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ASMARA, April 26 (Reuters) - A senior U.N. envoy said on Wednesday he had failed, at the start of a visit to five drought-hit countries in the Horn of Africa, to persuade Eritrea to release 100,000 tonnes of food aid locked in warehouses.
Last week, aid officials warned that thousands of tonnes of food aid from western donors might be rotting in storage because of Eritrea's restrictions on humanitarian handouts. The U.N. secretary-general's Special Humanitarian Envoy for the Horn of Africa, Kjell Magne Bondevik, told journalists he had raised the subject with Eritrean President Isaias Afwerki. "What was said was that these tonnes of food stocks have been integrated into their food security strategy," Bondevik said. "So this is not a matter for further discussion." Bondevik is visiting the Horn of Africa to raise awareness of drought in the region. He said donors had pledged about 20 percent of the $426 million appeal launched this month to help eight million people affected by drought in the region. "There is much more to do in this regard," he said. Aid workers and diplomats in Eritrea had hoped that Bondevik would be able to help ease tension between the foreign aid community and Africa's newest independent nation. Food from Eritrea's 2005 harvest is expected to last another couple of months, and aid officials worry about the effects of a bad harvest later this year if no food aid is made available. In September Eritrea, pursuing a policy of self-reliance, slashed the number of people receiving free food by 94 percent, from 1.3 million to 72,000. Aid officials say people are not dying of hunger in Eritrea, but there are signs that coping mechanisms are being exhausted. The lack of accurate data hinders effective planning, they add. "We would like more data, more information," Bondevik said. Bondevik said he had received a paper from Eritrea outlining a cash-for-work programme, which might signal a shift from the government's policy of food-for-work. Under the cash-for-work programme, Eritreans would receive cash for doing work, enabling them to buy food for themselves. An estimated 300,000 Eritreans out of the 3.6 million population are currently serving in the military, many engaged in construction and farm work. Aid officials say they respect the government's determination to be self-reliant but urged cooperation with the international community. "There is a need for more effective dialogue... between the government and the international community," Bondevik said in a separate press release. source: Reuters |
