UN Secretary General's Special Humanitarian Envoy for the Horn of Africa visits Eritrea

Asmara, Tuesday 25 April 2006 - The UN Secretary General's Special Humanitarian Envoy for the Horn of Africa, Mr. Kjell Magne Bondevik arrives tonight in Asmara; his first stop in a tour to the countries of the region.
The purpose of his visit is to underscore the importance of adopting a longer-term perspective to addressing the problem of recurrent drought and food insecurity through supporting and enhancing the governments' own national strategies and priorities. During his one-day visit, the Special envoy will meet with senior officials of the Government of Eritrea and members of the international community including donors, NGOs and the UN system.

In his capacity, the new Special Humanitarian Envoy will work with all stakeholders to ensure that effective humanitarian actions are taken and lead to longer-term solutions to problems of drought in the region. He will function as a catalyst in translating existing food security policies into concrete and concerted action by all players including primarily by the Governments, but also in collaboration with the UN system, bilateral and multilateral donors, NGOs and other civil society organisations and regional organisations.

Despite the better harvest in Eritrea in 2005 than in the previous years, one year is not enough to recover from the damage of several years of poor rains. Recurrent years of drought, compounded with the "no war no peace" situation, have overstretched coping mechanisms of large groups of the population. This is further aggravated by competing urgent needs.

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. The unfavourable political environment resulting from past and ongoing conflicts further exacerbates the population's vulnerability.

The Special Envoy and his entourage will depart Asmara on Thursday morning for a similar mission to the rest of the Horn African countries namely: Djibouti, Ethiopia, Kenya and Somalia.

Mr. Bondevik is a seasoned diplomat and politician. Among his high profile, he was Prime Minister of Norway from 1997-2000, and 2001-2005 and Minister of Foreign Affairs from 1989-1990.

For further information, please contact: UN-OCHA Asmara, Eritrea, Tel.: (291-1) 151666, Fax: 291 -1 151999