Mr. Martti Ahtisaari has been the Special Envoy of the UN Secretary General for the Humanitarian Crisis in the Horn of Africa since June 2003. This month, during his fifth mission to Ethiopia (25-28 August) the Special Envoy met Prime Minister Meles Zenawi, Deputy Prime Minister Addissu Legesse, Minister of Health Dr. Tedros Adhano and the Disaster Prevention and Preparedness Commissioner, Mr. Simon Mechale, as well as NGOs, donors and the UN Country Team. Throughout his discussions Mr. Ahtisaari focused on the Government's new food security initiatives and the challenges they present, and discussed the prospect for revival of other components of the Coalition for Food and Livelihood Security which would broaden the already ongoing programs to include more comprehensively health, nutrition, agriculture, water and sanitation for the same groups being addressed by the Productive Safety-Nets Programme. The Special Envoy also reviewed and discussed the implementation of the recommendations of the Evaluation of the Response to the 2002/3 Emergency which he launched during his previous visit in October 2004. The Study has 123 recommendations that cover both emergency response and early warning, as well as some longer-term underlying structural problems.
This year for the first time in Ethiopia, an effort has been made to differentiate between the chronically and acutely food insecure populations through the Productive Safety Net Programme (PSNP), covering some 4.2 million people initially and the Humanitarian Appeal (covering 3 million people). However despite these efforts and reports of 'bumper harvest' in 2004, the humanitarian situation in the country has shown signs of deterioration since the beginning of the year. This has been evidenced by emerging data of acute malnutrition, concern about the survival of children in parts of the country, as well as deteriorating food security conditions. The PSNP faced significant challenges during the first six months of the year, with delays in the provision of cash and food resources, higher than expected grain prices and considerable limitations on capacity at local level for effecting transfers, especially during the time of the election process.
The Emergency Nutrition Coordination Unit reported that by mid-year only 11 percent of cash and 44 percent of food had actually reached the needy although the PSNP which started in mid-February. These setbacks, combined with delayed contributions to the Appeal, which has had its own implementation problems in certain areas of the country, have evidently placed large numbers of safety net and emergency beneficiaries under severe stress.
In his meeting with the Donors, the Special Envoy thanked them for their strong support to the Humanitarian Appeal since the launch of the Flash Update in May and increased development support. The donors expressed concerns related to the lack of complimentarity between humanitarian assistance and development-related activities, as well as the delay of the MDGs Needs Assessment Synthesis report. The donor community indicated their enthusiasm to support a diversification of livelihoods and broadening the country's economy into telecoms, banking and private sector investment as needed and important development emphasis. Donors also noted the problem of under funding of emergency non-food assistance; which they feel could be partially addressed by the Government through Direct Budgetary Support (DBS), but also through direct donors' support once a more systematic approach to defining emergency non-food needs is developed. Subsequently, Mr. Ahtisaari's meeting with the NGOs focused on: an inclusion of the NGOs in Food Security Taskforce; developing a clear mandate and strategic plan for dealing with IDPs; and strengthening coordination and increasing the role of NGOs in the Enhanced Outreach Strategy for child survival (EOS) and PSNP. NGOs also underlined the need for better coordination of efforts to implement recommendations of the Evaluation study. Although it has been difficult to convene discussions on longer term issues seen as the root cause for crisis, with the election process nearly over, this should now receive increased emphasis.
During his meeting with the Government Officials, Mr. Ahtisaari discussed the humanitarian concerns outlined above, as well as Ethiopia's overall journey towards self reliance. In his press conference, the Special Envoy said he welcomed the Government's candid discussion of existing problems, and said that it is working hard to address them during this transition period. The Government requested Mr. Ahtisaari to urge donors and the UN to provide basic support to the population who have entered into the voluntary resettlement programme and noted that they would welcome the involvement of NGOs and participation in providing short-term support to the programme. The Government also reminded Mr. Ahtisaari to ask donors to help make up the current shortfall in non-food sectors. The Special Envoy said he appreciated the Government's lead to ameliorate it's reporting at a local level, which would improve the country's Early Warning system at federal level.
Mr. Ahtisaari's visit was helpful for the UNCT in focusing attention on key humanitarian and development issues and to help prioritise their activities. His visit has brought about a strong consensus amongst donors and high level Government officials that the phasing out of the Humanitarian Appeal (at least during non-acute emergency years) would help engender the shift to longer-term approaches to food security. However, he cautioned that this cannot be done overnight, as it could place large numbers of vulnerable people at risk until new programs are fully operational and successful. The Special Envoy said "it is easy to judge the success of the work of the humanitarian community during times of emergency where it is less easy to do so in a period of transition." However, he stressed that, while work is being done to make PSNP and other regular food-security programmes fully operational, reaching all those in need of assistance must remain the basic aim of the Government and its partners.
He also said that it is critical that emergency management mechanisms and capacities are maintained and strengthened to respond to emergencies that arise due to drought, flooding and conflicts during this transition period.
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