UN URGES DONORS TO BOOST AID TO POOR COUNTRIES DESPITE ECONOMIC CRISIS

Facing possible shortfalls in funding due to the global economic crisis, the United Nations Development Programme (<"http://content.undp.org/go/newsroom/2009/september/helen-clark-second-regular-session-of-the-executive-board-of-undp-unfpa.en">UNDP) today called on donors to "continue, and ideally boost, their current commitments" to help the agency pull the world's developing countries out of poverty.

"I am concerned that we may not meet our income targets for 2009 and 2010, and that we will face a continuing imbalance between contributions to regular and other resources," UNDP Administrator Helen Clark said, calling on the Group of Eight (G8) leading industrialized countries to fulfil their oft-stated pledge to commit 0.7 per cent of their gross national income to official development assistance (ODA).

She stressed that the Millennium Development Goals (<"http://www.un.org/millenniumgoals/">MDGs), the UN-endorsed targets which seek to mitigate a host of social ills ranging from poverty and hunger to maternal and infant mortality to lack of access to health and education, all by 2015, remain at the core of UNDP's Strategic Plan.

"With 2015 now barely six years away, we need an enormous focus on the MDGs," she told a session of the Executive Board of UNDP and the UN Population Fund (<"http://www.unfpa.org/public/">UNFPA). "Nowhere is that more important than in Africa, especially in these challenging times when African nations and their peoples have been hit hard by the economic crisis.

"As is well known, no country in sub-Saharan Africa was on track to achieve all the MDGs before the crisis. It would be a double blow if the global recession acted to reverse hard won progress towards the MDGs."

Many developing countries, facing reduced domestic revenue this year, need support to maintain budgets for basic services like health and education, vital ingredients in meeting the MDGs, Ms. Clark said.

"If children are pulled out of school because of the effects of the crisis on their families and their countries' budgets, they may never get a second chance in education. If children have poor nutrition because of the crisis, the long-term effects on their cognitive skills and productive potential are serious," she added.

"Profound economic crisis in vulnerable countries then may extend into a humanitarian crisis, and at worst precipitate instability and conflict. The consequences may take years or even decades to remedy, ultimately at a much greater cost to the international community than timely support right now."

Without secure and predictable funding, UNDP cannot plan ahead and be fully effective in helping countries reach their development goals, Ms. Clark said.

"We will, however, spare no effort to meet our resource projections. We do deeply appreciate the ongoing support of our donors, and urge them to continue, and ideally boost, their current commitments. We can also consider how our donor pool could be expanded," she added.

OVER 19 MILLION PEOPLE IN HORN OF AFRICA NEED HUMANITARIAN AID, SAY UN OFFICIALS

OVER 19 MILLION PEOPLE IN HORN OF AFRICA NEED HUMANITARIAN AID, SAY UN OFFICIALS
New York, May 12 2009 2:00PM
Senior United Nations officials today highlighted the need for significant resources to help over 19 million people in Somalia, Kenya and Ethiopia who require humanitarian aid due the effects of conflict and drought.

Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs John Holmes told a news conference in Geneva that the situation in Ethiopia, which has faced several years of drought and more recently high food prices, could deteriorate over the next few months.

There were concerns that less than expected rainfall could lead to poor harvests and there would be an increased need for food aid and for pockets of therapeutic feeding where malnutrition was present.

Mr. Holmes, who is also UN Emergency Relief Coordinator, said that there was no consolidated appeal for Ethiopia but there was a joint humanitarian response plan agreed with the Government, which would expire in June of this year and would need to be renewed. Meanwhile, the World Food Programme (<"http://www.wfp.org/countries/ethiopia">WFP) needed an additional $236 million to cover its operations in the country for the rest of the year.

Meanwhile, drought and a major conflict had led to a situation in which some 50 per cent of Somalia's population was being provided with food rations, Mark Bowden, Humanitarian Coordinator for the country, told reporters.

He said the current drought was one of the worst in the last decade, and the prognosis for the rains this year was worsening. Around 24 per cent of children in some parts of the country had global acute malnutrition, and it was necessary now to start general supplementary feeding for children.

With fighting erupting again in the capital, Mogadishu, there are renewed fears about displacement, he added. There are currently some 1.1 million internally displaced persons (IDPs) and more people had left the city over the weekend.

Mr. Bowden noted that the response to the $900 million appeal for Somalia had been "disappointing," with only 35 per cent of it being met so far.

