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Ethiopia

UN Chief to visit Ethiopia as relief efforts intensify

(New York: 19 November): As the United Nations and its partners scale up their assistance to vulnerable groups in Ethiopia in response to increasing humanitarian needs, the United Nations Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs and Emergency Relief Coordinator, John Holmes, plans to visit the country at the end of the month. The goal of the visit is to determine humanitarian needs and challenges, if any, of the people of Ethiopia and to discuss ways in which the United Nations system and its partners could potentially support the Government of Ethiopia in its efforts to address these needs. It will be the first visit to the country for Mr. Holmes in his capacity as Emergency Relief Coordinator, and, in fact, the first visit of such a senior humanitarian official since Kenzo Oshima's visit during the 2003 drought.

"I am looking forward to the visit, so that the United Nations can ensure that the country's vulnerable populations receive attention and assistance that they may require from the international community," said Mr. Holmes. "I am encouraged to see that the Government of Ethiopia is committed to improving the humanitarian situation in the country and remains open to cooperation with the international community on this matter," he added.

During his trip to the country, the Emergency Relief Coordinator will travel to Jijiga and Kebridehar in the Ogaden region, where the United Nations has recently established a field presence. While there, he will assess ongoing humanitarian operations and discuss current humanitarian challenges with regional government officials, elders, and representatives of local communities. Following the field visit, John Holmes will visit the nation's capital, Addis Ababa, where he plans to hold talks with the Prime Minister and his Deputy as well as senior Ministry of Foreign Affairs officials. Consultations with African Union officials and representatives of the United Nations Mission to Eritrea and Ethiopia are also on his agenda. At the end of his visit, he will meet with the local press to brief them on the outcome of his trip.

Currently, over 640,000 people in Ogaden require urgent humanitarian assistance, with food, medical supplies and water being the main priorities. Following an inter-agency assessment undertaken in late August 2007, the UN dispatched 4,900 metric tonnes of food to the 186 approved food distribution points in the five military zones in the region. In addition, preparations are being finalized to deploy 15 mobile health teams. At the same time, the Government accredited more NGOs to work in the affected zones, although the modalities of their work remain to be worked out.

To date Ethiopia has benefited from several Central Emergency Response Fund (CERF) grants that amount to over US$ 20 million since the fund's inception, with over US$ 10 million being disbursed this year alone. In addition, various humanitarian activities in the country continue to be supported from the Humanitarian Response Fund (HRF), which provides rapid and flexible funding to meet short-term emergency priorities. Thanks to the US$ 16.3 million made available through the HRF, over 40 projects were implemented in the country in response to drought, floods and an outbreak of acute watery diarrhoea.

For further information, please call: Stephanie Bunker, OCHA-New York, +1 917 367 5126, mobile +1 917 892 1679; Elisabeth Byrs, OCHA-Geneva, +41 22 917 2653, mobile, +41 79 473 4570. OCHA press releases are available at http://ochaonline.un.org or www.reliefweb.int.

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