Djibouti: ‘Almost Half the Population Facing Food Shortages’

UN Integrated Regional Information Networks

Posted to the web 26 June 2008

A significant percentage of Djibouti’s population could face food shortages due to drought, rising prices with declining remittances, and high levels of livestock deaths, an early warning information service has warned.An estimated 284,000 people (about 45 percent of the 632,000 population) were at risk, the Famine Early Warning Systems Network (FEWS Net), which is funded by the US Agency for International Development, said

Of these, about 130,000 people, including 50,000 in the capital of Djibouti, required emergency food assistance, while 25,000 children under-five required supplementary or therapeutic feeding.

“Significant food deficits exist in all pastoral areas due to a combination of three consecutive below-average rainy seasons, extremely high prices for staple foods, declining remittances, and high levels of livestock mortality (40-50 percent),” the network noted. “The situation is critical, and pre-famine indicators have been observed.”

The warning came after the UN World Food Programme, which provides food aid to thousands of Djiboutians, warned of breaks in its food pipeline for the period May to October. Full rations were only being supplied in the northwestern zone, the most vulnerable and food-insecure areas, it said on 1 June.

FEWS Net also warned that the recent border conflict between Eritrea and Djibouti could aggravate the food situation for rural and poor urban households.

“Approximately 1,000 people have been displaced in and around the conflict zone, and as many as 22,000 could be displaced, should the violence worsen,” it stated in an alert.

Tension between the two neighbours flared up when Eritrean troops attacked the northern territories of Doumeira and Ras Doumeira in early June. Several casualties were reported before the situation calmed down on 12 June.

Djibouti’s pastoral communities, which rely on Eritrean markets for food, it added, were already affected and reportedly fleeing to Khorangar, Obock City, or migrating further inland.

A semi-desert state that experiences frequent droughts and imports all its staple foods, Djibouti is classified by the UN as both a least developed and a low-income, food-deficit country.

Somalia conflict kills more than 2,100 this year

MOGADISHU (Reuters)

26/06/08

Conflict in Somalia has killed 2,136 civilians so far this year, bringing the death toll since an Islamist-led insurgency began in early 2007 to 8,636, a local human rights group said on Thursday.

The Mogadishu-based Elman Peace and Human Rights Organisation said it had also recorded 11,790 injuries since the start of last year, when rebels began attacking the Somali government and its Ethiopian military allies.

The insurgency — the latest in a cycle of civil conflict since the 1991 fall of a military dictator — has compounded the effects of drought and poverty to create what aid workers call one of the worst humanitarian crises in the world.

“Somalia is no longer on the verge of catastrophe, the disaster is happening now,” Medecins Sans Frontieres (MSF) director of operations Bruno Jochum told a Nairobi press conference in the latest international warning.

The United Nations says one million Somalis — out of a total population of about nine million — are living as internal refugees in the Horn of Africa nation.

UN calls for sending fact-finding team to Djibouti-Eritrea border

UNTIED NATIONS, June 25 (Xinhua)

UN chief Ban Ki-moon should send a fact-finding mission to the border between Djibouti and Eritrea, where days of fighting have caused several deaths and wounded dozens, the UN Security Council said late Tuesday.

Council members also reiterated their call to the two countries, especially Eritrea, to withdraw troops from border areas, U.S. Ambassador Alejandro D. Wolff, whose country holds the current rotating presidency, said in a statement.

The council also voiced regret that Eritrea has not answered its call in a previous statement, which urged maximum restraint and cooperation with diplomatic efforts to resolve the issue peacefully, Wolff said.

Djibouti and Eritrea must facilitate the work of the fact-finding mission, he said, adding that Ban should report back on its work if possible within two weeks.

Djibouti’s Defense Ministry said on June 12 that the Eritrean military invaded the Ras Doumeira region in northern Djibouti two days earlier, and fighting broke out afterwards.

On the same day, the UN Security Council adopted a statement to condemn Eritrea’s military actions and appeal to both sides for a peaceful resolution.

Kier employee to chair CIH Yorkshire & Humberside Regional Committee

Published by Jon Land for

Kier Building Maintenance in Housing

26/06/08

Kier Sheffield client manager Maxine Wigley has become the chair of the Chartered Institute of Housing (CIH) Yorkshire & Humberside Regional Committee.

Maxine, who has worked in the housing sector for over 20 years, became involved with the CIH as a student representative while studying at Sheffield Hallam University.  She went on to become education & training officer, then vice-chair last year and was nominated by fellow committee officers this year for the position of chair.

Maxine was offically inducted by the previous chair, Amanda Garrard, at  the CIH annual general meeting held at the end of May.  Amanda, executive director of Pennine 2000, handed over the chain of office to Maxine as part of the ceremony.  Sir Bob Kerslake, chief executive for the Homes and Communities Agency was guest speaker at the event.

Maxine said: “With housing currently so high on the political agenda, it’s going to be a challenging but exciting time.  I feel very proud to be part of the CIH and chair of the region for this year.”

Sheffield City Council’s director of housing and fellow CIH board member, Karl Tupling, commented: “It is particularly pleasing that the current chair for the Yorkshire & Humberside Regional Committee comes from the South Yorkshire region.  I am especially delighted for Maxine who has worked incredibly hard for the benefit of members and the profession as a whole.

“We look forward to a successful year for Maxine as she raises the profile for housing across the region and will encourage everyone in the profession and the housing sector to get involved with the work of the institute.  This will strengthen the work of our highly successful partnerships.”