Aid for Ethiopian relief reaches over $300 million, UNDRO reports.

Total contributions of Governments and international and non-governmental organizations to ease the disastrous situation in Ethiopia reached $312.7 million in cash and kind by late January, according to the office of the United Nations Disaster Relief Co-ordinator (UNDRO).

The report was received as United Nations agencies and other international organizations continued to provide emergency assistance to Ethiopia and other Africian nations in critical situations resulting from drought, desertification and other devastating social and economic phenomena.

UNDRO is a focal point in coordinating relief efforts in Africa. Its frequently updated "situation reports" are telexed to donor Governments and agencies, providing an overview of requirements, conditions in affected countries and descriptions of aid to the populations. These reports indicate the magnitude of the situation in certain African countries.

On 14 January, at an information meeting on the African emergency held in Geneva under UNDRO's auspices, UNDP Administrator Bradford Morse, Director of the new United Nations Office for Emergency Relief Operations in Africa, said there had been a particular increase in the activities of the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF), the United Nations High Commissioners for Refugees (UNHCR), and the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) in the most seriously affected countries. Non-governmental organizations also were playing an especially valuable role, he said.

Poul Hartling, High Commissioner for Refugees, said his Office's programmes were dealing with population movements occasioned by drought and famine, in addition to refugees in the conventional sense of the term. The seriousness of the situation was reflected in recent UNHCR appeals to help countries such as Sudan (where 3,000 refugees were arriving each day), Ethiopia, Somalia, the Central African Republic and other countries. (Press Release DEV/1597-ND/207)

Ethiopia's Needs

After his appointment on 5 November as Assistant Secretary-General for Emergency Operations in Ethiopia, Kurt Jansson undertook a mission to Ethiopia to assess requirements in consultation with donor missions in Addis Ababa and Government authorities.

On 13 December, Mr. Jansson provided a detailed report on the situation. The current drought, he said, followed three successive years of "grossly insufficient rainfall" in many parts of Ethiopia. Total crops were expected to be 25 to 30 per cent less than the average for the three previous drought-affected years.

The shortfall was equivalent to the ordinary needs of between 6.5 and 8 million persons, based on a conservative population estimate of 42 million. On the basis FAO statistics and a nationwide survey by Ethiopia's Central Statistical Office, an estimated 7.7 million people--including 351,000 returners in southeastern Ehtiopia and 30,000 more in Sidamo in the south--needed emergency aid.

Administrative regions worst affected by the drought were Wollo, Tigray and Eritrea in the north, and all of northern Shewa, eastern Gondar, Hararghe and Sidamo. In all, 12 of Ethiopia's 14 administrative regions suffered from the drought to varying degrees. The main surplus areas of Gojjam, Shewa, Arsi, Western Gondar, eastern Welega and northern Bale would have sharply reduced surpluses this season.

So far, some 509,916 metric tons of cereals, supplementary food and edible oil of a target of 1.3 million tons had been pledged or committed by donor countries and non-governmental organizations, leaving a gap of more than 800,000 metric tons.

The quantities to be distributed would rise from January-February on, when the population would have consumed whatever food and seed they might have been able to save, the report stated. "The peak will be in August-November, before the new main crop becomes available." Even with the most favourable weather conditions, the 1985-86 harvest would be some 10 per cent less than normal, mainly due to a shortage of oxen.

The Ministry of Agriculture estimated that the following quantities of seed aid would be needed: 20,000 metric tons of maize; 10,000 metric tons of sorghum; 10,000 metric tons of wheat.

Medical Requirements

As for medical supplies, an estimated 35 per cent of the drought-affected population needed emergency medical assistance, the most vulnerable groups being children, pregnant and lactating mothers and the old and infirm. Supplies were urgently needed to treat famine-related diseases, including diarrhoea, respiratory ailments, malaria, and eye, skin and related diseases. The Ministry of Health estimated that medical supplies were needed at the rate of $2 per person for the next 12 months to meet the emergency needs of 2.7 million people.

The shortage of medical personnel in Ethiopia had created great problems in efforts to provide health care to drought victims, the report stated. At present, there were 28 expatriate doctors, 73 nurses, 11 nutritionists and 19 support staff working in drought areas. The Ethiopian Relief and Rehabilitation Commission (RRC) asked for an additional 20 medical teams, consisting of a medical doctor, nurse and nutritionist, who should be supplied with means of transport.

