UMD Media
24 December 2025
Overview
The humanitarian situation for internally displaced persons (IDPs) in the Tigray region continues to deteriorate rapidly. As of late December 2025, severe food insecurity, lack of access to health services, and prolonged disruption of humanitarian assistance have resulted in widespread starvation and preventable deaths across multiple displacement sites. Displaced populations originating from Western Tigray remain among the most affected. Independent investigations, regional authorities, and humanitarian reporting converge in confirming that the crisis has escalated from early warning to large-scale loss of life.
Humanitarian Impact
A special assessment conducted in August 2025 by the Commission of Inquiry on the Tigray Genocide, covering ninety-two IDP sites across the region, documented at least 325 deaths at the Hitsats IDP Center during 2025 alone. These deaths were primarily attributed to starvation, lack of medical care, and deprivation of basic necessities. The findings, released publicly on 22 December 2025, indicate that mortality rates have increased significantly since mid-2025. Additional reporting confirms that cumulative deaths at Hitsats since 2022 exceed three hundred, with more than fifty deaths recorded after July 2025. The Commission further assessed that more than 1,700 individuals at Hitsats alone face imminent risk of death in the absence of immediate humanitarian assistance. Comparable conditions and mortality have been reported at other sites, including Endabaguna and Mehameday, where deaths have been linked to severe malnutrition, untreated illness, and poor sanitation.
Food Security and Nutrition
Food assistance across IDP sites remains irregular, insufficient, or fully suspended in several locations. Where distributions have occurred, rations have frequently fallen below humanitarian standards in both quality and quantity. Reports indicate the delivery of spoiled cereals unfit for consumption and ration sizes that are not adjusted to household composition. As a result, many displaced households have resorted to selling part of their food allocations to cover milling costs or obtain basic cooking supplies, further reducing caloric intake. Regional authorities have acknowledged that current food assistance levels are inadequate to meet minimum needs. Malnutrition, including severe acute malnutrition among children and older persons, continues to rise, with child wasting exceeding emergency thresholds in parts of the region.
Health
Health services in IDP sites are largely non-functional. Assessments indicate a near-total absence of essential medicines, maternal and child health services, treatment for chronic diseases, and mental health or psychosocial support. Numerous deaths have been attributed to untreated, preventable conditions, including complications related to malnutrition, hypertension, diabetes, and common infectious diseases. The collapse of basic healthcare provision has significantly increased mortality risk, particularly among vulnerable populations.
Protection
Internally displaced persons in all 146 IDP centers in Tigray remain highly vulnerable to grave protection risks. The Commission of Inquiry identified killings through starvation, neglect, and deprivation as the most widespread form of victimization. Pregnant and lactating women, unaccompanied children, elderly persons, and individuals with chronic illnesses or disabilities have been disproportionately affected. Failures in biometric registration systems, administrative barriers, and bureaucratic delays have resulted in the exclusion of some IDPs from assistance altogether, with reports of individuals receiving no aid since displacement. The Commission reports that it has recorded the identities of victims as part of its investigation.
Access and Operational Constraints
Humanitarian access remains constrained by a combination of unresolved displacement from Western Tigray, administrative and territorial restrictions, climate-related shocks, and severe funding shortfalls. Aid operations have been further undermined by suspension or reduction of food, nutrition, and health programs due to insufficient resources. International agencies report that current funding levels are inadequate to sustain life-saving assistance at scale.
National and Regional Response
On 23 December 2025, the President of the Tigray Interim Administration publicly warned that hunger and deprivation threaten IDPs across more than 145 displacement sites in the region. The Administration called on the Federal Government of Ethiopia and regional authorities to treat the IDP crisis as a national emergency and emphasized that protection of displaced populations constitutes a legal and moral obligation. While community-led and diaspora-supported humanitarian initiatives have increased in response to publicized conditions, regional authorities stressed that such efforts cannot substitute for coordinated, state-led and internationally supported action.
Outlook
Absent immediate restoration of full humanitarian access, sustained funding, and the resumption of regular food and health assistance, further loss of life among IDPs is expected in the coming weeks. Humanitarian actors warn that emergency assistance alone will be insufficient without parallel political measures to address protracted displacement, including progress toward safe, dignified, and voluntary return, rehabilitation, and reintegration of displaced populations. The situation remains critical and requires urgent, coordinated action to prevent further preventable deaths.
