Border area aided by Dutch-funded housing project

A project implemented by the UN Development Programme (UNDP) has rehabilitated or reconstructed over 3,000 houses in Eritrea's border region of Debub, through a Dutch-supported post-war rehabilitation programme, a UNDP press statement said.

Of these, 2,000 houses have been reconstructed in the town of Tserona on the border with Ethiopia. Tserona and the surrounding region has been one of the areas most devastated by the war with Ethiopia.

According to the statement, the Dutch government has provided US $2.3 million for the housing initiative. The rehabilitation of 2,400 emergency housing units in the neighbouring Gash Barka Region is also proceeding well.

The housing project was part "of the UNDP Post War Emergency and Rehabilitation (PoWER) programme", the statement said. In addition to the provision of housing, the programme last year rehabilitated 22 schools and 13 health facilities, including one hospital. It also drilled 12 boreholes and constructed two hand-dug wells, the statement said.

At the inaugural ceremony, attended by the Netherlands ambassador to Eritrea, J.M.G. Brandt, the local community renamed the Tserona town square "The Hague Square" in appreciation of the assistance.

Speaking during the ceremony, UNDP Resident Representative to Eritrea Simon Nhongo hailed the Netherlands' assistance. "Had it not been for the timely intervention and contribution by the government of the Netherlands, through Ambassador Brandt, it might not have been possible for us to be present here for this ceremony," he said. He also paid tribute to the local community for "the spirit and practice of collaboration".