With night temperatures at high altitudes dropping to near freezing and winds adding to the cold, the need for blankets, tents and clothing was expected to rapidly increase. Cooking utensils and fuel-efficient stoves were also needed. Preliminary estimated costs in this areas were $5.2 million.

The RRC, with 9,000 workers, was responsible for distributing food and other supplies made available to it. The movement and distribution of relief supplies at 250 distribution centres were determined by estimates from the RRC field staff, who worked in co-operation with local farmers' associations. Logistics specialists were being assigned to work with the RRC.

Plans were also under way to establish a computerized management system in the RRC to facilitate planning and control of emergency operations, including arrival and movement of supplies, internal transport availability, stock positions, distribution levels and reporting to donors.

Mr. Jansson concluded that he was satisfied that, with the full cooperation of the Ethiopian Government, emergency relief supplies destined for Ethiopia in the quantities indicated would be efficiently handled and distributed. With the proposed system of planning, data management and monitoring, he said, donors' reporting requirements would be met.

He asked that the relief food pipeline be kept filled to ensure an average distribution of some 100,000 metric tons of grain per month and the rproposed quantities of supplementary period ending December 1985; that pledges be made over a longer period of time, preferably for the whole of 1985 but at least for three-month periods; and that donors make every attempt to consult their aid missions in Addis Ababa on emergency needs and keep them constantly informed of all decisions made and steps taken which affect relief operations.

UNDRO agreed to provide Mr. Jansson with a team of monitoring/coordination officers to evaluate on-the-spot changing priority needs, to follow and improve the transport and distribution of international relief, and to provide up-to-date information on the situation in drought-affected areas.

Logistics

A 3 January UNDRO report said that efficient co-ordination of relief shipments was essential to avoid congestion in the ports of Assab, Massawa and Djibouti and to utilize them to their fullest capacity so that a steady and reliable pipeline of food and other relief goods to the interior of the country could be maintained.

Ports had been fully occupied in December, and in January were faced with shipments expected to exceed their berthing and handling capacity. That would create an "overspill" into February, the report stated, when heavy tonnages were expected. Consequently such "overspills" were likely to occur in March and possibly April as well.

In January, confirmed arrivals totalled 144,395 tons for Assab (with an estimated unloading capacity of 90,000 tons, and an offtake capacity of 53,000); 30,385 tons for Massawa (20,000-ton unloading capacity, 19,000 offtake capacity); and 20,262 tons for Djibouti (25,000-ton unloading capacity, 15,000-ton offtake capacity). A shortage of trucks was slowing port off-loading operations.

To avoid delays, as well as demurrage payments for vessels kept waiting outside the ports, donors were asked before arranging any shipment to clear the tiome of arrival with the World Food Programme (WFP) office in Addis Ababa.

On 22 JAnuary, an UNDRO report confirmed that arrivals of emergency food from January through April 1985 would total 448,598 metric tons, within the target suggested in Assistant-Secretary-General Jansson's 13 December assessment report. Arrivals of supplementary food, however, were low. Commodities expected to arrive from February through May would substantially exceed the estimated capacity of ports, the report stated.

The heavy schedule of aid shipments, the report went on, was expected to require mobilization of hundreds of long-haul and short-haul trucks. The transport situation was expected to ease in MArch with the arrival of 255 trucks from donor countries. Logistics experts estimated some 400 6- to 10-ton trucks and 300 22-ton long-haul trucks would be required, as would the upgrading of 400 trucks already in Ethiopia. Total value of emergency transport aid for 12 months would be $395.8 million.

In his 13 December report, Assistant-Secretary-General Jansson concluded that given measures already taken, and those proposed, the unloading and off-take capacities would not be a constraint on emergency shipments to Ethiopia over the next 12 months. However, donor subsidies were required to help the Government cover the substantial port handling and inland transport costs over a 12-month period. The RRC's capacity to transport supplies from warehouses to distribution points in the drought areas should also be strengthened.

Other Ethiopian efforts: A number of reports from United Nations agencies and organizations as well as voluntary groups detail other efforts being made with regard to the Ethipian situation.

A 22 January UNDRO report indicated that included in the total $312.7 million contributions in cash and kind pledges so far for Ethiopia was some 262,150 metric tons of food aid from the United States, which was contributing aid valued at more than $147 million as of that date.

