“It is necessary to strengthen efforts to assist all citizens affected by natural disasters such as drought or complexities caused by irresponsibility of human beings,” Mekonnen said at a session of the National Committee for Disaster Prevention.

“Efforts to provide aid to those affected by war and drought are encouraging, but there is much work ahead,” the official commented during an analysis of government efforts to bring essential products to unstable areas of the country.

“The existing problems in various regions of the nation are very complex and require rapid responses and coordinated efforts,” Mekonnen stressed.

According to him, “a strategy must be devised so that some of the pockets freed from the control of the Tigray People’s Liberation Front have faster access to humanitarian aid.”

In his words, the federal executive bodies must work together to “address the complex and far-reaching challenges the country faces in the short term.”

mh/llp/acl/raj