(Ecofin Agency) - The U.S. announced an investment of $39 million to help Ethiopia deal with the ongoing drought episode. The money will be channeled through the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID), according to a Feb. 14 statement.

The investment will be directed towards vulnerable people living in the southern and southeastern parts of the country. It will be used to provide them with school meals and emergency nutrition kits; 1.6 million Ethiopians and refugees are targeted for assistance. Ethiopia is currently facing significant crop losses, severe water shortages, and livestock deaths due to drought, exacerbating a humanitarian situation already made difficult by the Tigrayan conflict. According to the USAID, 6.2 million people are currently food insecure in the country.

The U.S. is conducting several humanitarian operations in Ethiopia, including the “provision of food assistance to 3.4 million people and emergency nutrition to 300,000 children, as well as support for safe drinking water, sanitation, and hygiene, health care, and livelihoods,” the statement said.

UNICEF reported that nearly 850,000 children will be severely malnourished this year in the Afar, Oromia, Southern Nations, Nationalities, and Peoples (SNNPR), and Somali regions due to conflict, drought, and economic recession in the country.

Jean-Marc Gogbeu (intern)