Catholic Near East Welfare Association has authorized the initial release of $100,000 to address immediate food insecurity in parts of Ethiopia experiencing a humanitarian crisis.
Argaw Fantu, CNEWA’s regional director for Ethiopia, reported that as of early this year, more than 10 million people — which is a number greater than the combined populations of New York City, Los Angeles and Chicago — are projected to face high levels of acute food insecurity.
In his report, Mr. Fantu used the measurements of the Integrated Food Security Phase Classification Global Partners, which indicate up to 15 percent of the Ethiopian population faces crisis or emergency levels of food insecurity. Crisis is defined by high levels of acute malnutrition. Emergency levels indicate “an immediate need for action to save lives and livelihoods before reaching famine.”
The problem is being driven by ongoing conflict and insecurity in the country, which forces people to move and disrupts farming. Droughts from 2020 to 2023 still affect some areas, and erratic rainfall patterns are “causing crop failures and killing livestock,” he said.
The Ethiopian currency has depreciated more than 60 percent since July 2024, “further weakening the purchasing power of households,” he reported. In addition, the elimination of foreign government funding, USAID in particular, impact agencies such as the World Food Programme.
The impact of all these factors affects vulnerable groups, including the more than 1 million refugees from Somalia, South Sudan and Sudan, and the more than 1.9 million people displaced from their homes, “living in crowded camps with limited access to basic services,” Mr. Fantu added.
He noted that CNEWA in Ethiopia is not tooled to be “a large provider of humanitarian need response,” but it has been working with schools and parishes in the regions of Tigray, Amhara and Central Ethiopia to fight food insecurity. In addition, CNEWA assisted more than 6,700 mothers and malnourished children in 2025 partnering with church-run health care facilities.
To support CNEWA’s campaign to combat hunger in Ethiopia, click here.