We are aware that there has been some loosening of the blockade that is now permitting UN humanitarian assistance services and UNHAS flights into Tigray. That is also a promising sign. We only provide funding to our humanitarian partners who have significance in working in these kind of challenging situations.
We have raised the issue of humanitarian access on multiple occasions. These include the calls between our Prime Minister and Prime Minister Abiy, as I mentioned. That's happened four times since last November. We've raised this concern with the high representative of the African Union, Obasanjo. We've raised it in calls with the Prime Minister to President Biden in January, as well as to the UN Secretary General in December.
If there is one thing that has been consistent in all of Canada's political and diplomatic representations on the crisis in Ethiopia, it has been that call to lift the humanitarian blockade and to improve humanitarian access. As we mentioned, hopefully there will be some lifting of that and an improvement in access with the lifting of the state of emergency.