Mr. Speaker, after three consecutive years of drought in the Horn of Africa, more than half of the four million Eritreans are threatened by famine. Many farmers have had to sell their cattle and eat the seed intended for planting.
Canada is responding to the urgent need for food and water in all parts of Eritrea. Through the Canadian International Development Agency, CIDA, Canada has committed to providing $3 million worth of emergency aid to the population of Eritrea.
This aid is divided as follows; $1 million to the Canadian Food Grains Bank, $1 million to the World Food Program, and $1 million to UNICEF. These bodies will work in conjunction with the Eritrean government departments responsible for emergency feeding.