THE CHURCH WORLD SERVICE: EMERGENCY RESPONSE PROGRAM
CWS EMERGENCY APPEAL: Eritrea Drought / War Affected
# 6461 for $75,000
December 9, 2002


SITUATION: Four years of erratic rains have caused drought in many areas
of Eritrea; that, added with the recent war with Ethiopia, have caused
serious food shortages in many parts of the country. The impact of failed
seasonal rains goes beyond Anseba, the northern and southern Red Sea
regions -- formerly associated with drought -- and now includes areas
within Gash Barka and Debub, known as the "bread baskets of Eritrea."

These two regions now host the greatest number of returnees and internally
displaced persons (IDPs), including refugees from Sudan. During the
current planting and harvest seasons, the IDPs could not farm and are now
entirely dependent on food aid for the next year.

More than 1 million persons in Eritrea will now require relief food
assistance, reports the Eritrea Relief and Refugee Emergency Commission
(ERREC) and the United Nations.


RESPONSE: CWS is responding to the crisis in Eritrea by supporting efforts
of Dutch Inter church Aid (DIA) and Norwegian Church Aid (NCA), both of
which are working with local partners; DIA is providing emergency food
assistance; NCA is focusing on HIV/AIDS prevention. The project completion
date for the DIA project is Aug. 31, 2003; for NCA, Dec. 31, 2003.


SPECIFICS:

DIA: DIA, working with local partners, is providing emergency food relief
- flour, lentils and cooking oil -- for 22,500 refugees - specifically
Beja and Rachaida refugees from north-eastern Sudan, who have fled their
country because of conflict and are currently staying in western Eritrea.
The budget includes $435,210 in direct food assistance.

NCA: NCA is working on the issue of HIV/AID prevention and sexual- and
gender-based violence against women in the Gash Barka and Debub regions,
which have been severely affected by the conflict with Ethiopia. The
program is for education on these issues for 60,000 persons; the objective
is to increase awareness of HIV/AIDS and violence against women among both
men and women and to train local service providers to better respond to
these problems. Budget includes training, counseling costs. Direct
assistance includes $65,331.

CWS-ERP is seeking $75,000 from its denominational members for this
appeal. For more specific information, including budget information,
contact CWS ERP. Or go to the ACT web site: www.act-intl.org


Call the CWS HOTLINE for updates: (800) 297-1516.

For further information about disasters to which Church World Service is
responding, contact CWS Emergency Response Telephone: (212) 870-3151.

Telephone: (212) 870-3151
E-mail:   donnajderr@aol.com
After-hours emergency pager: (800) 780-0853
Web site: www.cwserp.org


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