{"id":754938,"date":"2026-09-24T21:27:00","date_gmt":"2026-09-25T01:27:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/mereja.com\/index\/?p=754938"},"modified":"2026-10-04T15:07:59","modified_gmt":"2026-10-04T19:07:59","slug":"amhara-idps-in-harbu-and-chagni-say-months-without-food-aid-as-malaria-spreads","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/mereja.com\/index\/754938","title":{"rendered":"Displaced Amhara families in Harbu and Chagni say months without food aid as malaria spreads"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Dondor waterfall in Chagni, Agew Awi Zone, on 29 June 2025 (AmdebirhanBezabih, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0) [file photo].<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

People who were forced from their homes by fighting in Amhara and now live with host communities say food aid has not reached them for months. A Deutsche Welle (DW) Amharic report by Esayas Gelaw was carried in English by the Amhara Association of America (AAA) on September 8 and summarised by Zegabi on September 14. It quotes internally displaced people (IDPs) in Harbu, Chagni, Jawi, and Qalu who describe hunger, malaria, and officials who keep telling them that help is \u201ccoming.\u201d<\/p>\n

Indris Awel has lived with the local community in Harbu for about six years. He told DW Amharic it had been six months since his family received food relief from the state or from charities. He said people who arrived early once got support about once a month, with children and pregnant women served first, and that later there were only promises. He added that rising living costs have made it almost impossible for families to support themselves.<\/p>\n

In Chagni, Harun Abdulkadir said IDPs had seen no state support for the entire year and now face a malaria outbreak on top of hunger. He said they were told to rely on host communities and not to expect anything from the government. He said people were asking for medical care as the disease spread.<\/p>\n

Mehamed Sayed lives outside the Jawi shelter and works as a day labourer. He said IDPs who are not registered are left off old distribution lists. He also said South Wollo officials have been under pressure to reduce the number of registered people, even though families still live in tents.<\/p>\n

Serkaddis Atale is deputy commissioner of the Amhara Region Disaster Risk and Management Commission. Serkaddis told DW that local administrations are responsible for IDPs who live with host communities under a cost-sharing arrangement. The deputy commissioner said the regional commission would monitor any disruptions. DW Amharic said it could not get comments from the North Shewa, South Wollo, and North Wollo liaison offices, where more than 90,000 IDPs are said to live.<\/p>\n

The accounts come from named residents interviewed by DW Amharic. The report of a malaria outbreak in Chagni comes from residents, and no district health bulletin was found in the English sources used for this story.<\/p>\n

Wider health information gives some background. A study from two hospitals in Central Ethiopia was reported by Bioengineer on September 23. It found that the Plasmodium vivax type caused about half of the malaria cases among adults treated in their emergency departments. The study found severe illness at about the same rate with P. vivax as with Plasmodium falciparum, the other main type. The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) says active cholera transmission is widespread in Ethiopia. It advises malaria prevention for travellers in all areas below 2,500 metres.<\/p>\n

These reports come as fighting continues across Amhara. AAA\u2019s September 7 to 13 update recorded battles in more than 11 woreda or city administrations across eight Amhara zones. It listed civilian casualties in North Mecha and Wegera, arrests in Wegera, and drone activity in Bahir-Dar-Zuriya.<\/p>\n

Sources:<\/strong><\/p>\n