through shelter centres and safety net programs for political ends.

“The humanitarian aid being sent is being diverted from its intended purpose,” he said.

According to Shiferaw, the federal government delivered two million quintals of humanitarian aid worth 32 billion Br to the regional state between January and December 2025, describing it as “reliable and continuous.”

Gedey countered this claim, focusing on aggregate figures that miss the deterioration in the quantity and quality of aid.

“The situation is beyond our capacity,” he said. “The federal government should not focus only on numbers but on enduring solutions.”

Gebrehiwot Gebreegziabher(PhD), head of the Disaster Risk Management Commission under the regional state, wrote a letter on December 24, 2025, to the federal Commission, calling for immediate intervention to avert a worsening humanitarian catastrophe. He stated that repeated appeals had not led to an adequate response, despite the crisis being raised during visits by senior federal government officials.

The Commission officials warned that food assistance alone is insufficient, as it fails to cover essential needs such as health, water and sanitation, clothing, and education. The crisis affects 147 IDP shelters in the regional state, with officials emphasising that the problem lies not in the delivery of food rations but in the lack of additional support. Tadese Werede (B. Gen.), president of the Interim Administration, warned that the crisis extends beyond individual camps and demands urgent intervention.

Fuel shortages have further delayed aid delivery, deepening the humanitarian burden. According to an official from the regional Risk Management Commission, “blaming each other won't put food on the table."

“The lives of people in IDP camps shouldn't be turned into an arena for political games,” he said, speaking on condition of anonymity.

Abebaw Minaye(PhD), head of the Forced Displacement & Migration Studies Centre at Addis Abeba University, echoed this view, calling the response to internal displacement "inadequate and lacking a long-term vision."

He criticised the culture of blame-shifting among authorities and urged political actors to keep humanitarian aid out of politics.

“IDP camps should be addressed as spaces of human suffering, not political leverage,” he said. “People in both regions are paying the price for political disputes. They should be seen first and foremost as human beings in need of urgent humanitarian support.”

After recently visiting IDP camps in South and North Wollo, he characterised displaced populations as “forgotten,” with camps evolving into permanent urban-like settlements that lack infrastructure.

“Unless the government works toward permanent solutions, conditions will persist,” Abebaw said.

He argued that while reductions in international aid have deepened the crisis, the federal government bears primary responsibility. He insisted that safe returns of the displaced, the allocation of new land, or the establishment of permanent settlements should be considered a way forward.

However, unaddressed and unresolved political disputes continue to block all three options. According to Abebaw, in some camps, food rations are distributed only once every three to six months, and poor-quality sorghum and broken water systems are adding to the suffering.

“Durable solutions are needed," Abebaw told Fortune. "Until resettlement happens, people must be fed. Too often, discussions focus on plans while ignoring immediate survival.”

PUBLISHED ON Dec 27,2025 [ VOL 26 , NO 1339]