$1.7 billion in new aid needed for drought-stricken nations.

Some $1.7 billion in new commitments from donor countries must be obtained to meet the urgent needs of 20 nations in Africa most seriously affected by the "unprecedented crisis" which continues to plague that continent and shows little sign of abating.

Pledges already made should be confirmed, and commitments to cover existing deficits "must be forthcoming immediately" to ensure that aid could be provided in areas in which it is needed "in time to save the lives of the vast numbers of people who are now at imminent risk."

The Secretary-General has made a "special, unified appeal" for additional resources, based on a consolidated assessment of total needs.

This was the message to be brought to countries attending the Conference on the Emergency Situation in Africa, to be held in Geneva on 11 and 12 March. A 92-page document for review by the meeting, containing "country profiles," maps and statistics, portrays the deteriorating situations in the 20 designated countries (SG/CONF.2/1).

Countries listed

The countries named are: Angola, Botswana, Burkina Faso, Burundi, Cape Verde, Chad, Ethiopia, Kenya, Lesotho, Mali, Mauritania, Mozambique, Niger, Rwanda, Senegal, Somalia, the Sudan, the United Republic of Tanzania, Zambia and Zimbabwe.

The crisis in many parts of Africa, the report states, shows little sign of abating in the rear future, even if widespread drought conditions were to improve markedly during the next rainy season.

The emergency situation since mid-1984 has "sharply deteriorated." Population displacement has become alarming; some 30 million of 150 million persons living in drought-affected nations are categorized as "seriously affected", and 10 million of these have had to abandon their homes and lands in search of food, water and pasture. The special needs of the increasing number of refugees have to be considered in assistance measures formulated. Up to half of these are overcrowded in temporary shelters and large numbers have fled to urban areas, the report states.

Whenever possible, the report specifies, assistance should be "brought to people where they are, before they become destitute, in order that they may remain on their lands and withstand with the support of their families, without the trauma of moving from their homes to new environments." Such preventive support "is more humane and more cost-effective than resorting to supporting people in camps or in overcrowded urban settlements", the report states.

"Extraordinary and large-scale action" will be required to meet their food and non-food needs, including: food aid ($1,078.8 million); seeds, fertilizers, pesticides, and tools ($213.6 million); drugs and vaccines ($87.8 million); shelter, clothing and household items ($59.5 million); water supply ($81.4 million); and trucks, spare parts, handling equipment and storage facilities ($44.9 million). Special refugee needs amount to more than $52 million.

The report was prepared by the new Office of Emergency Operations in Africa (OEOA), with the co-operation of African Governments, bilateral representatives, multilateral aid organizations and non-governmental organizations.

The Secretary-General's unified appeal includes an urgent request for additional resources required by various United Nations organizations and non-governmental organizations.

A Special Action Programme for Africa, comprising urgently needed rehabilitation projects for affected countries, has been approved by the Governing Council and Executive Board of the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD). An FAO conference on agricultural relief and rehabilitation has been scheduled for 29 March 1985.

It might be expected, the report states, that Governments "will choose to provide the major part of the resources to be provided multilaterally through the international agencies, including non-governmental organizations, responsible for implementation."

As a follow-up to the Geneva meeting, the OEOA will provide information on pldeges and delivery of assistance to individual African countries in terms of their nature, amounts and timing, in order to enable all donors to monitor progress achieved and changing needs.

National capacity: The report recommends systematic reinforcement of existing national institutions and training of additionally needed national staff, stressing that dealing with current emergency situations is first and foremost an African responsibility, which African Governments have done their best to discharge. However, national personnel have experienced increasing pressure due to heavy workloads. Governments have thus often had to turn to United Nations organizations for help which, in turn, has placed very heavy demands on country-level United Nations offices.

The principle of linking emergency assistance to medium-term and long-term recovery measures must be respected in all aspects of operations, the report goes on. The new needs detailed are additional to the large-scale requirements for the long-term development to which the recent special appeal by the World Bank was addressed.

Warning that "for many of the stricken countries, the emergency situation will continue well into 1986 and probably well beyond," the report concludes with an appeal to cover "this extraordinary need" by "an extraordinary response on the part of the international community". Any shortfall, the report says, will be measured "not just in terms of a funding deficit but above all in human lives lost unnecessarily."

The OEOA was established on 17 December 1984 with the following major objectives: to ensure the Secretary-General's personal and closer involvement in the evolving emergency situation; to secure maximum co-operation among all elements of the United Nations; and to ensure that all emergency external assistance is provided in the "most timely, holistic and effective manner possible."

Bradford Morse, Aministrator of the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), is OEOA Director. Deputy Directors are Adebayo Adedeji, Special Representative of the Secretary-General on African relief efforts and Executive Secretary of the Economic Commission for Africa, and Abdulrahim Farah, Under-Secretary-General for Special Political Questions. Maurice Strong is Executive Coordinator of the Office.