A coalition of 25 international partners has issued a strong joint statement backing the African Union-led mediation efforts in northern Ethiopia, warning that a renewed conflict would bring catastrophic consequences to a region still reeling from one of Africa’s deadliest modern wars.

The statement was issued by the diplomatic missions of the European Union Delegation to Ethiopia and the African Union, alongside EU member states France, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, Poland, and Sweden, as well as the embassies of Canada, Norway, and the United Kingdom. It reflects a growing international concern over the fraying 2022 Pretoria peace agreement.

“We are following developments in northern Ethiopia with deep concern,” the statement emphasizes. The diplomats “encourage all parties to engage constructively and in good faith to implement the Permanent Cessation of Hostilities Agreement (CoHA),” while welcoming renewed engagement, including recent visits and meetings in Addis Ababa and Mekelle by the AU High Representative for the Horn of Africa and former Nigerian President Olusegun Obasanjo.

Over the past months, both sides have been massing troops along the northern border, with the Tigray People’s Liberation Front (TPLF) accusing the federal army of drone strikes, while Addis Ababa alleges military preparations by Tigrayan forces.

The joint statement specifically points out that “a renewed military confrontation in the drought-stricken Tigray region, which faces staggering humanitarian needs, would be devastating for the people of northern Ethiopia.”

On August 25, the Government of the National Regional State of Tigray issued a statement confirming that former President Obasanjo had made an unannounced visit to Mekelle. Although the regional president adjusted his schedule to meet with the AU delegation, the government noted a “lack of meaningful follow-up” regarding discussions held since June.

Among the five critical issues identified in those earlier talks that remain unresolved are: lifting the economic embargo on Tigray; ending the military encirclement and stabilizing the security situation; restoring occupied territories; facilitating the safe return of displaced persons; and restoring the legal and political status of the TPLF. The Tigrayan government stated that Obasanjo had indicated he would return within one to two weeks following consultations with federal authorities, but “no such follow-up took place.”

The statement declares, “We have neither the appetite nor the political space to repeat a process that has failed over the past four years,” describing the process as characterized by “repeated talks, unfulfilled assurances, and continued deterioration on the ground.”

U.S. Ambassador to Ethiopia Ervin Massinga and U.S. Mission to the African Union Chargé d’Affaires Walter Parrs similarly praised Obasanjo’s visit to Mekelle while noting that deep-seated fear and anxiety persist among local populations regarding a potential relapse into conflict.

Diplomats stressed that the primary objective for all leaders must be facilitating the safe and dignified return of displaced populations to their productive lives—a goal that demands immediate compromise and dialogue. The United States previously imposed targeted visa restrictions on hardline members of the TPLF accused of undermining the peace process.

​The National Bank of Ethiopia (NBE) has released the results for its foreign exchange auctions held throughout August 2026, pointing to a notable contraction in commercial bank participation toward the end of the month.

​The downward trend in lender engagement is clearly visible across the central bank’s periodic trading sessions. At the start of the month, Foreign Exchange Auction No. 25 on August 12, 2026, recorded robust interest, drawing 28 participating banks vying for a USD 125 million allotment. Out of that pool, nine banks successfully secured funds, with total bids climbing to USD 470.17 million against a marginal cut-off rate of 161.0050 Birr/USD.

​A subsequent Special Foreign Exchange Auction on August 20, 2026, injected a substantial USD 500 million into the financial system. This special session sustained high market engagement, recording 22 participating banks—21 of which were successful—with total bids reaching USD 710.14 million and a marginal rate of 160.2021 Birr/USD.

​However, market dynamics shifted drastically by the close of the month. Auction No. 27, conducted on August 26, 2026, saw total participation plunge to just five banks. Out of these institutions, only two emerged as successful participants to claim portions of the USD 125 million allotted amount. Total bids dropped sharply to USD 170.51 million, while the marginal and weighted average rates settled slightly lower at 160.2070 Birr/USD.

​ World Health Organization (WHO) Director-General Dr. Tedros Adhanom has issued a stark warning that Africa loses an estimated USD 90 billion annually to illicit financial flows, severely undermining the continent’s public health financing.

​Delivering a virtual opening address at the 76th session of the WHO Regional Committee for Africa in Addis Ababa, Tedros emphasized that this massive systematic drain far outstrips the USD 74 billion in official development assistance received by the continent in 2023.
​Highlighting the mounting fiscal pressures facing African nations, the Director-General noted that governments spent USD 163 billion on external debt servicing last year alone. He explained that more than half of East and West African countries currently allocate more financial resources to debt interest payments than to public healthcare.

​”Stopping illicit financial flows, ensuring fair debt restructuring agreements, and fully leveraging health taxes alongside other domestic reforms would provide Africa with ample resources to care for its own people,” Dr. Tedros stated. He described the current international financial squeeze not merely as a crisis, but as a long-overdue opportunity for the continent to shed its reliance on foreign aid and build genuine health sovereignty and self-reliance.

​The high-level summit has brought together regional leaders to address severe funding cuts, recurrent disease outbreaks, and post-pandemic economic recovery challenges. Reflecting on his journey since his first address in Zimbabwe in 2017—with his current term concluding in August 2027—Tedros recalled the significant strides made in African public health over the past nine years.

​Recalling that African leaders must take full ownership of their health agendas, he noted that the principle of Africa financing, managing, and delivering its own healthcare is steadily taking root.

​In her remarks, Ethiopia’s Minister of Health, Dr. Mekdes Daba, underscored that Africa must systematically build and expand its internal capacity to meet the health needs of its population.
​The Minister highlighted that the market share of locally manufactured pharmaceutical products has surged from 8 percent to 44 percent, emphasizing that scaling up domestic medicine production is a vital step toward reducing foreign dependency and safeguarding health security.

​According to data presented by the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa (ECA), out-of-pocket health spending across the continent averages 30 percent—well above the organization’s 20 percent threshold—pushing approximately 150 million Africans into poverty every year.

​Dr. Tedros outlined five key priorities for the upcoming term, which include finalizing global pandemic agreements, securing sustainable financing, and optimizing health systems.

​The ongoing conference in Addis Ababa is being attended by health ministers and representatives from over 40 African nations, alongside officials from the WHO and other international institutions, researchers, and key stakeholders.