UN appeals for assistance

The UN Country Team (UNCT) last week launched an appeal for US $190 million to help over 8 million Ethiopians and about 250,000 refugees in the country. Included in the appeal are requests for assistance for 7,732,335 victims of natural disaster and 349,837 internally displaced people. Representatives of the UNCT told a news conference in Addis Ababa that current conditions in Ethiopia gave great cause for concern. "In many respects, the relief operation in 1999 only succeeded in meeting some of
the most acute needs," the UNCT said. "If adequate assistance is slow in arriving, the crisis will not only return, but will be much larger in magnitude and severity, and certainly more costly and difficult to mitigate." The appeal lists a number of priority interventions in food assistance, health, water, sanitation, nutrition, education, special protection needs and agriculture.

Earlier, the government's Disaster Prevention and Preparedness Commission (DPPC) also appealed for about 899,000 mt of food to assist over 8 million people. It attributed the requirement to natural factors (mainly lack of rain) and man-made (the conflict with Eritrea), WFP reported.