Aeneas Chuma, Resident Humanitarian Coordinator at the UN Office in Nairobi, said Kenya too was facing a complex humanitarian situation owing to drought and high food prices. An estimated 10 million people were currently affected by the food insecurity.

In addition, the country had also been affected by the global economic downturn as major sources of revenue such as tourism had declined by about 30 per cent, while remittances from families abroad had also declined by 40 per cent.
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Sri Lanka: as crisis escalates, ICRC continues to assist civilians

Fighting continues between Sri Lankan government forces and the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE), prompting growing fears for the lives of those trapped in the conflict area. The ICRC has been bringing a little hope, evacuating the sick and wounded and escorting boats carrying food and limited medicines.

Tens of thousands of people confined to a rapidly-shrinking area have headed for the coast to escape the fighting, in search of safety, food and medical care. But numbers in the coastal belt held by the LTTE have increased drastically over recent weeks, and clean water is scarce. The area is affected by shelling every day, and the cramped conditions and the lack of water and proper sanitation are putting people at risk of epidemics.

"The humanitarian situation is deteriorating by the day," said Paul Castella, head of the ICRC’s Colombo delegation. "Many of these people are forced to shelter in trenches. They are in considerable physical danger. After having been forced to move from place to place en masse for weeks or even months, they depend entirely on food from outside the conflict area."

The sick and wounded continue to arrive at Putumattalan, where local people have helped set up a makeshift medical facility in a community centre and a school. Medical staff from the ministry of health do their best to cope with a constant influx of people injured by the fighting. But medical supplies are insufficient.

With the agreement of the government and the LTTE, the ICRC has continued to evacuate patients from Putumattalan (which is in the LTTE-held area) to Trincomalee (in the government-held area). The ICRC-chartered Green Ocean ferry has evacuated over 4,000 sick and wounded people, together with their carers, since evacuations started on 10 February. The evacuees included over 1,400 people in need of surgery, so an ICRC medical team consisting of a surgeon, an anaesthetist and a nurse are helping Trincomalee Hospital to handle the influx.

Since mid-February, the ICRC has on 12 occasions facilitated the movement of food shipments from Trincomalee to Putumattalan, delivering a total of over 700 tonnes of flour, dhal, sugar and oil provided by the government and the World Food Programme. On three occasions it was possible to deliver some medicines provided by the ministry of health, but the quantities were too limited by comparison with the needs.

"With patients continuing to arrive at the improvized medical facility in Putumattalan, it is essential that evacuations take place regularly and without interference. It is encouraging to see food and medicines going into the conflict area, but they must be delivered regularly if they are to have an impact," said Morven Murchison, who coordinates the ICRC's health activities in Sri Lanka.

The civil and military authorities have helped with the medical evacuations and the food shipments, as have local people. Offloading food onto the beach in Putumattalan may involve up to 275 people transporting the food in fishing boats and carrying it ashore. These are dangerous and complex operations. The fighting is one hazard, but bad weather and heavy seas often make things worse.

With the help of the Sri Lanka Red Cross Society, the ICRC was able to give 130 sick and wounded evacuees personal hygiene kits, emergency household kits, kitchen utensils and baby-care parcels. These people received medical treatment at hospitals in Trincomalee and Vavuniya.

ICRC staff member killed

ICRC employee Vadivel Vijayakumar was killed by shelling on 4 March just north of Valayanmadam, on the coastal belt of the territory held by the LTTE. His nine-year-old son was injured in the same incident. This is the second time in less than three months that an ICRC staff member has been killed in Sri Lanka. Mr Vijayakumar leaves a wife and three children.

Acting as a neutral intermediary between the government and the LTTE

The conflict has disrupted traffic through Omanthai, formerly the only crossing point between government and LTTE areas, However, in January the ICRC facilitated the passage of 360 civilians, including 70 patients seeking treatment in Vavuniya hospital and nearly 125 vehicles, including ambulances. ICRC staff also transported the bodies of 100 fighters over the same period, 99 of them in January. The last ICRC-escorted land convoy took place on 29 January. Since 10 February, the ICRC has been facilitating the movement of the sick, the wounded and humanitarian aid between the LTTE- and government-held areas by sea.

Emergency aid for villagers following attack

An attack on a village in Ampara district in February left 14 dead and 10 injured. The ICRC provided a total of 143 families with personal hygiene kits and baby care parcels, while 20 families displaced by the attack received basic household requisites. Five families whose houses had been burned down in the attack also received a tarpaulin, kitchen utensils and a kerosene cooker.

