Tigray’s Fight for Financial Justice: Survival Amid Systemic Injustice and Neglect

Tigray’s ongoing economic, political, and humanitarian crises, which have persisted since the outbreak of the genocidal war in 2020, highlight the Ethiopian government’s deliberate destruction and systemic neglect of Tigray. The region’s dire financial situation underscores its people’s broader struggle for justice, equity, and survival. The refusal to provide adequate resources is symptomatic of the Ethiopian government’s broader strategy of economic warfare, punitive policies, and continued efforts to strangle Tigray, even in the post-active genocidal war period. In this article, I outline the financial and human destruction during the genocidal war and post-Pretoria Agreement, describing how the physical destruction of the region’s infrastructure and economic potential is compounded by the Ethiopian government’s fiscal and budgetary neglect of the region. The article concludes with a call to the international community.

Genocidal War in Tigray

The active genocidal war on Tigray (2020-2022) by the Ethiopian government and its allies was characterized by unprecedented atrocities, destruction, and human suffering. The Ethiopian government, alongside its allies, waged a genocidal campaign targeting Tigrayans through massacres, widespread weaponized sexual violence, weaponized starvation, and systematic destruction of cultural heritage and infrastructure. Schools, hospitals, factories, and marketplaces were deliberately destroyed and bombed, crippling the region’s ability to sustain itself. 

Starvation was weaponized as a tool of war by the invading forces. Millions of Tigrayans were cut off from humanitarian aid, while agricultural destruction, including the burning of agricultural fields, slaughtering of livestock, and looting and destruction of farming equipment, was enacted. These were not isolated acts but deliberate strategies designed to annihilate the region’s capacity for self-reliance. 

The Ethiopian government’s financial blockade on Tigray during the genocidal war was a calculated act of economic warfare. Banks were shut down, budgetary allocations frozen, and communications severed, effectively isolating Tigray from the rest of the country and the international community. This, in addition to causing isolation, was done to destroy the economy. In fact, key figures aligned with the genocidal regime pompously made statements about successfully returning Tigray’s economy to what it was 30 years before: into shambles.

Post-Pretoria Agreement 

Following the November 2022 Cessation of Hostilities Agreement (CoHA) in Pretoria, South Africa, a silencing of the guns between the Ethiopian Federal Government and the Tigray People’s Liberation Front was achieved. Pursuant to the Pretoria Agreement and subsequent Nairobi Declaration, the people of Tigray were left to grapple with the aftermath of this devastation.

Tigray’s agricultural sector, once the backbone of its economy, has been decimated. Farmers face severe shortages of seeds, fertilizers, and tools, while millions have been displaced from their land by the ongoing illegal and forceful occupation of Tigrayan territories by invading Eritrean and Amhara forces. In fact, the International Organization for Migration (IOM) reported that: “Tigray region…hosts the highest number of Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs), primarily due to conflict.” Further, according to the World Food Programme (WFP), only 40 per cent of the estimated need for food aid in Tigray can be met [in 2025]. In addition, in occupied territories (approximately over 40% of Tigray’s land), aid is severely restricted and atrocity crimes continue. 

Civil servants, including teachers and healthcare workers, went unpaid for over two years, resulting in the collapse of public services. Schools closed, clinics ceased operations, and families were driven into extreme poverty. By December 2023, over 900 healthcare professionals (4.5% of the workforce), including 86 specialists and 150 general practitioners, resigned and left the region, according to Dr. Fisseha Ashebir, chairman of the Tigray Association of Health Professionals. This exodus compounded an already dire situation, leaving children without education, patients without care, and families without hope. The Ethiopian government’s deliberate withholding of resources has turned everyday survival into a monumental struggle for Tigrayans. 

The Budget Allocation Formula: A Tool of Marginalization 

In light of this destruction, budget allocations for Tigray remain grossly inadequate, ignoring the region’s unique needs as it attempts to rebuild unoccupied areas from the ashes of the genocidal war. 
The Ethiopian government’s budget allocation formula, based solely on population size, fails to account for the extraordinary circumstances faced by Tigray, a region already devastated by a genocidal war. For the 2024/25 fiscal year, Tigray has been allocated just 13 billion birr—a figure that pales in comparison to the scale of the deliberate destruction and the resources required for recovery.

Senior officials within the TIRA have criticized this formula as blind to the realities on the ground. Desta Bezabih, a prominent leader in the administration, has noted that this allocation treats Tigray as though the war never happened, ignoring the region’s unique needs and the federal government’s responsibility to address them.

This budgetary neglect perpetuates Tigray’s marginalization within Ethiopia’s federal system, forcing the region to rebuild with minimal resources while grappling with ongoing challenges such as non-payment of civil servants, displacement, food insecurity, and the presence of hostile forces including Amhara and Eritrean forces.

The Role of the International Community

The international community has a moral and legal obligation to hold the Ethiopian government accountable for its actions. The Pretoria Agreement cannot succeed without robust international oversight to ensure its full implementation, including the withdrawal of non-federal forces from Tigray (Article 2.1 (d)) according to the Declaration in Nairobi and the restoration of essential services (Article 7 Sub-Article 2(b)) according to the Agreement in Pretoria.

Donor countries and international organizations must pressure Ethiopia to provide adequate financial support to Tigray as restitution, not just charity or loan. Humanitarian aid alone is not enough; what Tigray needs is justice and the resources to rebuild its economy and society.

Human rights organizations, including Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch, have documented the economic and humanitarian crimes committed against Tigray. These reports must serve as a basis for international advocacy, demanding accountability and reparations for the people of Tigray.

A Struggle for Justice and Survival

Tigray’s fight for financial justice is about more than money—it is about survival, dignity, and the right to rebuild after enduring unimaginable suffering. The Ethiopian government’s refusal to provide adequate resources is not only a betrayal of the Pretoria Agreement but also a continuation of the systemic oppression that has plagued Tigray since the rise of Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed’s Prosperity Party.

For the people of Tigray, this struggle is far from over. It is a battle for justice, and the opportunity to heal and rebuild. The international community must stand with Tigray in demanding justice and accountability from the Ethiopian government. Anything less would be a failure to uphold the principles of the Pretoria Agreement, and indeed, that of humanity, peace, and reconciliation.