A $3.3 million UNHCR relief programme in Ethiopia would provide an estimated 300,000 returnees in the drought-stricken Haraghe area with essential food and medical supplies. Cash requirements covered procurement of basic food pending arrival of WFP and bilateral supplies; procurement of supplementary food, medical supplies, tents, blankets, domestic utensils and other relief goods; payment of internal transportation handling/storage, water supply, sanitation and programme support costs. Contributions paid or pledged as of 10 January were $8,988,357 plus 30,297 tons of basic food. (Press Release REF/935)

FAO reported that the latest in its series of appeals made since 1983 for emergency food aid for Ethiopia was launched on 29 October 184. Donors had pledged some 400,000 tons of cereals towards the estimated requirement of 1.2 million tons for 1985. FAO has also announced an international campaign to help Ethiopia rehabilitate its agriculture.

To be administered by the UNDP, Italy's 50 billion lira ($26 million) contribution for drought-related rehabilitation and medium-term development assistance to Ethiopia, announced in January, would assist efforts to increase production and availability of food and to create better living conditions in drought-stricken areas. The integrated programme, to focus on two provinces, includes plans for small and medium-scale irrigation systems; water supply for human and animal consumption; feeder roads to ensure that food supplies reach drought victims; food stores for service and producer co-operatives and farmer associations to reduce the serious loss of food after harvest in Ethiopia. (Press Release DEV/1595)

UNDRO reported that from 13 to 23 December, a WHO technical team investigated the emergency health situation in Ethiopia resulting from drought, the health implications of insufficient food, priority health needs, and measures required. Emergency health needs for 1985 were estimated at $15.1 million. WHO Recommended that a senior health co-ordinator guide and co-ordinate the multiple health actions needed. A WHO report containing detailed requirements was being distributed through UNDRO. Meanwhile, WHO is making available $300,000 for most urgent medical needs.

UNICEF reported to UNDRO that appeals for Ethiopia in 1984-85 total some $14.5 million. Contributions received at the end of 1984 totalled $5.7 million in cash, plus blankets, high-energy protein biscuits, feeding utensils and logistics support. Urgent requirements still outstanding included $9 million in cash, plus contributions in kind consisting of high energy supplementary foods that require no cooking and shelter materials.

Major programmes undertaken included provision of: feeding utensils and shelter materials; supplementary foods; support for water supply activities; vehicles and subsidies for transporting grain, supplementary food and water; cash for local purchase of food; cash for dried meat for supplementary food production; drugs and dietary supplements; oral rehydration salts; vaccines; logistics support for supplementary feeding programmes; integrated basic services activities in emergency project sites; and project monitoring costs.

The WFP reported to UNDRO that in response to Government requests, emergency assistance for Ethiopia valued at $20,451,002 had been committed in 1984. That included nearly $19 million in food--including more than 60,000 tons of wheat and cereals--as well as $1,250,000 for interal transport, storage and handling. In addition, WFP financed the provision of 90 tarpaulins, 4 trucks and the airfreight of 65.5 tons of OXFAM biscuits and field kitchens, at a total cost of $259,724, with funds provided to WFP by the World Bank.

NGO Reponse

Included in the UNDRO reports were summaries of activities of non-governmental organizations, as follows:

League of Red Cross and Red Crescent Scoeities: In early November 1984, the League of Red Cross Societies launched its 1985 appeal for 43 million Swiss francs (19 million in cash and 24 million in kind), including shipment of 25,000 tons of relief food. Five million Swiss francs had been received in cash in response to its appeal, and more than 11,000 tons of food was scheduled to arrive in Assab over the next three to four months. More than 30 sister societies responded to the appeal, and 21 Red Cross airlifts had been arrnged since November 1984 to provide medicines, tents, vehicles and other relief supplies. Some 85,000 people were currently receiving Red Cross assistance.

Involvement of the Lutheran World Federation (LWF) in Ethiopian relief efforts during 1984 shifted from development to obtaining food and other relief goods from traditional donors in Europe, the United States, Canada and other countries, and transporting it from ports to local food distribution centres, particularly in the Wollo, Eritrea and Kambata/Hadiya areas LWF also supported an airlift operation for people in Tigrai. Its relief food reached an estimated average of 64,000 families over a six-month period. A total of nearly $5 million in grain, milk powder, clothing and blankets was contributed by the end of 1984.

