The war on Tigray has caused damage worth more than 100 billion dollars, the the recovery and reconstruction coordination office said
The bureau, presenting its annual performance report of the 3R-4CACE project during a meeting in Mekelle, said it carried out reconstruction and rehabilitation efforts across 38 districts in Tigray with support from the World Bank amounting to over 2.2 billion birr
As part of these efforts, 949 clean water facilities, 54 schools and 28 healthcare centers have been built, the bureau said. It added that financial support of more than 60,000 birr each has been provided to 735 survivors of sexual violence.
However, these initial steps pale in comparison to the widespread destruction documented in a Universal Periodic Review (UPR) report submitted to the United Nations Human Rights Council.
According to the UPR report, compiled by rights organizations and civic society organizations, 88.3% of Tigray’s 2,054 public schools were damaged or destroyed. Students now walk an average of 7.3 kilometers to reach primary schools, compared to just 2.5 kilometers before the war, while high school students travel nearly 17 kilometers. At least 1,911 students and 235 teachers were killed, leaving deep scars on the education system.
Water infrastructure has been equally hard hit. According to the report Tigray’s Pre-war coverage stood at 60% in urban areas and 55% in rural areas. Those figures have now plummeted to 25% and 28% respectively, cutting off 3.7 million people from reliable water supplies.
The UPR report describes the impact of the war as “systemic and deliberate,” citing the destruction of roads, bridges, dams, telecoms and energy infrastructure. The Tekeze hydropower plant, a major electricity source, and numerous substations were targeted by airstrikes, causing widespread and prolonged power outages.
Agriculture, which is the backbone of Tigray’s economy, has also been devastated by the destruction of farmland, irrigation systems and livestock. Without large-scale investment, food security remains precarious.
While the 3R-4CACE reconstruction initiative has begun repairing infrastructure, its scale is minimal compared to the estimated $100 billion in damage. “The assistance so far is symbolic compared to the actual scale of damage,” a senior official with the reconstruction bureau said. “We need sustained and massive investments, not short term fixes.”
The scale and complexity of the destruction in Tigray demand a Marshall Plan-style response. One that not only rebuilds infrastructure but also addresses the economic and social wounds of war. This would require international donors, multilateral institutions, and Ethiopia’s federal government to coordinate long-term investments in energy, water, transport, education, and agriculture.
Analysts say a comprehensive recovery roadmap should also include debt reliefs for Tigrayans investors who have been at the forefront of the economic damage, private sector incentives to attract investment to Tigray and targeted programs for restoring livelihoods.
Without a bold, coordinated strategy, Tigray risks becoming a humanitarian black hole, however a sustained recovery effort could instead turn the Tigray into a test case for post-conflict reconstruction in Africa similar in ambition to Europe’s recovery after World War II.
