Eritrea's economy is almost entirely aid-dependent. Food aid, on which 75% of the population survive, is the most pressing need. The failure of the harvest in 1993, which placed 400,000 at risk of starvation, led to the UN pledging a further 225,000 tons of food. Western donors have been less generous with aid for the $2-billion reconstruction costs. Compared with Somalia, Eritrea's aid receipts are tiny.