Since July 1984, OXFAM had aloocated 6 million pounds for famine relief in Ethiopia. This covered two shipments of grain, totalling 20,000 tons, sent in collaboration with other European non-governmental organizations and British Government ODA, costs of various relief flights, and expenses of teams of nutrition workers and water engineers working in Sidamo and Wollo provinces. Funds raised to dare reached 8 million pounds. Large allocations were planned for seed purchases within Ethiopia for the next planting season.

Medecins Sans Frontiers has been working in Ethiopia since March 1984, providing medical assistance in Korem and Kobo (Wollo). Its team is composed of seven doctors, 13 nurses, a lab technician and three logistic officers. The programme includes the supply of medicines, medical equipment, tents and shelters necessary for hospitalization and recovery, as well as part of the specialized food needed for therapeutic feeding centers. Up to 31 December, total contributions reached $450,000, mostly financed since October by the European Economic Community (EEC). Priority needs outstanding included specialized food--i.e. corn soja milk--tents and blankets.

And in other African Countries...

Chad

On 3 January, UNDRO reported that evacuation of certain camps was displaced persons on agricultural sites. The number of victims was expected to rise rapidly in the next few months, the report said, and massive displacements could only be avoided if rapid action, backed by material goods and logistics support, was undertaken. A provisional count indicated 107,000 displaced persons, of which 68,200 were still in camps and 38,000 were being reinstalled.

The cost of reinstalling 75,000 displaced persons on agricultural sites enabling them to cultivate and produce their own food was estimated at $2.4 million, with $1.9 million needed for agricultural equipment; $357,450 for rehabilitation material; $91,470 for equipment for 414 canteens; and $8,300 for seeds for market gardening.

On 28 January, UNDRO reported that the general situation in Chad continued to worsen and the number of persons requiring assistance was increasing. In Sahelian zones, some 94,500 displaced persons had regrouped in camps; 26,500 had been reinstalled; and 76,700 were being assisted through food for work projects. There would be no rice harvest and other crop harvests would be greatly reduced due to the drought. Low stocks would be exhausted by April. Port Douala was reported to be "saturated", and railway bottlenecks line. Donations announced totalled 123,000 tons, of which 96,000 tons were expected to arrive by May.

UNDRO reported that $5.7 million worth of mazie, soya, milk, edible oil, sugar and corn was to be provided to Chad by the WFP; $1.2 million for food, distribution and other costs by the EEC, in addition to a previous $905,000 contribution; $30,000 in cash by Denmark; 4,000 tons of rice, by the Federal Republic of Germany; 5,000 tons of rice each by Italy and Japan; $451,977 for purchase and transport of grain, woolen blankets and stocks, by Norway; $521,739 for medicines and mobile medicine teams, by the Netherlands; 5,000 tons of sorghum by the United States through CARE; and 5,000 metric tons of maize and corn by the United States through the League of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies. Also, additional medical aid was to be financed by the EEC ($176,900); Netherlands ($230,000); and Medecins sans Frontieres ($37,000).

Mauritania

During 1985, UNDRO reported that Mauritania would continue to be severely affected by the effects of three consecutive years of drought and generalized desertification. Provision of emergency food aid had up to now averted famine, but the situation remained precarious, the report stated.

Outbreaks of cholera, reported during October and November in areas close to the Senegal River and around Nouakchott, had been contained by intensive treatment and prevention campaigns. Only sporadic cases were now reported, although a resurgence was possible. The United States, in response to an UNDRO appeal, contributed $1.25 million for internal transport, and negotiations for additional contributions from other donors continued.

Mali

UNDRO reported that in mid-December, the Malian Government estimated that one million persons were affected, more than half of whom were considered "roving" populations. Food needs for 1984-85 were estimated at 202,000 metric tons of cereals, of which 81,500 tons had been pledged and 36,000 tons were scheduled to arrive before March 1985.

A Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO)/WFP/UNDRO mission recommended free emergency aid to farmers and destitute people; rehabilitation of cereal production capacity by supplying draught animals, tools and 24,000 metric tons of seed; changing the agricultural production system to pumping irrigation; cultivating the Niger River banks; and encouraging land use in southern Mali.

A team of four United Nations Volunteers, possibly reinforced by experts from Switzerland and the Netherlands, was to begin internal distribution operations in February 1985 in affected regions. These personnel needed four-wheel drive vehicles and travel, fuel and maintenance funds, the UNDRO report stated.

