Ethiopia: Responding to the needs of people affected by ethnic violence in 2019

The ICRC has been present in Ethiopia since the beginning of the 1977 Ethio-Somalia armed conflict. Today, our major activities in the country include visiting places of detention to assess the treatment and living conditions of detainees and ensuring people with physical disabilities have access to quality and sustainable physical rehabilitation services. We also work with the Ethiopian Red Cross Society (ERCS) to restore family links and provide assistance to people displaced by ethnic violence.

In 2019, the ICRC has visited 34 different places of detention and provided blankets, clothes, and hygienic, educational, and recreational items to detainees across the country. Working with the ERCS, we exchanged over 1,000 Red Cross Messages, and provided free phone calls for South Sudanese refugees in Ethiopia and returnees from Eritrea and Saudi Arabia. Our teams also provided basic medical supplies and emergency kits to primary health care units and hospitals.

Highlights of our work in Ethiopia between January and June 2019

	Visited over 33,000 detainees in 34 places of detention to assess their treatment and condition
	Provided blankets, clothes, and hygienic, educational, and recreational items to 22,200 detainees
	Provided over 12,000 free phone calls to refugees and returnees in Ethiopia
	Distributed plastic shelters, sleeping mats, blankets, jerry cans, soap, and cooking utensils to over 48,000 displaced people
	Donated seeds and agricultural tools to 70,000 people affected by ethnic violence
	Provided financial assistance to 29,000 people affected by ethnic violence
	Enabled 4,600 people with disabilities access to physical rehabilitation services in nine ICRC-supported physical rehabilitation centres

For more information, read the full update of our work in Ethiopia.