Protecting civilians and detainees

The ICRC continues to monitor allegations concerning violations of international humanitarian law affecting civilians throughout the country. In January and February, over 3,900 people contacted the organization with allegations concerning missing persons, arbitrary arrests, recruitment of minors, unlawful killings and ill-treatment of civilians by arms bearers. In order not to endanger the people reporting such violations, ICRC staff discussed their reports bilaterally with the parties involved.

With the cooperation of government officials and the LTTE, the ICRC has been visiting people arrested in connection with the armed conflict to monitor their treatment and conditions of detention. ICRC delegates held private talks with over 1,400 security detainees in over 70 places of detention throughout the country and provided them with clothes, toiletries and recreational items. The ICRC paid for 10 detainees to return home by public transport after release, and for the families of 635 detainees to visit their detained relatives.

Working with volunteers from the SLRCS, the ICRC has been providing water and sanitation facilities for displaced persons in transit centres in Vavuniya and Jaffna. Over 150 toilets have been built, along with tanks to store water.

Restoring family links through Red Cross messages

Red Cross messages help detainees, their relatives and separated families to keep in touch. In January and February the ICRC and the Sri Lanka Red Cross Society collected over 1,000 messages and distributed almost 400.

Enhancing respect for international humanitarian law

As part of its efforts to increase respect for international humanitarian law, the ICRC conducted information sessions for over 2,500 people including civilians, the Tamil People’s Liberation Tigers (TMVP), the Eelam People’s Democratic Party (EPDP) and government security forces.

Supporting the Sri Lanka Red Cross Society

The ICRC continues helps the Sri Lanka Red Cross to maintain family links and develop awareness of Red Cross and Red Crescent principles. Fifteen volunteers from the SLRCS received training to set up emergency tents and shelters.

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UN RELIEF CHIEF VOICES CONCERN OVER SUDAN LEADER’S CALL FOR ‘SUDANIZATION’ OF AID

UN RELIEF CHIEF VOICES CONCERN OVER SUDAN LEADER'S CALL FOR 'SUDANIZATION' OF AID
New York, Mar 16 2009 7:00PM

The top United Nations humanitarian official said he has been "taken by surprise" over media reports today that Sudanese President Omar Al-Bashir has called for all international aid groups to leave the vast African nation within one year.

The reports come less than two weeks after Sudan ordered the expulsion of 13 major international aid organizations, which assist nearly 5 million people in the war-torn Darfur region. The decision to eject these groups came immediately after the International Criminal Court (ICC) issued an arrest warrant on 4 March for President Al-Bashir for alleged crimes committed in the war-torn region.

Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs John Holmes said today that his office has yet to receive any clarification regarding Mr. Al-Bashir's statements today.

"I think our position will clearly be that this decision is not appropriate and it's a decision which should be reversed," the UN official told reporters in New York.

"The relief operation is already heavily 'Sudan-ized,'" he said, pointing out that 13,000 out of the 14,000 relief workers in Darfur are Sudanese.

While the UN is happy for Sudan to play a larger part in assisting those in need "in principle," Mr. Holmes stressed that "it needs to be done in a practical way."

Joint UN-Government missions are under way to assess critical gaps in aid and are expected to return to the capital, Khartoum, this Wednesday, he said.

Mr. Holmes, who also serves as UN Emergency Relief Coordinator, noted that significant effects of the aid groups' expulsion will not be visible in Darfur in the extreme short-term given the level of aid provided in the past.

"But over time, it will have a dramatic impact if we're not able to fill the gaps" in areas such as water and sanitation, treating disease outbreaks and food distribution, he said.

The Under-Secretary-General expressed concern over meningitis cases in some camps, voicing hope that a vaccination campaign targeting 100,000 people can be carried out by some non-governmental organizations (NGOs) still operating in Darfur.

He said progress has been made in the UN's talks with the Government regarding arrangements for the departure of staff members of expelled aid groups as well as the transfer of assets.

"There has been a degree of cooperation and pragmatic dealing which has enabled things to work a little bit better on the ground," with international staff being given extra time to remain and handle issues pertaining to national workers, among other tasks, Mr. Holmes said.

"The Government has assured us that they remain committed – despite this decision and the way in which it was carried out – that they do remain committed to the previous agreements they had with us about the facilitation of humanitarian assistance," he said.
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