DJIBOUTI: Livestock deaths threaten food security – UN

NAIROBI, 3 May 2005 (IRIN) - Three consecutive failed rainy seasons have led to widespread livestock deaths and a significant decline in milk production, creating serious food insecurity in Djibouti, according to the UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO). "The pastoralist families are dependent on their livestock for food and income," Fernanda Guerrieri, chief of FAO's emergency operations, said in a statement on Friday. "Many have lost their entire herds, leaving them with nothing to eat or trade." Delayed rains and erratic rainfall patterns had been insufficient to replenish water catchments or regenerate pastures, FAO said in a statement. The agency said pastoralists from Djibouti and the neighbouring drought-affected countries of Eritrea, Ethiopia and Somalia had been forced to graze in Djibouti's coastal areas, beyond the restorative capacities of the land. Guerrieri said 50,000 head of livestock urgently needed animal feed, water and emergency veterinary care. "The provision of food supplements and treatment of parasites and communicable diseases will help livestock recover quickly and increase their commercial value," she added. FAO appealed for US $4 million, as part of a consolidated UN appeal for $7.5 million, to combat the severe food crisis threatening an estimated 30,000 pastoralists in Djibouti with famine. The FAO appeal is for money to provide veterinary services, as well as food and water for livestock. Meanwhile, the UN World Food Programme (WFP) on Friday appealed for $2.5 million to assist communties affected by drought in Djibouti, including almost 6,000 children under the age of five, for a period of six months. "We were able to provide enough food for 29,000 people for a month, but those affected will need further assistance or they will go hungry," Fatma Samoura, WFP country director for Djibouti, said in a statement.