UN envoy warns of continuing hardship next year

The UN Special Envoy for the humanitarian crisis in the Horn, Martti Ahtisaari, has warned that the humanitarian situation in Eritrea will continue to be serious next year. Speaking at the end of a four-day visit to the country, Ahtisaari said Eritrea had little chance of success if the international community did not assist. According to a press release issued by the UN's Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), he also stressed the importance of working in partnership with the Eritrean government. “Thanks to donors a major disaster has been avoided,” Ahtisaari told a press conference this week. An estimated 1.7 million Eritreans will require humanitarian assistance in 2004 as a result of war, poverty and continuing drought. Coping mechanisms of the affected population are severely strained with a deteriorating nutritional status among children under five and lactating and pregnant women. Ahtisaari also praised the efforts of the Eritrean government which, he said, despite meagre resources had obtained progress in the areas of water, education and health. During his visit, which began on Sunday, Ahtisaari met President Isayas Afewerki as well as representatives of donor countries, UN agencies and NGOs. He also visited the drought and war-affected town of Omhager in the Gash Barka region, where he witnessed the rehabilitation and reconstruction of buildings destroyed during the 1998-2000 conflict with Ethiopia. Humanitarian sources on the ground told IRIN that Omhager, on the border with Ethiopia and Sudan, used to be a thriving agricultural area. Residents lamented the destruction caused by the war, drought and stalled demarcation process. They appealed for continued assistance so that their lives could return to normal. While reiterating that the border dispute was outside his mandate, Ahtisaari assured them he would carry their message to the UN Secretary General. He also said he was aware of the need to resolve the dispute as it was restricting development. In an earlier interview with IRIN, the UN Humanitarian Coordinator in Eritrea, 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. Humanitarian sources have stressed that this level must be maintained and improved upon to prevent a downturn in the situation next year. Nhongo pointed out that over 60 percent of Eritreans were living below the poverty line, and blamed the crisis on recurring drought, poor rainfall and the lingering effects of war.