EFFECTS OF HUMANITARIAN CRISIS WORSENING IN ERITREA

NEW YORK, 10 June (UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs) -- Despite the ongoing efforts of the international community to meet the emergency needs of Eritreans left vulnerable by drought and the lingering effects of war, malnutrition rates among Eritrean children are rising.  The World Food Programme reports that the rate of malnutrition in Eritrean children has risen to an alarming 21.7 per cent.

Carolyn McAskie, the United Nations Deputy Emergency Relief Coordinator, arrived in Asmara today to get a first-hand look at the humanitarian situation, and to encourage support for the 2003 United Nations Consolidated Inter-Agency Appeal for Eritrea.  To date, humanitarian agencies have received 43 per cent of $157 million required under the appeal, leaving a shortfall of some $90 million.

Ms. McAskie's mission comes at a time when the most severe effects of the drought in Eritrea are increasingly evident, particularly in the traditional cereal-producing areas of Gash Barka and in Debub, where she will visit tomorrow. The drought shows little sign of improvement and the spring rains have not been sufficient.  The United Nations will step up water trucking programmes in the next three months in an attempt to alleviate some of the most urgent needs of the 1.7 million Eritreans facing water shortages due to the drought.

Reports of global acute malnutrition rates reaching as high as 30 per cent in some areas are of great concern, as malnourished children are far more likely to die from common childhood illnesses such as diarrhoea, anaemia, acute respiratory infections, measles or malaria.  The United Nations and its humanitarian partners in Eritrea are, therefore, seeking to address those issues by targeting children for measles inoculation and Vitamin A campaigns in 2003.  More than 5,000 children under 5 will be targeted for therapeutic feeding each month.

The funding shortfall is having serious consequences.  The World Food Programme, for example, has had to reduce the size of the rations it provides because only roughly half the amount it requires to help 1.4 million of Eritrea's 3.4 million people has been received.  Though 225,000 metric tonnes of food out of the 476,000 metric tonnes required have been pledged, only 90,000 metric tonnes have actually reached Eritrea.  Shortfalls in contributions to water sector activities have increased caloric expenditure in children -- responsible for gathering water -- when they can least afford it.  They also mean that programmes that aim to combat food insecurity in the long term -- funded at just 27 per cent in the appeal -- have not been implemented as agencies focus on short-term emergency needs.

For further information, please contact:  in Asmara, Isabella Dougan, tel.: +291-1-151666; in New York, Brian Grogan, tel.: 212 963-1143; and in Geneva, Elizabeth Byrs, tel.: (41) 22 917-2653.

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