Barely a quarter of the $147-million sought by the United Nations for humanitarian assistance for 1,9-million drought-affected Eritreans this year has been provided by the international community, the UN has lamented.
”The overall response is 25,7%,” said UN resident humanitarian coordinator Simon Nhongo on Thursday.
He noted that the response rate for the previous appeal, for 2003, was 41%.
The population of Eritrea, a small country which lies next to Ethiopia, is 3,3-million.
While the original appeal, launched in November, was based on an estimation that 1,7-million Eritreans depended on humanitarian aid, the UN increased that figure to 1,9-million earlier this month.
Nhongo explained that reduced transportation and handling costs meant that the humanitarian requirements had been revised downwards to $118-million.
”My message to the donors is first and foremost to increase their humanitarian assistance, and not to forget the non-food assistance,” he said.
”Food on its own is not enough to solve the humanitarian crisis,” he added.
About 66% of the population lived under the poverty line in 2003, he explained, adding that the short rainy season earlier this year delivered less water.
The effects of the drought in Eritrea have been compounded by a bitter war the country fought with Ethiopia between 1998 and 2000. – Sapa-AFP