Invest in development to reduce drought vulnerability - UN envoy

The United Nations special humanitarian envoy for the Horn of Africa, Kjell Magne Bondevik, has urged governments and aid agencies to address the issues of underdevelopment and poverty, which exacerbate people’s vulnerability during natural disasters, such as the prolonged drought that has destroyed the livelihoods of millions of people in eastern Africa. "I was able to see the good work that is being done to the immediate crisis, but it is very clear to me that the governments and the partners must give more priority to long-term development solutions that reduce vulnerability to drought," said Bondevik on Tuesday, during a news conference in Nairobi at the end of an eight-day tour of Eritrea, Djibouti, Ethiopia, Somalia and Kenya. Bondevik said the long-term needs of an estimated 25 million pastoralists the Horn, many of whom have lost all or most of their livestock due to lack of water and pasture, must be acknowledged. "They [pastoralists] should not be underestimated, but recognised," he said, adding that livestock herders were significant contributors to the economies of the region. "Pastoralists need access to organised markets. Policies should focus on supporting their economic, social and political coping mechanisms," he said. During his regional visit, Bondevik met Isayas Afwerki, president of Eritrea, a nation that is trying to reduce its dependence on humanitarian aid. Isayas promised dialogue with relief agencies "on issues that look to the future and with a clear agenda.” The president told Bondevik, who raised the issue of 90,000 tonnes of food aid brought into Eritrea by humanitarian organisations, that it was being "integrated" into Eritrea's official aid programmes. Bondevik asked for a report on how the food aid would be used, and Isayas promised the report would be prepared and handed to him. In the recent past, Eritrea has gradually changed its relations with the aid community, emphasising the need for self-reliance. Since a proclamation on administering the activities of NGOs was put into effect in June 2005, the number of NGOs working in the country has dwindled from 37 to 13. In July 2005, Eritrea, which was one of the world's most food aid-dependent countries, asked the United States Agency for International Development - its largest donor of food aid - to stop operations, saying it was uncomfortable with the agency's work. In war-scarred Somalia, Bondevik said he had met with Interim Prime Minister Ali Muhammad Gedi in the south-central town of Baidoa and stressed the importance of improving security to enable humanitarian agencies to reach those affected by drought. "Somalia is in desperate need of basic services. [...] It is critical that these services be provided, as well as increased production in the agriculture and fisheries sectors," he said. Bondevik urged the international community to stop focusing only on the negative aspects of Somalia. "The perception that Somalia is a failed state, in chaos, controlled by warlords and interclan fighting should be superseded by a new reality on the ground that reveals slow but positive developments on the political front," he said, adding that Somalia's fledgling Transitional Federal Government was now establishing itself in the country. "There is a need to acknowledge the will of the Somalis to reconcile and rebuild their country and the overall dynamic that prevails," the UN envoy added. Djibouti was now experiencing its fourth consecutive year of drought, and the people's coping mechanisms had been seriously eroded, Bondevik said. Vulnerability in Djibouti was linked to widespread poverty and lack of resources by government institutions to provide basic services. "I urged them [the government] to further develop the private sector and to explore the private investment potential," said Bondevik, pointing out measures that that could reduce the high unemployment rate in Djibouti. Bondevik praised Ethiopia’s disaster response systems, which could serve as an example to neighbouring countries. "Given the regional nature of this crisis in the Horn of Africa, it is important to look at what lessons and expertise it [Ethiopia] can pass on to its neighbours," he said. Bondevik met groups of Ethiopian pastoralists affected by the drought, who said what they desired most was recognition and appreciation of their lifestyle. "We have to respect their way of life and improve their conditions and not try to enforce different ways of living which, in my opinion, will cause much bigger problems than it solves," he said. An estimated eight million people in the Horn of Africa are in need of humanitarian assistance because of the prolonged drought. Bondevik said that although recent rainfall in some of the hardest hit areas had mitigated effects of the drought, precipitation had led to flooding, loss of already weakened livestock, hindered access to affected populations and increased the risk of waterborne diseases. "Even if substantial rains are received in May - which we hope for - given the magnitude of livestock losses sustained during the crisis, full recovery will be a long process that will take years or even decades," said Bondevik.