Humanitarian crisis far from over, UN warns

About 1.9 million war-affected Eritreans, including internally displaced persons (IDPs) and their hosts, returning refugees and expellees, need humanitarian assistance this year, Simon Nhongo, the United Nations Humanitarian Coordinator in Eritrea said. The main requirement, Nhongo added, was food assistance following the recent arrival of the delayed short rains which did not have a significant impact. Presently, only 22 percent of the country's annual 612,000 mt of cereal requirements was available. "Due mainly to failure in rain in 2003, Eritrea [will be] heavily dependent on timely and adequate food aid in 2004," he said. "Unless responses come forth quickly and in adequate quantities, a difficult condition is anticipated to set in early in 2004." Nhongo and other UN officials, who met donors in Geneva on Wednesday following a tour of several Nordic countries to update them on the prevailing humanitarian situation in Eritrea, appealed for a timely response to a US $147-million appeal for Eritrea. He said although a major famine crisis had been averted in Eritrea last year, the momentum needed to be maintained through a timely and increased response to the UN's 2004 consolidated appeal, some two-thirds of which was for basic food needs. In 2003, Eritrea received 75.6 percent of the requested $160 million. However, Nhongo said, delays in pledges and receipt of funds had had impact negatively on the timely delivery of aid. At the Geneva meeting, the World Food Programme said its current in-country stocks would cover only three months of food needs and were expected to run out in March. It called for early commitment from donors, saying it took a minimum of two months to transport food stocks from Europe and three from North America. Nhongo said several in-country efforts focusing on moving Eritrea out of its current emergency were being developed. These included an Integrated Recovery Programme based on medium- and long-term needs, which was awaiting government approval, a Food Security Strategy, an Interim Poverty Reduction Strategy Paper and a proposal targeting IDPs and host countries affected by the Eritrea/Ethiopia border demarcation. Eritrea has a population of about 4 million affected by recurrent drought over the past three years, which has led to widespread food and water shortages.