Tigray blockade causing excess deaths in hospitals
NAIROBI: In the largest hospital in Ethiopia’s Tigray region, a child wounded in an air strike bled to death after doctors ran out of gauze and intravenous fluids. A baby died because there were no fluids for dialysis.
Doctors at the Ayder Referral Hospital in the regional capital Mekelle, which is under the control of Tigrayan forces fighting the central government, told Reuters by phone the lack of supplies is largely the result of a monthslong government aid blockade on the northern region.
“Signing death certificates has become our primary job,” the hospital said in a Tuesday presentation prepared for international aid agencies and shared with Reuters.
The doctors identified 117 deaths and dozens of complications, including infections, amputations and kidney failure, which they said were linked to shortages of essential medicines and equipment. They did not provide dates for most of them.
War erupted in November 2020 after relations nosedived between Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed and the Tigray People’s Liberation Front (TPLF), the party that dominated national politics until Mr Abiy’s appointment and controls most of the region. The conflict has killed thousands of people and driven millions more from their homes.
Government spokesman Legesse Tulu on Monday reiterated Ethiopia’s position that no blockade had been imposed. He did not respond to questions about the shortages reported by Ayder Hospital.
“What is happening in Tigray currently is the sole responsibility of TPLF,” Mr Legesse said.
He accused the TPLF of looting equipment and medicines at more than a dozen hospitals and 100 health centres when its forces invaded the neighbouring regions of Amhara and Afar last year before being pushed back in December.
A TPLF spokesman declined to comment. The TPLF has previously denied looting health facilities and blamed the government for shortages of humanitarian supplies.
The World Food Programme told Reuters it would run out of food and fuel in Tigray by mid-January.
Mr Legesse said trucks that entered Tigray had not returned and were being used by Tigrayan forces.