UN Deputy Emergency Relief Coordinator visiting drought affected Ethiopia

ADDIS ABABA, 10 June 2003 -- Ms. Carolyn M. McAskie, United Nations Deputy Emergency Relief Coordinator in the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) will travel to Ethiopia on an official visit from 11 to 13 June 2003.
Ms. McAskie will meet with Prime Minister Meles Zenawi and Commissioner Simon Mechale of the Disaster Prevention and Preparedness Commission (DPPC) to discuss issues of humanitarian concern within Ethiopia, particularly in SNNPRS (Southern Nations, Nationalities and Peoples Regional State) which is suffering from the after effects of last years drought.

In SNNPRS alone more than 1.4 Million people depend on food aid for survival, a figure which was raised by more than 325,000 after the post harvest assessment in March 2003. In some areas the population is still suffering from shortage of food despite the interventions of international aid agencies and the government.

Reasons for this were an over estimation of prospective harvests during the pre harvest assessment last year and mistakes during the targeting of food aid beneficiaries. The latter caused delays in food distributions and as a result led to malnutrition mainly among children under five.

There are also large populations in other regions of Ethiopia currently in need of assistance mainly in Oromiya (3.8 million), Amhara (3.3 million), Tigray (2 million) and Somali (1.1 million).

The main objective of Ms. McAskies visit is to review the overall humanitarian situation and to raise awareness among the international community and mobilise further support for emergency relief operations. Despite very generous responses from the donor community after the food aid appeal for 2003, more help will be necessary to avoid shortfalls during the lean season preceding the November-December harvest, when stocks at household levels are running low.

Ms. McAskie will visit Sidama zone in SNNPR where she will witness the ongoing relief operations in Therapeutic Feeding Centres (TFCs) for severely malnourished children, run by NGOs with the support of UNICEF and WFP.

In the regional capital Awassa, Ms. Mc Askie will meet with the regional president Haile Mariam and DPPB officials to discuss the ongoing program and provide recommendations on how to improve the effectiveness of response efforts and collaboration with development partners.

Ms. McAskie is accompanied by: Mr. Holdbrook Arthur, WFP Regional Director for Eastern and Central Africa, Mr. Eric Laroche, UNICEF/EMOPS, Mr. Vebjorn Heines, Advisor, Norwegian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Mr. Kenneth Westgate, RDR Advisor for Africa, UNDP Bureau for Crisis Prevention and Recovery, Mr. Brian Grogan HAO, Advocacy and External Relations Unit, OCHA, Mr. Markus Werne, HAO, Humanitarian Emergency Branch, OCHA and Mr. Max Bonnel, HAO, Response Coordination Branch, OCHA.

For more information, please contact:
Wagdi Othman, tel. 09 20 29 76
Asrat Tilahun, tel. 09 20 27 26
Addis Wondimagegnehu, tel. 09 21 46 46