U.S. Ambassador to Ethiopia Geeta Pasi viewed some of the supplies that make up America’s $940 million humanitarian assistance to the people of Ethiopia in 2021. At a humanitarian assistance warehouse managed by the U.S. partner, UN World Food Program (WFP) in Kality, Addis Ababa, the Ambassador met WFP Acting Country Director Mietek Maj, and inspected nearly 5,000 bundles of emergency tarpaulin shelter material funded by the U.S. government. This material will provide life-saving emergency shelter for roughly 12,000 Ethiopians affected by the conflict across Amhara, Afar, and Tigray. These supplies are part of a $9.5 million grant from USAID to the UN’s International Organization for Migration (IOM) to provide emergency relief for people displaced by the conflict.

“It is important that these life-saving humanitarian supplies reach those in need in Amhara, Afar and Tigray as soon as possible,” said U.S. Ambassador to Ethiopia Geeta Pasi. She emphasized that the tents are just a small part of the nearly $1 billion in humanitarian assistance the American people have devoted to the people of Ethiopia this year.

Reflecting the United States commitment to supporting all Ethiopians, Ambassador Pasi noted we have invested over $16 million to construct shelters and settlements across Amhara, Afar, and Tigray, and have recently expanded humanitarian assistance to reach over 2.6 million people in North Wello, South Gondar, Wag Hamra, and West Gojam zones in the Amhara region.

The Kality-based warehouse logistics hub is a coordinated center for humanitarian logistics for organizations serving the Ethiopian people across the conflict zones. At the warehouse, humanitarian convoys are planned, and relief items (like shelter materials, food, and medicine) are stored and transported. As the lead agency of the Logistics Cluster, WFP manages the warehouse and commodities stored within it on behalf of other humanitarian agencies, such as the International Organization for Migration (IOM).