UN envoy to discuss food situation with Afewerki

The United Nations Special Envoy for the Humanitarian Crisis in the Horn of Africa, Martti Ahtisaari, was expected to arrive in the Eritrean capital, Asmara, on Wednesday to discuss the humanitarian situation in the country, the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) reported. Ahtisaari would discuss the current food shortages in Eritrea with President Isaias Afewerki, senior government officials, the UN country team, NGOs and donor country representatives, OCHA said in a statement issued on Wednesday. "High on his agenda will be the efforts to raise international awareness of the humanitarian crisis in Eritrea and ongoing measures to address the food security situation," OCHA said. "He will also discuss strategies for ensuring that the response to urgent humanitarian needs is effective, timely and efficient." According to OCHA, some 1.9 million Eritreans are in need of emergency relief assistance this year. Malnutrition rates, for example, have risen with the prevalence of global acute malnutrition rates as high as 19.1 percent, 18.4 percent and 13.9 percent in Anseba, Gash Barka, and Northern Red Sea zones respectively. Most of the country was also in dire need of drinking water, and tens of thousands of people required immediate support through accelerated water trucking, OCHA said. Prices of most foods had also been very high over the past few months, making the market a less viable option for most urban and rural poor households. The Famine Early Warning Systems Network (FEWS NET) reported on Friday that inadequate rainfall in September could result in a "total failure" of long-cycle crops and a below average harvest of short-cycle crops in Eritrea. "As most of the short-cycle crops were at the late vegetative and early flowering stage in August, continuity of the rains through the end of September was assumed critical for the upcoming harvest," FEWS NET said in an update. "However, a dry spell prevailed during the last three weeks of September in most parts of the country, and this is expected to affect the expected harvest severely."