Matching response to context in complex political emergencies: 'relief', 'development', 'peace-building' or something in-between?

There is an ongoing debate over the value and pitfalls of the policy and practice of 'linking relief and development' or 'developmental relief' in aid responses to complex political emergencies (CPEs). Driven by concerns about relief creating dependence, sometimes doing harm and failing to address root causes of emergencies despite its high cost, pursuit of both relief and development has become a dominant paradigm among international aid agencies in CPEs as in 'natural' disasters. In CPEs a third objective of 'peace-building' has emerged, along with the logic that development can itself help prevent or resolve conflict and sustain peace. However, this broadening of relief objectives in ongoing CPEs has recently been criticised on a number of counts, central concerns being that it leads to a dilution of commitment to core humanitarian principles and is overly optimistic. This paper addresses these issues in the light of two of the CPEs studied by the COPE project: Eritrea and Somalia/Somaliland. It is argued that the debate has so far suffered from lack of clarity about what we mean by 'relief', 'development' and, for that matter, 'rehabilitation' and 'peace-building'. The wide spectrum of possible aid outcomes does not divide neatly into these categories. The relief-development divide is not always as clear-cut, technically or politically, as the critics claim. Moreover such distinctions, constructed from the point of view of aid programmers, are often of little relevance to the concerns of intended beneficiaries. Second, there has been insufficient attention to context: rather than attempting to generalise within and across CPE cases, a more productive approach would be to examine more closely the conditions under which forms of aid other than basic life support can fruitfully be pursued. This leads to consideration of collective agency capacity to respond effectively to diverse needs in different and changing circumstances.     

War and Food Security in Eritrea and Ethiopia, 1998–2000

This paper examines the 1998–2000 'border' war between Eritrea and Ethiopia and its continuing legacies from the perspective of food security.¹ Focusing on the food crisis that hit both countries during the same period and was allowed to develop into a famine in southeast Ethiopia, it argues that this was linked with the war in more ways than hitherto recognised. Such connections can be appreciated only by taking a longer-term view of the decline of the rural economy of which this food crisis was part, factoring in the role played by this and other conflicts that have flared up in the region. An analysis of this kind might have helped donors and aid agencies to respond more effectively both to short-term humanitarian needs in the midst of an inter-state war and to the need for longer-term support for food security in a region beset by endemic conflict.     

Fluoride in groundwater in selected villages in Eritrea (North East Africa)

A study was undertaken to estimate fluoride content in thegroundwater in certain parts of rural Eritrea, North-East Africa,along the River Anseba. Standard procedure was adopted for fluoride detection. Results indicate elevated concentration offluoride in groundwater. The highest concentration was found tobe 3.73 mg L^-1, well above the safety level for consumption.Geological basis for the high concentration of high fluoride hasbeen established; it is presumed to be the pegmatite intrusion hosted by a granitic batholith. Extensive dental fluorosis has been observed in the population exposed to drinking water of highfluoride content.