UN Special Envoy arrives in drought-stricken Eritrea to review humanitarian situation

The United Nations Special Envoy monitoring the humanitarian crisis in the drought-stricken Horn of Africa arrives today in Eritrea, just days after a warning went out that September rainfall in the country was inadequate for needed agricultural production.

High on Martti Ahtisaari's agenda "will be efforts to raise international awareness of the humanitarian crisis in Eritrea and ongoing measures to address the food security situation," UN spokesman Stephane Dujarric told journalists at the daily press briefing in New York.

The Famine Early Warning Systems Network (FEWS NET) reported on Monday that inadequate September rainfall could result in a "total failure" of long-cycle crops and a below average harvest of short-cycle crops in Eritrea. It also said that inadequate and irregular rain in July and August had reduced available pastures.

Meanwhile, the number of people in need of emergency relief assistance was estimated at 1.9 million this year, but about 600,000 of them, mainly in urban centres, were not receiving food aid, the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) said.

"Malnutrition rates have risen this year, with the prevalence of global acute malnutrition rates as high as 19.1 per cent, 18.4 per cent and 13.9 per cent in Anseba, Gash Barka, and Northern Red Sea zones, respectively, as revealed by the Ministry of Health's Nutritional Surveillance System," OCHA said.

Most of the country was in dire need of drinking water and tens of thousands of people required immediate and accelerated water trucking, it said.

Mr. Ahtisaari was scheduled to leave Eritrea for neighbouring Ethiopia on Saturday, OCHA said.