Appeal for drought recovery

The UN Country Team in Ethiopia is seeking over US $203 million for 6.24 million drought-affected Ethiopians. The assistance would also be directed to the emergency needs of about 400,000 internally displaced persons (IDPs) in Ethiopia and some 206,000 refugees from Somalia, a press statement said. Making the appeal for humanitarian assistance to Ethiopia, UNDP Resident representative Samuel Nyambi praised the response of the donor community for "generously meeting" the needs of 10.2 million drought affected people in the country last year, and told journalists and humanitarian representatives that the drought situation this year "appears less alarming". According to UN sources in Addis Ababa, donors met 66 percent of the regional drought appeal last year. Mark Bidder, member of the UN Country Team in Ethiopia, told IRIN that the appeal had been launched "to bridge the gap between the relief operation and recovery." He said there were good signs of recovery, with "improved weather conditions, animals getting fatter, IDPs returning home, and a peace agreement signed between Ethiopia and Eritrea." But he warned that recovery was "fragile" and that there was need for support from the donors to maintain full engagement in areas that had been badly hit by the regional drought last year. He said the appeal was part of the regional drought initiative, but was specifically designed for Ethiopia - "we need this for the final push to recovery".