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ADDIS ABABA, Jan. 21 (Xinhuanet) -- The Ethiopian government, the United Nations and humanitarian partners on Saturday appealed for 166 million U.S. dollars in emergency food and non-food assistance.

The majority of the funds requested (67 percent) will go toward life saving non-food interventions in health and nutrition, water and sanitation, and agriculture, which collectively amounts to about 111 million dollars.

"This is the largest non-food appeal since the drought emergency of 2003 in Ethiopia," said Bjorn Ljungqvist, the UN acting humanitarian coordinator, in a joint statement.

"Already we have an emerging crisis in the pastoral regions of Ethiopia with about 1.7 million people facing food insecurity and requiring assistance. 10 million dollars are needed immediately to respond to this drought related emergency in non-food," said Ljungqvist.

The situation in the pastoral areas is most critical in Afder, Liben and parts of Gode zones in Somali region and southeastern parts of Oromiya region and while this is the immediate priority, some pocket areas in crop growing areas also require close follow up and immediate interventions.

The threat of avian influenza reaching Ethiopia's borders is another serious concern requiring preparedness at all levels in order to rapidly detect the virus's introduction into the country and minimize its spread in the case of its occurrence.

Malaria, measles, and meningitis all require intense preventative interventions to control their threat. And consideration must also be given to the unpredictable needs that may occur during the year, such as floods, locusts and other fast-on-set disasters.

The emergency food needs for the country remain comparatively low this year with an estimated 2.6 million people requiring 340,000 tons of food valued at approximately 145 million dollars. In addition, 11.6 million dollars are needed for supplementary food.

"In fact, due to a large carryover from last year valued at 127 million dollars, the net requirement being appealed for in emergency food, including supplementary is 54.6 million dollars.

"It is also anticipated that the government's productive safety net program which addresses the chronically food insecure populations will be significantly expanded in 2006, which means the number of people to be assisted through the emergency food system has been significantly reduced compared to previous years," said the humanitarian coordinator.

Generally the overall food security outlook for 2006 is generally positive in most crop growing areas of the country due to an overall good performance of rains.

"The international donor community is urged to respond generously and pro-actively in addressing the needs of Ethiopia. In addition, it will be critical they respond in a timely manner --avoiding the human tragedies and adverse economic consequences that have all too often been associated with droughts in the past."

The humanitarian situation in the country will be closely monitored throughout the year for eventual shifting priorities. Enditem



Source: Xinhuanet