Health
WHO warns northern Ethiopia’s health system teeters on collapse amid renewed conflict
WHO Director‑General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus says fresh drone strikes in Amhara and Tigray have killed civilians, including a newborn, and are pushing an already fragile health system toward collapse as hospitals face staff, medicine and ambulance shortages.
Intensifying attacks on civilians
In the weekend before 2 November 2026, drone strikes hit a displacement camp in Ethiopia’s Amhara region, killing several civilians, among them a newborn child. A separate strike in the town of Rama in Tigray left multiple people dead as they searched for food. WHO Director‑General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said the incidents are deeply disturbing and noted that such attacks have become frequent across the country. United Nations Secretary‑General António Guterres also expressed alarm, warning that the violence could widen the conflict and destabilise the wider region.
Health services crippled by insecurity
The WHO chief warned that the surge in violence is driving the already fragile health system in northern Ethiopia toward collapse. Hospitals in Amhara and Tigray are reporting acute shortages of health workers, essential medicines and basic equipment. Ambulance services have been severely curtailed because insecurity makes travel dangerous, and the delivery of life‑saving medical supplies to several areas is being blocked. As a result, access to emergency care, maternal and child health services, and treatment for infectious diseases is rapidly diminishing.
WHO and partners scramble to keep aid flowing
WHO and its partners say they are working around the clock to ship additional medical supplies to the affected regions, but the worsening security environment threatens to cut off these lifelines. The agency stresses that without an immediate cessation of hostilities, more people will lose access to essential health services, deepening the humanitarian crisis. Tedros emphasized that peace offers the best chance to protect civilians and health infrastructure while urging all parties to engage in mediation efforts.