The statement card Refugees International posted on X on November 13, 2026, with its new findings on hunger and child malnutrition in Tigray. Credit: Refugees International (@RefugeesIntl) on X.
A Refugees International survey of about 450 households in Tigray found that hunger and child malnutrition were already severe in August and September, before renewed fighting between federal forces and Tigrayan fighters.
In the camps for displaced people, six in ten households said someone had gone to sleep hungry in the past month, and nearly eight in ten said adults ate less so children could eat, the Washington based group said on Friday. Food aid reached only 4 percent of displaced households and almost none of the host families surveyed. Among children screened, 23 percent in the displacement sites and 32 percent in host communities were below the cut off for acute malnutrition.
The group also said health officials told it the sector needs about 130,000 liters of fuel a month to function, but had received none by September, leaving more than 250 ambulances unable to run. “Families are going to bed hungry, parents are skipping meals to feed their children, and severely malnourished children are struggling to get lifesaving treatment,” said Hardin Lang, the group’s vice president for programs and policy.
Fighting resumed in late September between the national army and the Tigray People’s Liberation Front (TPLF), and federal forces entered Mekelle within two weeks. Life there is still far from normal, a single mother who runs a hair salon told the BBC. “People can’t prioritise beauty over daily basic needs,” said Firut Me’ar. “Things are better than during the war, but people still have no money, no morale.” Residents told the BBC that fighting continues in central, northern and northwestern Tigray.
Tigrayans on X shared the findings widely. “Many families in Tigray reported hunger, skipped meals, debt, and reliance on borrowing food,” wrote Yonas Nigussie in a summary thread. Mereja Media found no response from the federal government or the Tigray caretaker administration to the report by Friday evening. This week the famine warning network FEWS NET warned that parts of Tigray, Amhara and Afar could reach Emergency hunger, and the caretaker administration promised civil servants their pay.
Sources
- Refugees International, New humanitarian data from Tigray shows alarming hunger and child malnutrition even before latest conflict, Nov 13
- Refugees International, Tigray humanitarian snapshot
- BBC News, Neither war nor peace in Tigray, Nov 12
- Yonas Nigussie on X, summary thread, Nov 13
- Mereja Media, FEWS NET warns drought and war could push parts of Tigray, Amhara and Afar into Emergency hunger
- Mereja Media, Tigray’s caretaker administration promises civil servants pay