KEYIR NEWS - Ethiopia is facing mounting humanitarian pressure as more than 76,000 refugees and returnees have entered the country since the beginning of the year, according to the United Nations Refugee Agency (UNHCR).
The influx includes 45,118 Sudanese nationals fleeing the civil war in their country, 20,226 Ethiopian returnees, and 8,284 Eritrean refugees.
Ethiopia’s Refugees and Returnees Service (RRS) said that most of the new arrivals have entered through Metema in Amhara region and Kurmuk in Benshangul-Gumuz, where screening and registration are underway.
Officials say the pace of arrivals has placed heavy strain on local authorities and aid organizations.
“Ethiopia has a long tradition of hosting those in need of protection, but the current situation is stretching resources to the limit,” a UNHCR spokesperson noted.
The humanitarian conditions at border entry points remain precarious. Families often arrive after weeks on the move, with little more than the clothes they are wearing.
Aid workers report growing concerns over malnutrition, poor sanitation, and lack of shelter, particularly for women and children who make up the majority of the displaced.
Ethiopia already shelters close to one million refugees, mostly from South Sudan, Somalia, and Eritrea. While the government has adopted progressive refugee policies in recent years, including granting access to education and employment, the scale of the current crisis threatens to undermine these efforts.
For Ethiopian nationals returning from Sudan and elsewhere, reintegration poses additional challenges. Many have lost their homes, savings, and livelihoods, and are re-entering communities already under economic stress from drought, food insecurity, and internal displacement.
Without targeted support, humanitarian agencies warn, these returnees risk facing renewed hardship inside Ethiopia.
The regional picture also raises concern. With Sudan’s conflict showing no sign of resolution and continued repression in Eritrea, more arrivals are expected in the coming months.
Humanitarian experts warn that Ethiopia, still recovering from its own recent conflicts, cannot absorb the burden alone.
Despite repeated appeals, international funding for Ethiopia’s refugee response remains insufficient. UNHCR and the RRS are urging donors to step up assistance, warning that failure to act will deepen the crisis.
“Ethiopia has kept its borders open in solidarity,” one aid official said. “Now it needs solidarity from the world.”