Food supply situation "grim", FAO says

The UN's Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) has warned that Eritrea is one of the most needy countries in sub-Saharan Africa in terms of food aid. In a report, it described the food supply situation in Eritrea as "grim", mainly due to severe droughts in previous agricultural seasons. The report also listed Ethiopia, Mauritania and Zimbabwe as desperately needing food aid. "In Eritrea, food shortages are alarming as nearly two-thirds of the country’s population of 3.4 million people face severe food shortages due to last year’s drought," the FAO said. "Of these, an estimated 1.4 million need emergency food assistance." It noted that the Eritrean government appealed for 476,000 mt of emergency food assistance last year and had repeatedly called for increased contributions from the international community. In March, the FAO and World Food Programme (WFP) jointly approved an emergency operation worth US $46.5 million to assist about 900,000 people for a period of 10 months (May 2003 – February 2004). "The food crisis could escalate if food aid is not rapidly forthcoming," the FAO report warned. It noted that global malnutrition rates had reached 15-26 percent. Furthermore, humanitarian assistance was needed for large numbers of people internally displaced by the recent war with Ethiopia, returning refugees from Sudan, and 80,000 children benefiting from WFP’s emergency school feeding programme. "The outcome of the 2003 cropping season will therefore be critical," it said. The FAO appealed for more food aid pledges and accelerated emergency food deliveries to the country. Meanwhile 23,750 mt of relief food, donated by the European Union, arrived at Massawa port on Wednesday, Eritrean radio said.