Africa CDC hoping to send team back to Ethiopia's Tigray region after peace deal

[November 03, 2022]  JOHANNESBURG (Reuters) -Africa's top public health body is hoping to send its team back to the Tigray region "as soon as the situation allows" following a peace agreement in Ethiopia, its acting Director Ahmed Ogwell Ouma said on Thursday.

The Ethiopian government and regional forces from Tigray agreed on Wednesday to cease hostilities, a dramatic diplomatic breakthrough two years into a war that has killed thousands, displaced millions and left hundreds of thousands facing famine.

Ouma said the Africa CDC -- which is headquartered in Ethiopia's capital Addis Ababa -- had pulled out its team from Tigray when the conflict intensified, but would consider sending it back once peace is restored on the ground.

"As soon as the situation allows, we will be sending back our teams to the ground because there's a lot of the public health emergency issues to deal with at the moment," Ouma told an online briefing.

The United Nations says the war has led to a de facto blockade of Tigray that has lasted close to two years, with humanitarian supplies of food and medicines unable to get through most of the time.

(Reporting by James Macharia ChegeEditing by Alexander Winning)

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