New Special Envoy for Horn of Africa headed for Nairobi

(New York/Nairobi, 20 February 2006): The United Nations new Special Humanitarian Envoy for the Horn of Africa, Mr. Kjell Magne Bondevik, arrives in Nairobi on his first field visit tomorrow. While in Kenya, the Special Humanitarian Envoy will have a Regional Briefing with United Nations officials, including the five Resident/Humanitarian Coordinators of Kenya, Ethiopia, Somalia, Djibouti and Eritrea and several UN Regional Directors. He will also meet with representatives from the Office of the President of Kenya, the Government of Somalia, the United Nations Country Teams in Kenya and Somalia, non-governmental organizations, the International Committee of the Red Cross/Red Crescent, and the International Federation of the Red Cross/Red Crescent. Mr. Bondevik will also fly to Turkana, one of the drought-affected areas in Kenya.

"In preparing for this first trip as Special Humanitarian Envoy, I have become even more seriously alarmed at the scope of the crisis in the region," said Mr. Bondevik. "This will of course be only the first of several trips," he added. The Horn of Africa is one of the most food-insecure regions in the world, with more than 40 percent of people undernourished. At present, an estimated 11 million people in the Horn region are threatened with starvation following the recent severe drought. This compounds what is already a dire humanitarian situation in countries beset by years of high rates of malnutrition and morbidity, chronic food insecurity and the effects of conflict.

The new Special Envoy will work to ensure effective humanitarian action, as well as strong linkages between humanitarian action and longer-term efforts to address root causes of food insecurity. He will also work to build stronger regional cooperation on food security issues between the main intergovernmental organizations, and act as an advocate for long-term funding and technical expertise from multilateral and bilateral donors, in support of national efforts to reduce vulnerability and food insecurity. He will act as a catalyst in translating existing food security policies into concrete and concerted action in collaboration with the UN system, affected countries, the donor community, partner NGOs and civil society organisations, international financial institutions and regional organisations.

The Special Humanitarian Envoy's term is for an initial period of one year, beginning in February 2006. He is supported by the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs during this period and reports to the Secretary-General and the Emergency Relief Coordinator. As Special Envoy for the Horn of Africa, Mr. Bondevik succeeds Martti Ahtisaari, the former President of Finland. Mr. Bondevik served as Prime Minister of Norway from 1997 to 2000 and from 2001 to 2005. After leaving office, he founded the Oslo Center for Peace and Human Rights, where he serves as President.

For further information, please call: Stephanie Bunker, OCHA-New York, +1 917 367 5126, mobile +1 917 892 1679; Kristen Knutson, OCHA-New York, +1 917 367 9262; Elisabeth Byrs, OCHA-Geneva, +41 22 917 2653, mobile, +41 79 473 4570.