Addis Ababa – The International Organization for Migration (IOM) today received over 1,500 rolls of heavy-duty plastic sheeting from the US Agency for International Development (USAID) that will be used to provide temporary shelter relief to tens of thousands of people displaced by conflict in the Tigray region of Ethiopia.

IOM will immediately transport and distribute the supplies to people in need across Tigray, where conflict has forced an estimated 1 million people to flee their homes. Many are now sleeping outside or in crowded shelters. The donated shelter supplies include sleeping mats, blankets, and basic household items including kitchen sets with pots, pans, and cooking utensils.

“Over the past five months, the United States has been working tirelessly with our Ethiopian and international partners to provide emergency assistance to the 4.5 million Ethiopians affected by the crisis in Tigray,” US Ambassador to Ethiopia Geeta Pasi told IOM Chief of Mission Maureen Achieng and Commissioner Mitiku from Ethiopia’s National Disaster Risk Management Commission (NDRMC) at a warehouse in Addis Ababa.

“USAID’s airlift of durable plastic sheeting is on top of the already USD 305 million of humanitarian aid.”

IOM’s Achieng applauded the contribution.

“The generosity of the United States as demonstrated through the emergency shelter materials for the displaced men, women and children of Tigray comes at a moment of dire need,” she said. “It will ensure that even as we work on lasting solutions to the displacement, the affected IDPs can still live lives of safety and dignity.”

The latest relief supplies are part of the United States, IOM, United Nations, and international humanitarian organizations’ broader contribution to help people in Tigray. More than 60 per cent of the USD 500 million in international humanitarian assistance to Tigray has come from the US.

For more information, please contact:

Kaye Viray at IOM Ethiopia, Tel: +251993531220, Email: kkviray@iom.int

William Herkewitz at USAID Ethiopia, Tel: +251911509472, Email: tbeckman@usaid.gov