Humanitarian situation still serious, says top UN official

The UN Humanitarian Coordinator in Eritrea has said the situation in the country has improved slightly, but there is still major cause for concern. Simon Nhongo noted that donor response to appeals for humanitarian assistance was initially very slow, but picked up in the latter half of the year. From a 20 percent response in February, the level had now reached about 62 percent for food and non-food aid. “We are very thankful to the donors, although we would of course like to do better,” he told IRIN on Wednesday. In a normal year, Eritrea usually produces 450,000 mt of cereals. Last year only 54,000 mt were produced, and the forecast for this year is around 210,000 mt – still way below the potential production. Total requirements are around 600,000 mt per year. Nhongo blamed the shortfall on inadequate rains earlier in the year, and poor distribution of the late rains. The situation was further exacerbated by the ongoing drought - which has had a devastating effect on the country - and the lingering fallout of the 1998-2000 war with Ethiopia. Some 60,000 people, out of an initial displaced population of 1.1 million, are still in camps for the war displaced. And given the uncertain situation over border demarcation with Ethiopia, many of the country’s able-bodied people are still in the army and have yet to be demobilised. “The humanitarian situation remains serious,” Nhongo stressed. “The emphasis now is on recovery from the war and from the drought. People’s coping mechanisms have been depleted and it takes a while to build this up again.” Over 60 percent of Eritrea’s population live below the poverty line, which limits their capacity for recovery, Nhongo added. He said the government had been very active in preparing poverty alleviation and food security policies, and a three-year integrated recovery programme from 2004 to 2006 had been formulated. “One of the biggest challenges is raising the profile of Eritrea’s humanitarian needs,” Nhongo said. In this regard, he added, next week’s visit to Eritrea by the UN special envoy for the humanitarian crisis in the Horn, Martti Ahtisaari, was a vital move in generating publicity. “We are not out of the emergency situation,” Nhongo told IRIN. “It is difficult to be optimistic for 2004. There is poverty, the uncertainty of the weather conditions, perennial drought and uncertainty over the peace situation. If there is no peace, development is difficult.”