The government announced plans in April to close Hitsats refugee camp and relocate its residents to Adi Harush and Mai Aini, two other Eritrean camps also located in Ethiopia's northern Tigray region. Aid workers say all four Eritrean refugee camps in Ethiopia, sheltering a total of about 100,000 people, are severely overcrowded, food is in short supply, and there is poor access to water – crucial for the additional sanitation needs as a result of COVID-19. Underlining the threat, a 16-year-old Eritrean girl in Adi Harush in June became the first refugee in the country to test positive for the coronavirus. Read more → Eritrean refugees defy border closures only to find hardship in EthiopiaSeveral other camp residents have since been diagnosed with COVID-19, according to an aid worker in Adi Harush, who asked for anonymity. More than 20,000 Eritrean refugees live in urban areas, according to UNHCR.

Source: Ethiopian News August 17, 2020 15:33 UTC