(Ecofin Agency) - During his visit to Addis Ababa, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken reaffirmed his country's intention to support peace in Ethiopia, marked in recent years by the war in Tigray. In that regard, for the 2023 fiscal year, Washington plans to increase its humanitarian aid to the country to $780 million.

The United States will provide $331 million in additional humanitarian assistance to Ethiopia. The announcement was made Wednesday, March 15, by Secretary of State Antony Blinken (photo, left), during an official visit in Addis Ababa.

The funding, which will be disbursed through the U.S. Department of State and the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID), is intended to support people displaced and affected by the security and climate crises in Ethiopia. It consists of $12 million from the U.S. Department of State's Bureau of Population, Refugees, and Migration and more than $319 million from USAID.

“The United States is the largest single-country provider of humanitarian assistance in Ethiopia. Our assistance provides critical, life-saving support, including food, shelter, safe drinking water, sanitation and hygiene, healthcare efforts, education, and other key services,” said Antony Blinken.

In recent years, Washington has been critical of Ethiopian authorities' management of the humanitarian situation in Tigray, where a war has displaced millions of people and caused hundreds of thousands of deaths. After announcing sanctions against Addis Ababa and suspending the country from AGOA, U.S. officials welcomed the truce between the warring parties in November 2022. While reaffirming the U.S. intention to see this agreement lead to lasting peace in the region, Antony Blinken did not specify whether a solution had been found for Ethiopia to become part of AGOA again.  

The new assistance brings the total U.S. humanitarian assistance to the region to more than $780 million in the 2023 fiscal year. 

Moutiou Adjibi Nourou