According to UN Ethiopia, in Tigray only 16% of the food beneficiaries have yet been reached
This information is from Professor Jan Nyssen and Tim Vanden Bempt. It provides details of how severe the situation remains.
Martin
Tim Vanden Bempt compiled the information. A British MP and former minister told Professor Nyssen: ” Disappointingly, I was unable to find contemporary media coverage that reported or reflected the assertion that there is a continuing de facto blockade of humanitarian aid. On the contrary all the recent reporting is of consistently improving access.”
And, indeed, there don’t seem to be any (international) media stories, but the UN (food distribution) reports clearly state that there is still a very large blockade happening on the ground, both with regard to lack of access to Tigray (one road is really open) and to accessibility within Tigray (due to lack of cash and large presence of Eritrean and Amhara soldiers).
The logical consequence is then that, according to UN Ethiopia, in Tigray only 16% of the food response beneficiaries have been reached (in contrast to 80% in Amhara region and 98% in Afar region!https://twitter.com/UNEthiopia/status/1630082887012818944/photo/1
Details about the access to Tigray.
Two out of the four roads used for humanitarian aid are blocked by Amhara forces and militias (Gondar – Humera – Shire, andKombolcha – Mekelle) and one is not suitable for heavy trucks (Gondar – May Tsebri – Shire). This leaves the lengthy desert route Semera – Mekelle as the only option to resupply Tigray (not only the Mekelle but also the distant Shire hub), as also evidenced by the progress of the food distribution (East to West progress) and storage capacity of the hubs (Logistics Cluster Addis Abeba meeting noteshttps://logcluster.org/ops/eth20a). The supplies in the Shire hub are gradually depleting again.
Available space in warehouse hubs:
17/01: 60% in Mekelle, 30% in Shire
24/01: 60% in Mekelle, 48% in Shire
31/01: 63% in Mekelle, 83% in Shire
07/02: 63% in Mekelle, 79% in Shire
14/02: 71% in Mekelle, 79% in Shire
The further distribution of those volumes of aid that could reach the warehouses of Shire and Mekelle, is again obstructed by enormous lack of cash to pay for logistics, as well as inaccessibility due to the presence of Eritrean and Amhara soldiers.
See the details, as reported by the Food Cluster updates:
January 18, 2023: Partial blockade on commercial goods and services
All food partners have to continue relying on humanitarian flights to bring cash into the region while banking services, gradually resuming in the main towns, are not yet fully functional. Significant amount of cash is required for partners to cover day-to-day operation costs and previous credits, ensuring that assistance continues without interruption.
To support partners in providing timely and adequate assistance to the most affected populations with limited resources, strengthening/re-establishing local government structures as well as the linkages between authorities at all levels, ensuring that civil servants, having not been paid for more than 18 months, receive their salaries, and resuming unrestricted flow of commercial supplies into Tigray is crucial in addition to full resumption of essential services (including banking, communication and other enablers) in all parts of the region.
January 25, 2023 & February 01, 2023: Partial blockade on commercial services
All food partners have to continue relying on humanitarian flights to bring cash into the region while banking services, gradually resuming in the main towns, is not yet fully functional. Significant amount of cash is required for partners to cover day-to-day operation costs and previous credits, ensuring that assistance continues without interruption.
February 08, 2023: Partial area blockade (Central, Eastern & North Western Zone (Eritrean forces), North Western Zone (Amhara forces)
Although the humanitarian space continues to improve in Tigray, some woredas (for instance, Egela (Central), Erob and Gulo Mekeda (Eastern); Dima, May Tsebri town, Tahtay Adiyabo and Tselemti (North Western) remain partially inaccessible with access to/from some pocket areas continuing to be challenging for partners and communities due to armed actors’ presence and movements in contested areas along the international and regional borders.
February 15, 2023 & February 22, 2023: Partial area blockade (Central, Eastern, Western & North Western Zone (Eritrean forces), North Western & Western Zone (Amhara forces)
While the humanitarian space has improved in Tigray, some areas in Erob (Eastern), Zala Anbesa town (Eastern), Egela (Central), Dima (North Western), Tahtay Adiyabo (North Western), Ofla (Southern) and Zata (Southern) remain inaccessible for food partners due to armed actors’ presence and movements along the international and regional borders; the movement of humanitarian supplies to southern parts of North Western and Southern zones is currently much restricted with access from Amhara Region only; and Western Zone is inaccessible for most partners.
See also these maps, published by USAID (24 February 2023).
This confirms what we hear from our contacts on the ground. The de facto road blockade around Tigray continues to be implemented, with only two accessible humanitarian corridors, as well as air access. With regard to food insecurity, the larger part of Tigray still continues to be under IPC «4 – Emergency» status (with high starvation death rate). Before the war, the status all over Tigray was «1 – Minimal food insecurity».
Martin Plaut 
How can one trust liars? The ruling group in Ethiopia lies to hoodwink the public. It is never genuine. Foreign scholars have concluded the leader as “Pathological Liar”. Above all they are killers who still deny killing. They laugh when citizens are killed by troops. It is impossible to expect true statement from them. Thanks!
I completely agree with your characterization of the dire situation in all parts of Tigray.