Ethiopia: United Nations assessment mission to Somali regional state

(Addis Ababa - 29 August 2007): At the request of the United Nations (UN), the Government of Ethiopia has agreed to facilitate a United Nations humanitarian assessment mission to Somali Region. Fidele Sarassoro, the UN Resident and Humanitarian Coordinator will launch the mission on 30 August in Jijiga, the capital of the Somali Regional State.

"It is my hope that the findings of this assessment mission will construct a clearer picture of the humanitarian situation in the Region. Equally important to us is that the findings of this mission also support the delivery of assistance to the people of Somali Region," said Mr. Sarassoro.

The United Nations team will focus on assessing humanitarian needs of the population, in particular, the level of access to food, water, health and nutrition services, as well as the livelihood situation of populations in the areas of the region affected by the current security operations. The United Nations team will also monitor the dispatches and distributions of emergency food aid to beneficiaries.

The mission includes staff from the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF), the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), World Food Programme (WFP), World Health Organization (WHO), the UN Department of Safety and Security, Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights and the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs.

The United Nations and other humanitarian actors have been supporting pastoral and agro-pastoral populations in Somali Region with humanitarian and development assistance, particularly since the year 2000.

For further information, please contact:

Fidele Sarassoro, UN Resident and Humanitarian Coordinator, +251 11-551-10-25, e-mail- fidele.sarassoro@undp.org; Paul Hebert, Head of Office and Deputy to the Humanitarian Coordinator, UN OCHA, +251 11-544-42-48, e-mail- hebert@un.org; Gregory Beals, Senior Information Officer, UNOCHA, + 25111-544-41-86/56, e-mail beals@un.org.