Eritrea

As part of its efforts to support the faight against poverty, UNDP signed an agreemnt with European Commission delegation in Eritrea. The Euro 5.4 million worth agreement includes two major components, food security and Health facility projects to support the resettlement of internally displaced persons and expellees.

The project which is an integral part of the on-going comprehensive UN joint programme is to support the return of IDPs and expellees to their communities of origin or new resettlement areas.

Four administrative regions of Gash-Barka, Debub and Northern and Southern Red Sea regions will benefit from the project. These are the areas where a large number of war affected populations, displaced due to the Ethio-Eritrea border war of 1998-2000 and expellees were resettled.

The programme will try to address and respond the shortages in food supply and will strengthen the food security and strategic coping mechanisms of more than 20,304 HHs (approximately 86 800 individuals) in the specified target areas.

Moreover, the programme will address the food supply shortage at individual, household and community levels by providing local and improved varieties of seed, agriculture inputs and services. In addition, restocking to diversify agricultural production and developing water and natural resources both for livestock and domestic use are some of the areas the food security component of the agreement will focus.

As an integral part of the UN joint programme to support the return of IDPs and expellees to communities of origin or resettlement, vulnerable returnee families will have also access to adequate social services (water, education, shelter, food/nutrition and health) and to livelihood opportunities.

According to the agreement, a hospital will be reconstructed at Senafe town which was constructed in 1994 and damaged in the course of 1998-2000 Ethio-Eritrea border conflict. The restoration of this kind of infrastructures in war affected areas is crucial for encouraging war-displaced people on the point of returning.