PRESS BRIEFING BY EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR OF UN CHILDREN'S FUND

Press Briefing

PRESS BRIEFING BY EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR OF UN CHILDREN'S FUND

More than 13 million people were still in the throws of a humanitarian crisis in the Horn of Africa due to drought, Carol Bellamy, Executive Director of the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF), told journalists at a press briefing at United Nations Headquarters this afternoon.

While the recent conflict between Eritrea and Ethiopia might have drawn international attention away from the humanitarian crisis, the crisis continued and the needs of the affected people were great, she said. There was increasing malnutrition, particularly among women and children.

Ms. Bellamy had just returned from a five-day mission to the Horn, during which she visited areas affected by the drought, feeding centres, health facilities and water points in Djibouti, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Kenya and Somalia. During the trip, she met with non-governmental organizations, government officials and United Nations field staff, in a bid to ascertain what the situation was, and how the United Nations humanitarian teams were working. She also hoped to draw some international attention to the recently launched United Nations Consolidated Appeal for the region.

Generally, she found the United Nations teams working well, and working well with the non-governmental organizations, she said. Governments were intervening. There had been modest rain in some parts of Somalia, but all five countries were still severely affected by the drought, which was now in its third year. The largest concentration of those affected was in Ethiopia -- some 8 million.

While no place was worth more than the others, she noted that in Eritrea as a consequence of the drought and the conflict -– which had taken place in the "breadbasket" of that country – one third of the entire population was confronting a significant humanitarian crisis. One place she visited –- uninhabited four weeks ago -- was now temporary home to some 70,000 internally displaced people. It was impossible for these people to plant their crops, and June was the normal crop-planting season. In northern Kenya there had been virtually no rain, and the implications for the local people were severe she said.

The United Nations consolidated appeal, launched two weeks ago, sought $386 million, she continued. About 85 per cent of those funds were needed to provide food, with the remainder dedicated to non-food items. The non-food items, such as medicines, water and materials for shelter, were extremely important. The United Nations had indications of pledges for about half the sum required, although that was almost exclusively food-related, so attention must be drawn to the need for non-food assistance.

Ms. Bellamy expressed hope that, with a ceasefire now in place between Eritrea and Ethiopia, international attention would be focused on the drought, and the necessary resources to address it would be forthcoming. She called on the international community to be attentive to the situation, to be generous and to ensure that the international relief efforts could continue.

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