- Sophia Petez
- BBC – World Service
Haftom can barely stand on his feet and fights for his life
Little Haftom is about five years old and his name means “rich” in the language of the Tigray region, but he suffers from severe malnutrition and his weight is half of what a child his age should be.
As the doctor lifts the boy’s jacket and sweatpants to reveal Haftom’s slender arms and legs, his mother, who declined to be named, watches the scene with an expressionless face.
This scene depicts daily reality in the Tigray region of northern Ethiopia where famine and malnutrition are characteristic conditions after two years of war between the forces of the region and the Ethiopian government. The peace deal ended fighting in the region, but the repercussions of the conflict remain.
The United Nations estimated in August that nearly one in three children under five in Tigray was suffering from malnutrition.
The region suffered from an outright blockade during the period when fighting was taking place between Ethiopian federal government forces and fighters from the Popular Front for the Liberation of Tigray, as Ethiopian authorities limited or severely restricted access to aid to the northern region.
“I Come Back Empty Handed”
Magda, another severely undernourished child, is the same age as the conflict that erupted on November 4, 2020, but lies like a baby in the arms of her mother, Hewott. She is listless, lethargic and her stomach is very distended.
This is the second time Majeda has been hospitalized for the repercussions of malnutrition
“It’s become very difficult to get food,” says Hewitt, “it’s very difficult to be able to eat, even once a day.”
Since Magda was hospitalized, her condition has worsened. “My daughter is in this situation because they told us there was no medicine. We couldn’t get anything done,” says Ms Hewott.
“Even when we were here last year because of the same problem, I couldn’t take anything and came home empty handed,” added the mother.
The families of Haftom and Magda were trying to treat the two children at Ayder Hospital in Mekelle, the capital of the Tigray region. There, the BBC met them last month.
Tigrayan leaders agreed to a ceasefire after August after federal government forces seized more territory.
Authorities in Addis Ababa said they would send aid and allow humanitarian organizations to deliver more to the Tigray region under the terms of the Nov. 2 peace deal.
“Help To consume in a day”
Dr. Kiburn Geberslasi has been working as a surgeon at Ayder Hospital for 15 years, which is the largest state hospital in the region of seven million people.
“It’s shocking to see young children and mothers in pain and crying every day,” says Dr. Kipprom.
“Many children have died in our hospital, because when a child becomes malnourished, they are not treated just by giving them food. They need medicines, antibiotics, minerals… We don’t have all this,” he added.
Dr. Kiborum struggled to get patients treated at the hospital where he works during the two years of war
Some of the necessary aid and medical supplies have arrived at the hospital, but they are insufficient and do not meet the growing needs.
Dr Kiberom says two trucks carrying International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) medical supplies were the first aid to reach Mekele.
He adds, with a sigh, “The amount of medicine we received was only enough for half of our patients, and it only lasted one day.”
And every day that passes without help arriving at the hospital, more patients die.
says Dr. Kipprom : “For cancer patients, for example, the situation is very serious. There was no chemotherapy in the entire Tigray region.”
“Every day, every week, every month, their cancer stage is getting worse,” she says. “If a stage of cancer was previously curable, it’s not anymore. For patients who are really sick, every day, every hour counts.” “.
aid efforts
The UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs said the Ethiopian government and aid agencies sent more than 1,600 trucks to Tigray carrying food, medical supplies and tents between mid-November and the first week of December.
The International Committee of the Red Cross says it has sent at least 38 trucks to Mekele since mid-November and is sending more aid.
“All humanitarian actors are making efforts, but they are insufficient compared to the scale of the need,” said Jude Fuhnwe, spokesman for the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) in Ethiopia.
image copyright WFP extension
World Food Program says it has ‘stepped up’ sending its ground convoys carrying aid to Tigray since peace deal signed
Indeed, the scale of these needs is enormous.
The United Nations World Food Program has set a target of providing emergency food aid to 2.1 million people in the Tigray region every six weeks and says it is on track.
“A lot has improved since the peace deal,” says Claude Jebedar, WFP representative and country director for Ethiopia.
“After two years of conflict, we do not expect a return to normality overnight.”
Mekele is still under the control of the Popular Front for the Liberation of Tigray, although government forces control areas around the county in the north of the region.
In another ward at Ayder hospital, Vekadu Gamber, a retired teacher, says he has been unable to get diabetes medication for the past three months.
“When we come here for treatment, we find that most of the equipment is not working. We are trying (to find medicine) everywhere but there is nothing because of the lockdown,” he added.
“Many people die because of this. After signing the peace agreement we hoped to receive medicine, but nothing has arrived yet,” says Fikadu.
Fikadu hoped things would improve after the peace deal
The hospital suffers from a severe shortage of most of its basic materials, which places a huge burden on the doctors.
“We don’t have enough gloves for surgeries,” Dr. Kipprom says, “we have to wash and reuse them three times.”
“We can’t do any blood transfusion because we don’t have blood bags. So when we know a patient is going to need a blood transfusion, we don’t do the operation.”
Electricity back
Another doctor at Ayder hospital, who asked not to be identified, says they are receiving minimal medical supplies.
“The hospital is full of wounded soldiers and sick civilians, most of whom are not receiving treatment,” the doctor explains.
Several people at the hospital say the only positive thing the Ethiopian government has done is restore electricity to Mekele.
Hospital management said in a recent tweet that HIV medicines and test kits had started arriving.
However, these improvements are not enough to change the situation, especially for the most vulnerable groups, primarily children, who have paid the ultimate price for the region’s dire conditions due to the conflict and the blockade.
“I want a better future for her, that’s all I can think about,” says Hewitt, Magda’s mother, as she looks down on her daughter.
