UNITED NATIONS LAUNCHES $426 MILLION DROUGHT APPEAL FOR HORN OF AFRICA

UNITED NATIONS LAUNCHES $426 MILLION DROUGHT APPEAL FOR HORN OF AFRICA

NAIROBI/GENEVA/NEW YORK, 7 April (OCHA) – The United Nations Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs and Emergency Relief Coordinator, Jan Egeland, will today launch an appeal for $426 million to support the urgent needs of more than 8 million people severely affected by drought in the Horn of Africa.

Poverty-stricken and conflict-affected people living in parts of Djibouti, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Kenya and Somalia have been suffering from water shortages and declining access to food resulting from several years of successive rainfall failures and the rapid erosion of assets and livelihoods.

The predominately pastoral and agro-pastoral communities are being forced to travel vast distances to find grazing for their animals.  Meanwhile, reduced agricultural production has led to a dramatic increase in the price of food commodities, particularly of cereals.  Without assistance, many people face malnutrition, significantly increased risk of disease, loss of livelihoods and even death.

Additionally, climate experts warn that below average rains are expected in much of the Horn of Africa again this year.  There is a very real threat of the situation further worsening.  Even if rainfall levels exceed expectations, they are unlikely to reverse the cumulative effects of successive droughts in the region.

Already, increased rates of malnutrition among children and cattle dying have been witnessed as traditional coping mechanisms are faltering in the face of this natural disaster.  Stress on livelihoods is escalating inter-communal tensions as communities compete for scarce resources in the region.  Poor infrastructure and limited access are also affecting current assistance efforts and exacerbating the region’s vulnerability to natural disasters.

The current crisis urgently requires a comprehensive response, including in the areas of water and sanitation, health and nutrition, livestock and agriculture, livelihood security and education, as well as food security, in order to save lives immediately.  In the longer term, activities seek to build resilience to future shocks.

The 2006 regional appeal for the Horn of Africa supports these emergency life-saving and resilience-building interventions in Djibouti, Eritrea and Kenya and for regional programmes.  It also highlights the urgent need to support the humanitarian appeals for Ethiopia and Kenya launched earlier this year.

Initial funding from the Central Emergency Response Fund (CERF) has been made available to the United Nations agencies in all five countries to enable them to jump-start their activities ahead of the anticipated donor response to the regional appeal.

As part of the response to the recurrent drought and chronic food insecurity devastating the region, the United Nations appointed former Norwegian Prime Minister Kjell Magne Bondevik as Special Humanitarian Envoy for the Horn of Africa.  As the Special Humanitarian Envoy, Mr. Bondevik travelled to Kenya from 21 to 23 February 2006; a more extensive mission to Eritrea, Ethiopia, Djibouti and Somalia is planned for the end of April.

For additional information, please contact:  Valerie Julliand, Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA)-Nairobi, tel: +254 (20) 762 2166; mobile: +254-733-656 260; Luluwa Ali, OCHA-Nairobi, tel: +254 (20) 762 1004; mobile: +254-733-730 535; Elisabeth Byrs, OCHA-Geneva: tel: +41 22 917 2653; mobile: +41 79 473 4570 (mobile); Stephanie Bunker, OCHA-New York: tel: +1 917 367 5126, mobile: +1 917 892 1679; Kristen Knutson, OCHA- New York: tel: +1 917 367 9262.

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