UNOCHA says some 1.4 mln children have no access to education in Ethiopia's conflict-hit Tigray
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E-mail Xinhua, February 20, 2021
ADDIS ABABA, Feb. 20 (Xinhua) -- The United Nations Office for Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (UNOCHA) on Saturday said that about 1.4 million children currently have no access to education in Ethiopia's conflict-hit northernmost Tigray regional state.
"Around 1.4 million children currently have no access to education, with around 50,000 teachers are affected due to unpaid salaries and insecurity," the UNOCHA said in its latest situation update.
Noting that the sub-national education cluster has been re-activated and has resumed its weekly meeting, the UNOCHA said the cluster plans to conduct school assessments in Mekelle, capital of Tigray region, and mobilize communities for school re-opening.
It, however, stressed that the Tigray Regional Education Bureau (REB) is reportedly facing resource constraints to re-open schools.
Many schools across the region are also currently occupied by internally displaced persons (IDPs) as temporary shelters, as well as by various security forces, according to the UNOCHA.
Meanwhile, the agency stressed that the overall humanitarian response in Ethiopia's conflict-affected Tigray regional state remains "drastically inadequate" despite some progress.
"Despite some progress, the humanitarian response remains drastically inadequate compared to the sheer magnitude of needs across the region," the agency said in the update.
It also noted that recent assessments in sites for displaced people in the regional capital Mekelle, as well as Shire and Adigrat cities highlighted "a dire situation while more people move to urban areas in search of assistance."
The UNOCHA also stressed that "reports of fighting increased in the past week, and partners continue to note that the presence of various armed actors hinders their response."
According to the UNOCHA, some clusters, including shelter, health, water, sanitation and hygiene, education and protection, require urgent funding to scale up the response.
Although more than 71 percent of the funding requested early in the conflict has been received, some critical sectors including water, sanitation and hygiene, health, shelter, education and protection remain underfunded, it was noted.
The agency also stressed that the "rapidly increasing needs" will require more resources, especially now that access has started to improve. Enditem
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