UN official on mission to Horn of Africa to aid victims of drought and conflict

With the situation of 8 million poverty-stricken and conflict-affected people in Djibouti, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Kenya and Somalia giving rise to serious concern this year, the top United Nations relief official for the region begins a week-long mission tomorrow to confer with the authorities, donor representatives and partner agencies.

While there, Special Humanitarian Envoy for the Horn of Africa Kjell Magne Bondevik is expected to travel to drought-stricken areas to assess the situation first-hand.

Several years of successive rainfall failures and the concomitant rapid erosion of assets and livelihoods have left the people in parts of the five countries to suffer from water shortages and declining access to food, according to the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA).

The predominately pastoral and agro-pastoral communities are being forced to travel vast distances to find grazing for their animals. Meanwhile, reduced agricultural production has led to a dramatic increase in the price of food commodities, particularly of cereals. Without assistance many people face malnutrition, significantly increased risk of disease, loss of livelihoods and even death.

As part of the response to the situation, Secretary-General Kofi Annan appointed former Norwegian Prime Minister Kjell Magne Bondevik as Special Humanitarian Envoy for the Horn of Africa in February. The UN has also launched a $426-million appeal for the Horn of Africa to support the urgent needs of more than 8 million affected people.