EC provides extra aid as warning issued over food crisis

The European Commission is to provide an extra €11 million to alleviate the effects of the drought and improve the food security situation in Eritrea. In a statement, it said this pledge brings to nearly €50 million the total contribution of the European Union to Eritrea, including the Commission and EU member states. Out of the new pledge, €5 million will be allocated to the World Food Programme to provide supplementary feeding and €6 million for non-governmental organisations (NGOs) to implement activities focusing on South Red Sea, North Red Sea and Anseba provinces. The announcement follows a visit to Eritrea by a team from the EC's Food Security Unit. "The mission was also informed by the Eritrean authorities on the state of preparation of the National Food Security Strategy," the statement said. "The EC is keen to continue discussions about the strategy and the structural causes of the humanitarian crisis in Eritrea, besides the effects of the war and erratic rainfall, in view of a possible financial support." Meanwhile, a food security watchdog has warned that serious and widespread food insecurity persists in Eritrea. The US government's Famine Early Warning System Network (FEWS) said immediate improvements in food security would depend primarily on increased deliveries of relief food. "While significant food aid pledges have occurred in the last couple of months, the rate of food deliveries to Eritrea has been very slow," it noted. "This has led to a reduction in both ration levels and the numbers of people receiving food. Therefore, expediting deliveries between now and late October, the main hunger period, is critical." It stated that immediate priorities for further donor pledges would include supplementary foods, to be targeted to the malnourished and vulnerable under fives; and oils and pulses to provide a nutritionally balanced general ration. "Given the limited food resources, efficient and improved geographic targeting is essential," it stressed.