ADDIS ABABA Humanitarian aid activities in Ethiopia's conflict-torn Tigray area are being hampered by a lack of fuel and funds, according to the UN Office for Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA).

According to reports, the UN body warned in its recent Northern Ethiopia Humanitarian Update Situation Report that shortages are significantly impeding relief activities, particularly outside Mekelle, the Tigray regional capital.

"While the delivery of additional humanitarian supplies into Tigray is expected to address some humanitarian aid shortages, the scale of response is constrained by a scarcity of gasoline to transport the supplies from Mekelle to other regions of the province."  the OCHA said in a report.

"At least 334,000 litres of petrol are required to distribute 42,000 metric tonnes of humanitarian goods around the region." The general operational environment in northern Ethiopia remains restrictive due to a lack of financial supplies and limited access to individuals in hard-to-reach areas of Tigray, Afar, and Amhara provinces. the UNOCHA said.

"In the Tigray region, an increase in the absenteeism of health workers is posing a threat to the scaling-up of nutrition services, since many health workers are absent from health centres due to non-payment of salaries," the OCHA report said.

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