Humanitarian envoy ends regional visit

The United Nations envoy for the humanitarian crisis in the Horn of Africa, Martti Ahtisaari, wrapped up his visit to Ethiopia and Eritrea by thanking donors for responding to food appeals for the region, relief workers said. A statement issued by the UN Resident and Humanitarian Coordinator in Ethiopia said the envoy had arrived in Ethiopia from Eritrea on 2 April for a three-day visit to review the humanitarian situation and measures taken by the government and relief agencies to break the cycle of hunger and poverty there. Ethiopia, the statement said, faced severe drought conditions that devastated agricultural production in 2002 and placed over 13 million people at risk of starvation in 2003. In 2004, however, the number of people relying on emergency food assistance was seven million, a 45-percent reduction on the 2003 figure. Some 880,000 mt of emergency food and US $85 million in non-food assistance was needed this year. So far, half of the requirement for food and 20 percent of the non-food items had been pledged by donors, the statement added. Relief workers in the Ethiopian capital, Addis Ababa, told IRIN on Tuesday that the envoy had expressed satisfaction with the response of the international community to appeals for Ethiopia this year. The envoy arrived in Eritrea on 31 March for his third visit to the country, where he was updated on the humanitarian situation and discussed progress in the implementation of recovery and food-security strategies that could reduce the region's vulnerability to drought. According to the UN, an estimated 1.9 million people are likely to become unable to feed themselves in Eritrea this year, mainly because the country has suffered four years of drought, with rains in 2003 below average, resulting in crop failure and loss of livestock.