By Addis Getachew

ADDIS ABABA, Ethiopia

Ethiopia has appealed for $1.6 billion in humanitarian and development assistance for 2018 to help millions of people in desperate need of aid.

The appeal was made in capital Addis Ababa on Tuesday at the launch of a Humanitarian Disaster Resilience Plan mapped out by the Ethiopian government in collaboration with international donors.

A document detailing the plan said the fund would be used for 7.88 million people needing emergency assistance in the country in addition to related work aimed at boosting the coping mechanism of vulnerable communities.

Of the $1.658 billion required, official and expected contributions account for $625.6 million, out of which $504 million has been confirmed, according to the document.

National Disaster Risk Management Commissioner Mitiku Kassa said: “Although emergency assistance was instrumental in addressing the immediate needs of the affected people, it would not be a sustainable solution.”

He called on donors to “invest in vulnerable areas” to enhance the resilience of local communities to drought and other emergency situations.

The number of needy people showed a 37 percent increase this year compared with the 5.7 million people who had required emergency assistance last year.

Kassa also said Ethiopia’s geographical location made it more vulnerable to climate change and, therefore, it was expected the country would be experiencing disasters due to it in the years to come.

Turkish Ambassador to Ethiopia Fatih Ulusoy on the occasion called for ways to involve the private sector in the delivery of emergency assistance and related community-development works.

He said the Turkish Coordination and Cooperation Agency (TIKA) has been actively engaged in both humanitarian and development activities in Ethiopia.