Sudan

A 4 January UNDRO report on Sudan stated that this country, in addition to suffering from severe drought, had also been subjected to a heavy influx of refugees from neighbouring Chad, Ethiopia and Uganda, at an average rate of 1,500 persons daily.

Sudan asked the Secretary-General on 4 January to mobilize international assistance to help it deal with the critical situation resulting from drought and desertification and the continuing influx of refugees from neighbouring States. The Secretary-General informed Sudan that it had been included on the United Nations list of 10 African countries considered as being among most critically affected as a result of drought, famine and other severe social and economic constraints.

A 24 January UNDRO report stated that the winter wheat crop in the irrigated eastern and central regions of the country had not been planted because of water shortages. Sorghum and millet production was expected to drop by a third this year. Total affected population was some 4.5 million, about a quarter of whom--1.14 million persons--had been displaced. With food resource availability waning, that number could increase to 2 million by March.

Government priorities included cereal foods, sorghum, wheat flour, sugar, cooking oil, rice lentils, medicines, pesticides, insecticides, and assistance for water pumping and transport.

For an estimated 1.8 million persons--about 300,000 families--shelter, blankets and clothing were needed, as were straw mats and poles for housing materials. Total estimated needs were valued at $20.1 million.

Other Efforts

On 4 January, the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD) signed an agreement with the Government of Kenya regarding a joing agricultural development programme to be undertaken with the participation of four United Nations agencies--the World Health Organization (WHO), UNICEF, UNDP and IFAD--on behalf of the Belgian Survival Fund.

The Fund was established by royal decree in January 1984, and has the aim of ensuring the survival of victims of hunger, malnutrition and underdevelopment in regions of the third world which register the highest rates of morality due to those causes. With resources of 10 billion Belgian francs ($167 million), the Fund provides for emergency distribution of food aid, and means to enable famine victims to obtain for themselves an adequate level of subsistence and progress towards food self-sufficiency.

Kenya, Somalia and Uganda have been selected in a first stage as target countries for Survival Fund action. The Kenya project aims to ensure training in agricultural management, a rise in food production and development of social infrastructures in the food-deficit Siaya district, which has one of the country's highest mortality rates, particularly among children. (Press Release IFAD/224)

IFAD has also extended a loan of $7 million to the Government of Somalia for the development of the north-west region of the country, one of its least developed areas, which is facing a chronic food deficit and rapid population growth. While the mina agricultural activity of the region is stock-rearing, the project's aim is to increase small holder production of sorghum and maize in the rainfed areas and of cereals, fruit and vegetable in the irrigated terrace farms. (Press Releases IFAD/224, 248)

On 11 January, UNHCR increased its special emergency appeal for Africa from $24.8 to nearly $27.2 million, based on the critical situation of some 630,000 persons of concern to UNHCR in the Central African Republic, Ethiopia, Somalia and Sudan. Previous appeals for drought-affected newcomers in Ethiopia and other countries of the region were launched on 8 November, 7 and 20 December 1984.

For the period 1 November 1984 to 30 April 1985, UNHCR estimated a total amount in cash of $27,164,205 was required for over 300,000 returnees in Ethiopia and 356,000 persons of concern to UNHCR in other countries in the region.

Sudan had experienced massive influxes from Ethiopia and Chad, UNHCR reported. In November 1984, the number of new arrivals from Ethiopia in eastern Sudan was 35,000, and that had since increased to 170,000, with 2,000 to 3,000 persons arriving daily. In western Sudan, 60,000 Chadians needed emergency aid in the amount of $3 million.

In the Central African Republic, 40,000 Chadians were receiving emergency aid at the border, while preparations were under way to move them to more secure sttelemnt sites further inland. Requirements totalled $4.12 million.

In Somalia, special reception centres and relief distribution points had been established for 60,000 new arrivals from Ethiopia. requirements for shelter, blankets and utensils totalled $2.05 million. (Press Release REF/935)

FAO Director-general Edouard Saouma on 24 January appealed to the EEC to ship more of its unwanted grain surpluses to famine-stricken areas of Africa, stressing the need to help Africa restore its shattered agriculture.

