Addis Ababa — Emergency humanitarian assistance is reaching drought-affected communities in Afar Region, Ethiopia, targeting vulnerable households and people in need following climate-induced challenges.

The first round of relief supplies, dispatched from the central grain warehouse in Adama city, is being delivered to high-priority individuals and families across the region.

In Girifo Kebele of Bidu Woreda, residents have begun receiving the assistance, which beneficiaries say has arrived at a critical time as drought continues to strain their livelihoods and access to food.

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Meyrem Abdu, one of the beneficiaries, said the assistance would help support her children and other family members who have been facing food shortages.

She expressed appreciation for the government's response to the situation affecting communities in the region.

Asiya Mohammed, another beneficiary, said the intervention would help ease the hardship facing her family and other residents.

He further noted that the support was particularly important given their difficult circumstances.

On his part, Team Leader of Inventory Quality and Control at the Afar Region Disaster Risk Management Commission, Mohammed Abdella said the distribution was targeting the most vulnerable groups in affected areas.

He explained that the region had previously been mobilizing its own resources to support drought-affected communities and was now supplementing those efforts with additional relief supplies dispatched by the Ethiopian Disaster Risk Management Commission.

Bidu Woreda Agriculture and Natural Resources Office Head, Yesuf Mohammed said drought associated with climate change had caused significant hardship for local residents, describing the humanitarian intervention as timely and essential.

The ongoing distribution is intended to provide immediate relief to affected households as authorities mobilize assistance for communities facing the impacts of drought.

The humanitarian supply comes amid ongoing efforts by regional and federal authorities to support drought-affected communities and address food shortages in vulnerable areas, as ENA learned.