Renown singer and song writer Teddy Afro gave a wonderful speech regarding the current status of Ethiopia. In his speech he mentioned that, in terms of establishing long-term improvements in its citizens’ living standards, Ethiopia had been making good progress. However, the COVID-19 epidemic and internal violent strife have drastically reduced the rate of economic growth, which had been consistently strong for a period of years.
One of the least developed nations in the world is the sizable landlocked nation in East Africa. Ethiopia is ranked 175th out of 191 nations on the most recent Human Development Index (HDI). In addition to internal strife and the pandemic, the nation is also dealing with a locust epidemic, frequent droughts and floods in some areas, severe shortages of foreign currency, and extremely high inflation rates.
The neighboring regions of Afar and Amhara are currently affected by the ongoing armed war that started in Tigray’s northern area in November 2020. There is now no sign of a civil war ending. A catastrophic humanitarian situation exists. 90% of Tigray’s population, or 5.2 million people, as well as almost 2 million people in neighboring regions need humanitarian assistance.
400,000 people are experiencing conditions similar to hunger. he country’s budget is also suffering greatly as a result of the fighting. A 2019-only International Monetary Fund (IMF) program has been prematurely cancelled, and Ethiopia’s credit rating has been reduced.
