EAST AND HORN OF AFRICA: Relief agencies seek US $479 million for Eritrea, Somalia and Uganda

NAIROBI, 12 Nov 2004 (IRIN) - Relief agencies have jointly appealed for more than US $479 million to fund humanitarian activities in Uganda, Somalia and Eritrea in 2005, the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) reported.

In their Consolidated Inter-Agency Appeal (CAP), launched on Thursday, the agencies said the funds would be used to address the needs of internally dsplaced persons (IDPs) and refugees, and support delivery of humanitarian assistance in Uganda, help build the capacity of Somali communities, and redress economic impoverishment due to chronic drought in Eritrea.

UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan, in remarks made during the launch in New York, said: "The largest number of people in need are in Africa – in countries directly affected by emergencies, such as Burundi, the DR of Congo and Uganda, and in those coping with the burden of hosting large numbers of refugees, such as Chad and Guinea.

"Wherever they are, whatever the politics swirling around them, these millions of men, women and children need help in staying alive and in boosting their survival strategies," Annan added. "Survival becomes almost impossible, for example, when vulnerable families are buffeted by problems that compound other problems, such as violent attacks, displacement from their homes, hunger, sickness or natural disasters like the recent locust invasions in West Africa."

Jan Egeland, the UN Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs, said: "Through this humanitarian appeal, 104 relief agencies together propose principled and effective action to save lives and reduce suffering."

UGANDA

In Uganda, OCHA said, some $157.7 million was needed to provide basic needs to an estimated 1.4 million Ugandans displaced by a long-standing conflict in the country's northern region and help 218,846 refugees living there.

The agencies said they planned in 2005 to focus on improving access to IDPs, refugees and other vulnerable groups for delivery of humanitarian assistance; protection for all vulnerable groups; provision and delivery of comprehensive humanitarian assistance to vulnerable populations; and improved livelihoods for IDPs and refugees to promote self-reliance.

According to the appeal, there were 1.4 million IDPs in some 200 camps in northern Uganda benefiting from relief food distribution at the end of September 2004, down from 1.6 million until mid-2004.

Nothern Uganda has been ravaged by 18 years of war between the government and the rebel Lord's Resistance Army (LRA). The rebels are fighting ostensibly to topple the government, but civilians have suffered most from the violence. LRA fighters frequently attack villages and IDP camps, kill civilians indiscriminately and abduct children for conscription into their ranks.

SOMALIA

On Somalia, the agencies said 93 humanitarian projects would require $164.5 million. The UN estimates that of Somalia's total population of about seven million, "more than 350,000 refugees remain, while 370,000 to 400,000 have been internally displaced".

In their appeal, the agencies said that Somalia was at a crossroads as recent peace talks had set in motion a process of establishing a new transitional government that "promises to end years of political instability and violence".

The situation in Somalia had been aggravated by four years of severe drought, coupled with "extreme poverty and underdevelopment, which has weakened the coping capacity of Somalis", the agencies said. In the Sool Plateau in northern Somalia, pastoralists had lost over 80 percent of their livestock, leading to "a livelihood crisis, indebtedness and general economic stagnation in the affected regions".

"Generous contributions from the international-donor community will assist the UN and NGOs to ensure coherence of response and an integrated approach in meeting the needs and building the capacity of Somali communities," the appeal statement added.

ERITREA

On Eritrea, the agencies said that five years after the 1998-2000 border conflict with Ethiopia, the country had continued to endure the aftermath of war - destroyed houses, mined villages, shattered livelihoods, hunger and malnutrition. A total of $157.2 million would be needed to fund humanitarian activities in Eritrea in 2005, the agencies said.

"With the travails of post-conflict resettlement, the period following the war has heralded a period of fragile peace, great hardship and competing urgent needs," the agencies said in their appeal. "Displacement of persons from their homes, loss of assets and economic impoverishment have been compounded by chronic drought resulting in five consecutive failed harvests and major losses in livestock."

Some 2.2 million Eritreans, out of a total population of 3.8 million, were unable to feed themselves, they said.

The CAP appeals for 2005 can be found at: www.reliefweb.int

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