UN-led committee says 3,50,000 people in famine in Ethiopia’s Tigray

The estimate was presented at a meeting of the Inter-Agency Standing Committee, comprising 18 UN and non-UN organisations that is chaired by UN humanitarian chief Mark Lowcock.

A high-level UN-led committee that focusses on rapid responses to humanitarian crises estimates that some 3,50,000 people in Ethiopia’s embattled Tigray region are facing famine conditions, a UN official said on Wednesday. The estimate was presented at a meeting on Monday of the Inter-Agency Standing Committee, comprising 18 UN and non-UN organisations that is chaired by UN humanitarian chief Mark Lowcock. UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres also attended, the official said. A note from the meeting said millions of other people in Tigray urgently need food to avoid famine, said the official, who has not authorised to speak publicly.