Five years of severe drought in Eritrea, coupled with the ongoing border dispute with Ethiopia, have exhausted the coping mechanisms of vulnerable farming families throughout the country, contributing to widespread poverty and food insecurity.
According to the U.N. Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO), more than 60 percent of the population - 2.3 million people - are dependent in one way or another on food aid. WFP estimates that 1.3 million people are in urgent and immediate need of assistance.
The 2005 main agricultural season in eastern areas saw relatively good rains, allowing pastures to recover somewhat and agricultural employment opportunities to increase. But the shorter bahri rains due in October and November failed, particularly in the country's Northern Red Sea coastal region.
Aside from the resident population, Eritrea also plays host to large numbers of people internally displaced during the 1998-2000 war with Ethiopia. A decision on their mutual border remains unresolved, and economic growth in Eritrea is hampered by the large numbers of men who are still conscripted in the army, and therefore not in the workforce.
The FAO says that in some areas more than 50 percent of households are without a male breadwinner.
East Africa hunger
West Africa Hunger
Southern Africa hunger
African hunger: Myths and realities
| Population |
4.6 million (U.N. Department of Economic and Social Affairs, 2006) |
| People needing immediate aid |
1.3 million (U.N. and other sources) |
| Proportion of malnourished in total population |
73 percent (FAO) |
| Life expectancy at birth |
53.8 years (UNDP) |
