FRF IN ETHIOPIA

Since mid-January 2021, FRF has been collaborating with our Nobel Peace Prize-winning partner, the United Nations World Food Programme (WFP), to establish a reliable and efficient fuel supply chain for their humanitarian operations in Ethiopia.

What is Happening in Ethiopia?

Since November 2020, there has been an outbreak of sectarian violence in northern Ethiopia resulting in a massive humanitarian crisis.

Mass Displacement

As the conflict has continued to escalate, it has destabilized the region and resulted in civilian casualties and mass displacement in Tigray and beyond Ethiopia’s borders. Recent numbers suggest that over 2.2 million people are in need of humanitarian assistance.

Access into and within Tigray continues to be a major impediment for humanitarian planning and response efforts. Humanitarian needs have increased and coordinated logistical and fuel supply support is more critical than ever.

According to United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs , “Dire shortages of vital supplies, including food, water, fuel, and cash are seriously affecting people in the whole Tigray Region, including hundreds of aid workers based in the area. In multiple parts of Tigray, people have gone more than a month without electricity, running water, access to cash, and telecommunication services.”

WFP is now scaling up humanitarian operations to meet these increasing needs.

Over the next several months, the fleet of WFP trucks delivering food and other critical humanitarian supplies is slated to double. But with the conflict ongoing, commodity markets and supply chains are likely to be negatively impacted. Therefore, WFP has called on FRF to assist in establishing a parallel fuel supply chain to ensure continuity of humanitarian response operations, despite the upheaval.