UN warning over resettlement programme

Ethiopian families resettled to lowland areas are in danger of facing regions “infested” with malaria and sleeping sickness, according to the UN’s Emergencies Unit for Ethiopia (EUE). It also warned that major pitfalls like ethnic tensions or ecological damage through large-scale movements must be avoided if the government resettlement scheme is to work. The findings come in a report on resettlement plans underway in the Southern Nations, Nationalities and People’s Region (SNNPR) – an area hit by the current food crisis. The controversial national resettlement programme, which will see the movement of some 2.2 million people over the next three years, has already been criticised by aid agencies. But the government is adamant that the initiative – a central plank of its anti-poverty strategy - will go ahead, and has urged the international community to support the policy. In June, Prime Minister Meles Zenawi hosted a two-day meeting and won the backing of dozens of key figures from humanitarian agencies. But the EUE, which spent three weeks analysing potential resettlement schemes in SNNPR, warned that for the plan to work it must be properly implemented. “Experiences in Ethiopia, elsewhere in Africa, and the world over show that things often go wrong in resettlement operations unless managed with meticulous care,” said Dr Wolde Selassie Abbute, the report's author. “Hasty execution of the resettlement might have humanitarian and ecological consequences and hence, the programme needs thorough preparation to achieve food security as intended.” “Some available spaces meant for resettlement in the receiving areas are located at remote and marginal lowland areas infested with malaria and trypanosomiasis,” the report added. A total of around 500,000 people are expected to be resettled in SNNPR in the coming years – with a fifth this year alone. Food aid will be provided for the first eight months. The EUE said that the resettlement programme should allow for “individual adaptation” dependent on specific circumstances, rather than a uniform policy. It also warned that many families might opt to resettle because of the current food crisis rather than by making “rational decisions”.