What is happening in Tigray? Region crisis explained as WHO chief implies racism is behind lack of attention

Amid the ongoing health crisis in Ethiopia's Tigray, the World Health Organization's director-general Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus indicated that the atrocities of war-torn civilians are not getting much international attention because of racism.

The 57-year-old official stated that 6 million people have not been able to get basic services in the region in the last 21 months, while wondering why the "worst humanitarian crisis in the world" is not receiving the same attention as the Russia-Ukraine conflict.

In a virtual media briefing on Wednesday, August 17, Ghebreyesus said:

“I haven't heard in the last few months any head of state talking about the Tigray situation anywhere in the developed world. Anywhere. Why?Maybe the reason is the colour of the skin of the people.”

Tedros, an Ethiopian native, previously served as the country's foreign and health minister. During the same conference, Michael Ryan, Executive Director, WHO Health Emergencies Programme, also expressed concern about the health crisis amidst famine and drought in the region. He added:

“No one seems to give a damn about what’s happening in the Horn of Africa.”

As per the Internal Displacement Monitoring Center, the conflict between Tigrayan and Ethiopian forces has resulted in thousands of deaths and left several thousand people with food shortages.

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Tigray crisis explored

Tigray's crisis began in 2018, when Abiy Ahmed was elected Prime Minister of Ethiopia, taking power from previously formed regional parties that included the Tigray People's Liberation Front (TPLF).

This action strained relations between the Ethiopian government and the TPLF, particularly when the regional party held the election during the coronavirus pandemic in September 2020.

As a result, the Ethiopian government declared the Tigray regional elections invalid, causing the TPLF to stop recognizing the national government and vice versa. Things escalated to violence in November 2020, when the TPLF attacked the Mek’ele headquarters of the Ethiopian military.

This resulted in human rights violations such as mass murders, looting, random gunning down of people, and the loss of humanitarian aid in Tigray.

The hostile situation in the region is caused not only by the two warring parties, but also by Eritrea, which is located in the northernmost part of the conflicted area. Since its independence in 1993, the country has been at odds with its neighbours over its borders.

This war between the three parties has caused civilians to suffer, according to the United Nations, who blames the conflicting factions for the severe shortage of humanitarian supplies and food.

Following the humanitarian truce agreement reached between the Ethiopian government and the other parties, first aid was transported by road rather than air, owing to the fact that the warring parties had blocked the roads on all sides.

Moreover, the region also suffered a fuel shortage since the Ethiopian government restricted the transportation of fuel to the conflicted region, which also disrupted the distribution of aid in the region.

Last year, the crisis established a world record for displacements in a single year, resulting in almost 5.1 million displacements from the conflicted region. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus' recent speech is not the first time he has alluded to the atrocities committed by people living in the conflict zone.

Earlier in 2022, the WHO chief criticised the country's crisis, prompting the Ethiopian government to write to the organisation about Tedros' "misconduct."

They claimed Tedros was using his position as chief "to advance his political interests at the expense of Ethiopia," and that he is a member of the TPLF.

The WHO requested $123.7 million at the most recent conference to address the health issues caused by rising malnutrition in the region, which is home to over 200 million people.