"Africa is hungry, not only for food, but for the means to grow food", he said in a keynote address at the opening of a major international food fair in Berlin. "It would surely by a scandal if unwanted mountains of grain were left to accumulate storage bills in Europe, while people were allowed to die of hunger only 5,000 kilometers south". (Press Release FAO/3347)

On 14 January, FAO announced that four African countries would receive emergency food aid worth nearly $20 million. Ethiopia received the largest grant, $7.2 million, for the drought-affected people in Ethiopia's Wollo region; Sudan, $5.2 million for supply of cereals to 1.5 million persons for a 40-day period, and $2.9 million for food aid for 130,000 refugees in the eastern part of the country; Niger, $3.1 million in cereals and milk powder for 150,000 persons for 100 days; and Uganda, $905,000 for distribution of maize and pulse to 94,500 for three months. (Press Release FAO/3344, 3347)

On 12 December, the World Bank announced a $8.9 million programme, including financial assistance for agricultural assistance, to expand its long-term development aid to Africa. This programme represents the first concrete step in implementing the Joint Programme of Action for Sub-Saharan Africa launched by the Bank in late September. Funds would be provided for an increase in the number, size and scope of World Bank field missions in sub-saharan Africa, to provide extra support for national economic management and reformulation of development strategies and investment programmes.

The Bank also continued to provide loans and credits to African countries for development projects, including in January an $8.3 million loan to Cameroon, which is investing some $84 million in development of a rubber a plantation in its sparsely-populated western region, Kribi. The expansion of rubber production in that area is expected to reduce Cameroon's dependence on cocoa and coffee for agricultural export earnings. (Press Releases IB/4752, 4753)

WHO reported in January that during 1984 it provided some $3.5 million in emergency health aid to 26 drought-stricken and famine-stricken African countries. Two thirds of the expenditure came from its regular budget; the remainder from other sources, including the Arab Gulf Programme for the United Nationas Development Organizations; the Economic Commission for Europe (ECE), and the Government of Canada. That amount referred only to direct material aid, WHO reported, which was in addition to its provision of expertise and international co-ordination in the health field.

'Crusade' to Cope with African Crisis Urged by ECA Executive Secretary

Adebayo Adedeji, Executive Secretary of the Economic Commission for Africa and Special Representative of the Secretary-General on the African Economic Crisis, said, on 28 December in Addis Ababa at an end-of-the-year press conference, that even now, no one is in a position to say that "the worst has already happened, that the downward economic trend has reached its trough and that, therefore, an upturn may sooner or later be expected."

Unless additional efforts were undertaken to cope with the emergency situation to bring about rehabilitation, reconstruction and revitalization of Africa's devastated economies, and the resettlement of millions of displaced persons and to embark on the process of long-term structural adjustment and development, "the 1984 crisis may repeat itself in 1985 and in subsequent years even with greaer gravity", he said.

The effects of the drought-related emergency in the affected countries, he went on, had not been confined to the food crisis. Other critical emergency areas related to water; transportation, storage and distribution of food, medicines and drugs; population displacement; health; nutrition; livestock; income-generating relief projects; energy; and resettlement and rehabiliation of displaced persons.

Mr. Adedeji said in spite of incessant appeals by the Secretary-General and others, there was initially "a kind of deja vu attitude on the part of many donor countries". Sympathy and support had been whipped up after television coverage in Europe and North America, but even then aid had been concentrated on food aspects. Overall food aid needs would increase in 1984-1985, he said, to as much as 5 to 6 million tons of grain. "Perhaps if the world had listened to us much earlier, we could have averted at least some of the worst aspects of the crisis".

He suggested each country must take measures to strengthen its capacity, not only ot cope with the current emergency, but also to minimize or avert the impact of future emergencies, through such steps as provision of seeds, fertilizers and pesticides; establishing security reserves of food, medicines, vaccines, fodder and water; establishing a reliable early warning system for crisis; establishing permanent national structures to cope with emergency situations; formulating national programmes and policies to deal with the crisis, including the mobilization of domestic emergency resources; training appropriate manpower to deal with emergency situations; strengthening the response capacity of the donor community to emergency situations in individual countries; and establishing or strengthening resettlement programmes for populations affected by drought.

A "crusade for coping with the emergency" and for promoting economic rehabilitation and reconstruction must be launched as early as possible in 1985, he said, nationally, sub-regionally and regionally. He noted that the World Bank had argued recently for additional disbursements of about $2 billion each year by bilateral and multilateral donors over and above existing commitments for short-, medium- and long-term reconstruction and development needs.