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On Thursday, the World Health Organization (WHO) said in a report that more than 956 metric tons of medicines and medical supplies had been shipped to health facilities across Ethiopia’s conflict-affected Tigray region during the first nine months of 2023.
According to the latest health cluster bulletin released on Wednesday, the conflict in northern Ethiopia that started in November 2020 has led to the weakening of the healthcare system in the Tigray Region.
The report also said that the phenomenon was further worsened by the limited capacity of the regional health bureau to respond to the crisis, shortage of medical supplies, gaps in the health workforce and damaged healthcare infrastructure.
In November last year, relevant parties in northern Ethiopia signed a Cessation of Hostilities Agreement, ending the two-year-long conflict in northern Ethiopia.
Furthermore, as part of the response efforts, from January to September 2023, more than 956 metric tons of medicines and medical supplies were dispatched to health facilities across the region, the report said.
According to the report, more than 1.9 million people have received health services from health cluster partners during the reported period, while over 911,000 affected people in the region were provided with life-saving essential healthcare services by 28 partners.
It also warned that due to conflict-disrupted disease prevention measures such as routine immunization, the risk of communicable disease outbreaks, especially cholera and measles, is high.
The report, citing the Early Warning, Alert and Response System, further warned that malaria continued to be the highest cause of morbidity in the region with a cumulative 204,398 cases reported during the first nine months of 2023.
To ensure access to early diagnosis and rapid treatment of the population at risk of malaria infection, some 650,000 doses of artemisinin-based combination therapy are available.
