CERF Allocated $3 Million for Underfunded Emergency in Eritrea
14 September 2010: CERF allocates $3 million for over 700,000 people affected by drought in Eritrea.
Some $975,000 will go to the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) for emergency nutrition, water, and sanitation interventions and mine risk education. The World Health Organization (WHO) will use $510,000 for nutrition, maternal and neonatal health, HIV/AIDS, and dengue fever control. The United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) has been allocated $443,000 to support pregnant mothers to have safe delivery. Some $400,000 will go to the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) for protection of Somali and Sudanese refugees. The United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) will use $325,000 to provide small ruminants/shoats to female headed and vulnerable families. Finally, close to $325,000 has been allocated to the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) for emergency assistance to vulnerable households through distribution of small ruminants.
Eritrea is located in the drought-prone Horn of Africa region, rendering the country vulnerable to recurrent droughts/ variable weather conditions with negative effects especially on the 80 per cent of the population which depends on agriculture subsistence and pastoralism as main sources of livelihood. In addition, the continuing state of no-war-no-peace with neighbouring Ethiopia has been one of the main factors adversely affecting the overall macro-economic situation in the country, hampering all efforts to bolster the already weakened agriculture sector. Due to persistent water shortages in many agricultural areas, yields have been insufficient to cover the needs of the population, thus contributing to high malnutrition rates among children under-5 years of age, and pregnant and lactating mothers.
[Last updated: 10 November 2010]
CERF allocated $3 million to the Humanitarian Country Team in Eritrea to aid drought-affected populations.
26 March 2010: Some $920,000 will go to the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) for emergency nutrition interventions for a total of 15,000 malnourished children aged 6-59 months. The United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) will receive $700,000 to provide dairy goats to 1,750 women-headed households to mitigate the effects of the 2008 and 2009 droughts. The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) will use $500,000 to provide regular rations of basic and complementary food for two months to 4,800 camp based refugees. The World Health Organization (WHO) has been allocated $460,000 for emergency health and nutrition interventions. Finally, some $420,000 has been allocated for the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) to reduce avoidable mortality and morbidity among 140,000 pregnant mothers due to food insecurity, communicable diseases, and risks associated with pregnancy and delivery.
Eritrea is located in the drought prone Horn of Africa, rendering the country vulnerable to recurrent droughts and variable weather conditions with potentially negative effects. These effects are especially harsh on 80 percent of the population who depend on subsistence agriculture and pastoralism as main sources of livelihood. The humanitarian situation has been exacerbated by the state of relations with neighbouring Ethiopia, resulting in economic stagnation, as the nations prioritize national defense spending.
[Last updated: 22 April 2010]