Aiming to avert a potential humanitarian catastrophe, United Nations aid coordinators have opened an office in the Somali region of Ethiopia to provide assistance in the areas devastated by drought.
With the lack of water becoming critical in some districts, UN agencies and their non-governmental partners, referring to a recent report from a Government-led assessment mission, said helping the 1,3 million people at risk in rural communities through December could head off a crisis in that region of the Horn of Africa country.
The number of needy people in Ethiopias Somali region is higher than previously considered in the current UN-Government appeal. But the response has been hampered by the regions insecurity, which is curtailing the movement of aid workers. UN staff members are forbidden to travel outside authorized areas.
Meanwhile, the UN Childrens Fund (UNICEF) and the UN World Health Organization (WHO) hailed the Japanese Government for its latest donation, 3,4 million US dollar, to support the eradication of polio and maternal and neonatal tetanus.
Tokyo has given 20 million dollar to UNICEF for disease eradication programmes in Ethiopia since 1999 and the country has seen no wild poliovirus since 2001. It is ranked fourth highest in the world for neonatal tetanus deaths, however, with more than 14.000 infants dying of infection annually, while 2.000 mothers succumb to maternal tetanus.
Kilde: FNs nyhedstjeneste
