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Eritrea

ACT Appeal Eritrea: Relief & Rehabilitation AFER-51


Appeal Target: US$ 2,255,562

Geneva, 8 March 2005

Dear Colleagues,

ACT members, the Lutheran World Federation/World Service-Eritrea (LWF/WS-Eritrea), and the Norwegian Church Aid (NCA) are responding to the deteriorating food security situation in Eritrea and the conditions of IDPs in the southern part of the country following four consecutive years of inadequate rainfall. According to Christian Balslev Olesen, UNICEF country representative for Eritrea, "It is cheaper to give the support now to avoid starvation, rather than later, when an enormous amount of people are moving to hospitals for treatment for malnutrition". "Then it will be much more expensive." According to UNICEF, all six regions of Eritrea have malnutrition rates higher than 10 percent, and in three of them, the rates were above 15 percent.

LWF Eritrea is proposing to respond to the problems of food shortages, water, shelter, and restocking of livestock, situated in the following regions: Maekel, Anseba, Debub, and Gash Barka. The scarce rain has resulted in another poor harvest of between 0 and 10% of the normal average annual production. Food reserves have been depleted and the coping mechanisms of the population stretched to the limit. NCA Eritrea will provide targeted communities located in the Zoba Senafe, Zoba Debub sub regions, with access to much needed potable water and will address the serious issue of HIV/AIDS in the areas. These areas are located in the temporary security zone and are hosting many IDPs.

Name of ACT member/partner:

  • Lutheran World Federation
  • Norwegian Church Aid


Project Completion Date:

LWF/WS-ER April 1 - 31 December 2005
NCA April 1 - 28 February 2005

Summary of Appeal Targets, Pledges/Contributions Received and Balance Requested

LWF/WS-ER
NCA
Total USD
Total Appeal Target/s
1,524,910
730,652
2,255,562
Less: Pledges/Contribution Received
Balance Requested from ACT alliance
1,524,910
730,652
2,225,562

Note: Dutch Interchurch Aid will not launch an Appeal this year.

Please kindly send your contributions to the following ACT bank account:

Account Number - 240-432629.60A (USD)
Account Name: ACT - Action by Churches Together
UBS AG
8, rue du Rhône
P.O. Box 2600
1211 Geneva 4
SWITZERLAND
Swift address: UBSW CHZH12A

Please also inform the Finance Officer Jessie Kgoroeadira (direct tel. +4122/791.60.38, e-mail address jkg@act-intl.org) of all pledges/contributions and transfers, including funds sent direct to the implementers, now that the Pledge Form is no longer attached to the Appeal.

We would appreciate being informed of any intent to submit applications for EU, USAID and/or other back donor funding and the subsequent results. We thank you in advance for your kind co-operation.

White Rakuba
Director, ACT Co-ordinating Office

ACT is a global alliance of churches and related agencies working to save lives and support communities in emergencies worldwide.

The ACT Coordinating Office is based with the World Council of Churches (WCC) and The Lutheran World Federation (LWF) in Switzerland.

I. REQUESTING ACT MEMBER

  • Lutheran World Federation / Department for World Service - Eritrea Program

II. IMPLEMENTING ACT MEMBER & PARTNER INFORMATION

Lutheran World Federation Eritrea Program (LWF/WS-ER) is a Field Program under the Department for World Service, mandated to work with member churches of LWF for the fulfilment of their individual and corporate responsibilities in the field of Christian Service (Diaconia). LWF/WS-ER is also a member of ACT International, a worldwide network of churches and humanitarian agencies and, as such, it responds to emergencies.

Its work includes: relief, refugees, resettlement, rehabilitation, construction, development, education, training, environment, human rights, monitoring and evaluation.

LWF/DWS started its operations in Eritrea as part of the Ethiopian Program back in 1985, undertaking humanitarian relief aid, soil and water conservation projects related with food security. Immediately after independence, LWF/WS ER was established in 1992 as fully independent Field Office, directly responsible to LWF, Geneva headquarters.

