Drought, conflict obstacles to recovery in Ethiopia and Eritrea - UN aid official

Prolonged drought and the lingering effects of conflict were among the myriad "serious and complex" hurdles to long-term recovery in Ethiopia and Eritrea, according to a senior United Nations humanitarian official just back from a weeklong assessment of ways to better address the underlying causes of food insecurity in the region.

A third drought in four years in Eritrea and Ethiopia prevented communities from long-term recovery, the UN's Deputy Humanitarian Coordinator, Carolyn McAskie, said at a UN Headquarters press briefing today. The effects of the drought in the Horn of Africa were further exacerbated by the fact that Ethiopia and Eritrea had not yet recovered from their war.

In Eritrea, Ms. McAskie said, over 2 million people - two-thirds of the total population - were affected and required humanitarian assistance. A fairly low response to requests for assistance at the beginning of the year had picked up significantly over the second quarter, and now about 40 per cent of the needs requested had been pledged.

Still, the difficulty in getting the pledges to the region, unfortunately, meant that less than 19 per cent of the food aid was actually on the ground in Eritrea, she added. Only about 60 per cent of the needy were getting food deliveries, and at lower rations. Critical non-food deliveries, including supplementary feeding for children and assistance to water projects, were at about 12 per cent of what had been requested.

Ethiopia was also facing a complex and serious situation, Ms. McAskie said. The food aid response to its appeal, however, had been very gratifying. With a confirmed 90 per cent of the pledges met, she hoped that the 10 per cent gap would be closed as well. Non-food items were up to 80 per cent, and the response of the Government and the international community had been very good.

One area of concern was southern Ethiopia, she added, where communities that were actually quite fertile were suffering from a "green famine" - where crops were growing, but were unusually late. In addition, entire areas were suffering from drops in income as a result of low coffee prices. During her visit, Ms. McAskie had come across large pockets of extremely vulnerable children in that region. Children had suffered year after year, but had been overwhelmed by this particular drought.

Currently, most of the vulnerable groups had been identified and supplementary foods were being delivered, she said. The good news was that 95 per cent of the most vulnerable children could be saved, if put on therapeutic feeding or supplementary feeding. However, the Government, UN partners and donors must ensure that the next round of food needs assessments cover the whole country and all sectors. The big issue for Ethiopia was long-term and medium-term recovery. In that connection, the Government had just launched a comprehensive strategy called "Coalition on Food Security" to ensure better preparedness for future droughts.