Ethiopian federal body admits starvation deaths

Close to 400 people have died in Ethiopia’s Tigray and Amhara regions due to drought-induced starvation, the country's state-appointed Federal Ombudsman Institute said on Tuesday.

The remarks contradict earlier statements from federal authorities that there had not been confirmation that "anyone has died of starvation in any region" in the country.

Deaths had previously been reported at local district levels but there had not been comprehensive data.

The institute said an assessment by its team of experts revealed that millions were impacted in the two regions and tens of thousands had already been displaced.

Thousands of children in the affected areas were not attending school, the institute added. The institute’s head, Endale Haile, told the BBC that the deaths occurred in the past six months.

In December, officials in the war-scarred Tigray region warned a famine crisis rivalling the one Ethiopia endured in the mid-1980s could be looming unless prompt measures were taken.

Federal authorities dismissed the possibility of famine - a sensitive word in Ethiopia - but admitted drought was affecting several areas.

The Ombudsman Institute has now advised government agencies to avoid wasting energy on terminology and work towards providing aid.

Last week, the federal government’s communication office said more than six million people requiring emergency humanitarian assistance because of drought in the next three months had been identified.