So far, it has implemented numerous projects related to emergency, relief and development projects, including rehabilitation/reconstruction of social services involving communities. These include construction of 33 micro-dams, 14 ground wells, 8 health stations, 22 schools, 12 low cost houses for refugee shelter and various water supply projects and distribution of tens of thousands tons of complementary and supplementary food aid and donated commodities.

At the moment of writing, LWF/WS-ER is engaged in life-saving emergency humanitarian aid and integrated people’s development projects throughout the country including remote areas.

Working Partners Information: Based on the type and nature of interventions, the partners LWF are working with are as follows:

Food aid: The Eritrean Relief & Refugee Commission (ERREC), local administration, local community representatives.

Supplementary food: Ministry of Health, National Nutrition Unit, and local community representatives.

Breeding Herds: Ministry of Agriculture, Veterinary Department, National Union of Eritrean Women, local administration, and local community representatives.

Construction materials: ERREC, local administration, and local community representatives.

Water Supply: Ministry of Land, Water and Environment, Water resources Department, local administration, local community representatives.

Previously, LWF/WS-ER had implemented similar projects in co-operation with the above-mentioned partners. Among them are the intervention of ACT Appeals AFER 01, 02, 21, 31 and 41. The partnership, experience and knowledge already acquired and the existing sound relationship will be an added value in implementing this project proposal effectively and efficiently.

III. DESCRIPTION of the EMERGENCY SITUATION

Background

Eritrea, located in the north-eastern part of Africa, owns exceptionally varied topography, from the 1200km long Red Sea coastal plain, only a few meters above sea level, through the Central Highlands ranging up to 2,500mts above sea level, to the low-lying western & south-western regions of the country. The climate in these different terrains varies correspondingly with a temperature range of 20-40ºc; rainfall 200-600mm/y, and, evapo-transpiration ranging from 800 to 1800mm/y.

Eritrea is a drought prone country and the last five years have been particularly severe. As a result, the groundwater resources of the country are limited and have been under pressure from a number of factors, such as, rising population and the need of water for food production and industrial purposes. In the rural areas, some communities travel long distances to meet their daily water supply. Travelling 2-3 hours to fetch water has become very common. Even then, water is never in sufficient quantity nor in the desired quality. In most parts of the country, girls and women, who are traditionally responsible for the water needs of households, spend a great deal of their time and energy fetching water.

Eritrea, as an arid and semi-arid country, is not endowed with rich water resources. There is no natural standing (Lakes, etc) fresh water body in the country. Out of the five major river basins only one has a perennial flow. It is also a country completely dependent on rain-fed agriculture. Furthermore, the rainfall in Eritrea is basically torrential and of short duration. These facts coupled with the practically deforested and rugged terrain, result in short duration flash floods and hence low seepage of water into the ground.

In addition to the effects of droughts, the inappropriate management of the available underground and surface water has also been decreasing the water resources of the country. The need for an integrated approach of water management is, therefore, an urgent matter for the country. Water problems are acute, particularly in the rural areas. Sources used include wells, rivers, boreholes and dams. The burden on women and girls, who are the normal water collectors, is huge. The effort involved is detrimental to their health, cutting deeply into the eight hours that they normally spend on subsistence work. In camps situated in the northern and eastern regions, water trucking remains the only option.

Even in good times only 22% of the rural population of Eritrea has access to protected water systems. The last four years of poor rainfall has led to one of the worst droughts which hit the country. Water levels in wells and boreholes are at an all time low. Some sources have dried up entirely, reducing the number of people who have access to potable water throughout the country.

New challenges face the water sector. The low rainfall has led to recurring drought conditions, which in turn affects, the ground water table, resulting in the drying up of many traditional water sources. The general water supply and environmental sanitation situation in the country is further complicated by the need for women and children to travel large distances to collect water. In many areas the population is forced to use water from polluted sources. Limited use of latrines, poor clean water supply at the household level and poor personal and domestic hygiene contribute to diarrhoeal diseases, especially among children.

In recognition that the Government of Eritrea cannot meet all the needs in the water and sanitation sector, NGO’s active in the sector are being asked to intervene with assistance programs.

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