AHTISAARI CALLS FOR URGENT DONOR RESPONSE

A sustained donor response to the drought situation in Ethiopia is now more urgent than ever, said Mr. Martti Ahtisaari, the Special Envoy of the UN Secretary-General for the Humanitarian Crisis in the Horn of Africa. He was speaking during a visit to Ethiopia, the first in the country since his appointment by Kofi Annan on 18 June.

At a press briefing in Addis Ababa on 5 July, the Special Envoy lauded the efforts of the Ethiopian Government for "opening the whole process" to intervention by "international actors." This action had elicited a "positive response" from the donor community, he added. He urged the donors to continue their assistance in order to meet the remaining emergency requirements in the country. "I am extremely pleased to see the cooperation between the Government, donor community and non-governmental organisations," he said, adding, "This is very encouraging."

Mr. Martti Ahtisaari during his speech in Senafe

Explaining that at the moment, many people were living in areas where they had nothing to sustain their families with, the Special Envoy stated that "resettlement remains an issue" although he said it was not necessary to take an orthodox view of the situation but instead to focus on the bigger picture and the prospects for the future.

The UNDP Resident Representative Mr. Samuel Nyambi who was present at the briefing called for international advocacy or a "coalition of interest" in dealing with the humanitarian problem facing the country. "We sincerely hope for a new phase of development cooperation" he remarked.

During his visit to Ethiopia, the Special Envoy travelled to the South Nations, Nationalities and Peoples State where he visited a therapeutic feeding centre and held talks with the Head of that State, Mr. Hailemariam Desalegn. Mr. Ahtisaari also held discussions with the Ethiopian Prime Minister Meles Zenawi and representatives of the Federal Disaster Prevention and Preparedness Commission.

The Special Envoy has had a rich diplomatic career since he joined the Finnish Ministry of Foreign Affairs in 1965. In addition to working for the UN, he has served in diplomatic postings in Tanzania, Zambia, Somalia and Mozambique. He was elected President of the Republic of Finland in February 1994, and held office from the 1st of March 1994 to the 29th of February 2000. He is also a senior member of several international organisations.

HUMANITARIAN ISSUES NOT RELATED TO POLITICS, SAYS SPECIAL ENVOY

"Humanitarian issues are not related to politics", the UN Secretary-General’s Special Envoy for the Humanitarian Crisis in the Horn of Africa, Mr. Martti Ahtisaari told a press conference in Asmara on 8 July.

He said: "I want to emphasize here the attitude of the Secretary-General and myself and also the donor community that it is extremely important that we recognize that the international community reacts to the need for humanitarian aid without putting any constraints on that. I think this principle is very important to emphasize."

On the issue of non-food aid, Mr. Ahtisaari said that while food was important, the need for non-food items also had to be emphasized. "I would emphasise the non-food items because when I visit hospitals, I realize there is a sort therapeutic emergency need that has to be met. Health services are extremely important, so I find very often that it is important to emphasise the need for non-food items otherwise they get left behind."

The Special Envoy also stressed that the story as far as Eritrea’s situation was concerned was not so bleak, adding that since he and the Mr. Annan discussed the issue, there had been an improvement in the donor response to the crisis in the country.

"We now have on the food side over 60 per cent, so let’s look at the figures in as realistic a manner as we can", he added.

With regard to long-term strategies to prevent future food crises, Mr. Ahtisaari said that resources had to be diverted to developmental tasks, adding that he believed that the Eritrean Government was the first to recognize this.

"No one wants any government to be in a situation from one year to another where the humanitarian crisis has to be treated with food aid and other aid. So I think we are all now coming to the conclusion that we have to do more on a long term basis", he added.

Describing Eritrea as one of the least corrupt countries in Africa, Mr. Ahtisaari denied that UN agencies and non-governmental organizations (NGOs) had found it difficult to deal with the Eritrean Government. He stressed: "I was told that at the field level, there is good cooperation with local officials".

The Special Envoy revealed that he intented to visit Brussels for talks on the situation on Eritrea with the European Commission, the World Bank in Washington DC and the US Government. During his two-day visit to Eritrea, Mr. Ahtisaari visited Senafe Hospital and Metera Camp for Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs). Since his departure from the Horn of Africa, the Norwegian government has donated a total of $ 2 million to the World Food Programme and UNICEF in Eritrea.