The quiet tragedy unfolding in displacement camps across Ethiopia—specifically in the Tigray, Amhara, and other regions—demands urgent and collective action. In Tigray, for instance, long after the guns have largely fallen silent following the November 2022 peace agreement, hunger has reportedly continued to claim the lives of internally displaced persons (IDPs) who have already endured the destruction of war, loss of livelihoods, and prolonged uncertainty.
Reports of malnutrition-related deaths in IDP camps are not merely humanitarian failures; they are moral indictments of a system that has allowed preventable suffering to persist. Staving off further loss of life requires coordinated, principled, and sustained action by all stakeholders—federal and regional authorities, humanitarian agencies, community and religious leaders, donors, and international partners.
At the center of the response must be the recognition that such a hunger crisis is not the result of a single shock but of compounded failures. Years of conflict devastated agriculture, disrupted markets, displaced millions, and eroded coping mechanisms.
For IDPs living in overcrowded camps, food shortages are exacerbated by inadequate healthcare, food supplies and clean water as well as minimal livelihood opportunities. Addressing hunger in isolation from these factors will not suffice.
Federal and regional governments bear primary responsibility for protecting the lives of displaced citizens. Authorities must ensure unimpeded, predictable, and sustained humanitarian access to all IDP camps, free from administrative obstruction or politicization. Clear coordination mechanisms between federal institutions, the Tigray regional administration, and humanitarian actors are essential to avoid duplication, gaps, and delays. Just as importantly, authorities must publicly acknowledge the severity of the crisis. Silence or minimization only delays response and costs lives.
Humanitarian agencies, both international and local, must recalibrate their interventions to reflect the protracted nature of displacement. Emergency food aid is vital but not enough. Nutrition programs for vulnerable groups must expand, and mobile health and feeding services should be scaled up. Local organizations, which often have deeper community trust and contextual knowledge, should be adequately resourced and meaningfully included in planning and implementation. Community and religious leaders along with civil society actors as well have a vital role in bridging gaps between displaced populations and institutions. They can help identify the most vulnerable households, counter misinformation, and advocate for equitable aid distribution.
Donors and international partners also have a decisive role to play. Chronic underfunding has forced humanitarian agencies to cut rations, suspend programs, and prioritize some camps over others. This is a deadly calculus. Preventing famine-related deaths requires predictable, flexible, and multi-year funding that allows agencies to plan beyond short emergency cycles. Donors must also resist “crisis fatigue
At the same time, humanitarian aid must be complemented by early recovery and resilience-building measures. Many IDPs in Tigray, Amhara and others have been displaced for years, with no clear timeline for return. Where conditions permit, stakeholders should support voluntary, safe, and dignified returns by facilitating access to land, restoring basic services, and providing agricultural inputs ahead of planting seasons. In camps where return is not yet possible, such livelihood programs as cash-for-work, skills training, and small-scale income-generating activities can reduce dependency and restore a measure of dignity. Hunger is not only about the absence of food; it is also about the absence of agency.
These measures will count for nothing though without accountability and transparency. All stakeholders must commit to monitoring aid delivery, publicly reporting on needs and responses, and addressing allegations of diversion or discrimination swiftly and credibly. Trust—between communities, authorities, and aid providers—is a life-saving resource in humanitarian crises.
The hunger crisis in IDP camps is not inevitable. It is the result of choices, priorities, and delays that can still be corrected. Preventing further deaths requires urgency without theatrics, cooperation without politicization, and compassion backed by resources. Above all, it requires remembering that behind every statistic is a person who has already lost too much. Ensuring that they do not also lose their lives to hunger is a shared responsibility that cannot be postponed.
Finally, stakeholders—particularly the government—must wake up to the reality that these crises cannot be solved without addressing their root causes. Political failure is at the heart of nearly every major crisis Ethiopia faces today.
