In response to the funds pledged at the High-Level Horn of Africa event in New York on Wednesday, Tinebeb Berhane, Country Director at ActionAid Ethiopia, said:
“While we welcome this support, the results are disappointing and do not reflect the crisis on the ground, particularly the impact this continuous underfunding will have on women and girls. Pledging a fraction ($2.4 billion) of the $7 billion required to save lives is unacceptable. We are witnessing history repeat itself as the funds decrease and the number of victims of this dreadful climate crisis increase. The drought is leading to extensive losses and damage to livelihoods. An inadequate climate funding is dangerously regressive.
“Women and children account for a majority of the 2.7 million people displaced by this severe drought. Displaced women are at risk of gender-based violence, sexual exploitation, and trafficking. This is the reality and must be followed by the appropriate actions. In 2022, gender-based violence and other critical protection activities in Ethiopia received a mere 15% of the requested funding for the humanitarian response plan. Women’s and youth organizations at the forefront on the climate disaster are not receiving the crucial funding required to implement live-saving projects.
“Africa is not responsible for global warming due to climate crises; rather, is dealing with its impact, with unacceptable levels of support. We urge the international community and governments to do more and do better, driven by empathy and also by their responsibility in partly creating the climate emergency in the region.”
ENDS
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About ActionAid
ActionAid is a global federation that works with more than 15 million people living in more than 40 of the world’s poorest countries. We want to see a just and sustainable world in which everyone enjoys the right to a dignified life and freedom from poverty and oppression. We work for social justice and gender equality, and poverty eradication.