This report includes: A) Democratic People's Republic of Korea B) Albania C) Burundi, Rwanda, Zaire and Tanzania D) Uganda E) Kenya F) Laos.
>From P. Ares, Chief, Programming Service. Available on the Internet at WFP Home Page http://www.wfp.org/ or by e-mail from HicksDeb@wfp.org (fax 39 6 5228 2837). For information regarding resources, donors are requested to contact Mr. F. Strippoli or Ms. A. Blum, WFP Rome (telephone 39 6 5228 2504 or 5228 2004).
PART I - HIGHLIGHTS (Details below in Part II)
A. DEMOCRATIC PEOPLE'S REPUBLIC OF KOREA
1. Update a) Following her visit to DPRK, WFP Executive Director announces that WFP will expand its current emergency program to feed all children in the country under the age of six, through supplementary feeding at nurseries and kindergartens.
B. ALBANIA
1. Update a) Food supply situation deteriorates rapidly. Security and distribution mechanisms will have to be ensured before humanitarian aid can be dispensed in the country. b) Following a request for WFP assistance from the Albanian Government, WFP mission arrives in Tirana on 20 March.
C. EAST AFRICA: REGIONAL OPERATION FOR BURUNDI, RWANDA, ZAIRE AND TANZANIA
1. Regional a) UN Consolidated Inter-Agency Appeal for the Great Lakes region (excluding Rwanda) issued on 19 March. Appeal, totals USD 324.5 million, for the period January - December 1997, to meet the needs of over 1.4 million refugees, returnees and displaced persons in Burundi, Zaire, Tanzania, Uganda and Zambia. The Rwandan Government will issue its own separate appeal.
2. Eastern Zaire a) Kisangani falls to AFDL on March 15; the future of Rwandan and Burundian refugees dispersed in Eastern Zaire remains uncertain. WFP airlift from Mwanza to Kisangani again interrupted, but resumed on 19 March. Aid deliveries to Ubundu halted. b) One-week cease-fire around Kisangani announced by AFDL on 17 March; UN team from Goma visits Kisangani on 19 March to assess situation. c) Refugees in Tingi Tingi and Amisi receive relief assistance brought by air from Goma. Repatriation of refugee children from the two locations by the UN begins. d) Inter-agency assessment mission travels to Kalima and Kindu on 17 March. Barge and rail operations still suspended.
3. Burundi a) Situation tense in Bujumbura following mine incidents and failed coup attempt but restrictions on expatriate staff movements lifted. b) WFP assessment missions visit regroupment and displaced sites and drought-stricken communes. Population numbers and composition at sites vary, but in general food situation is poor.
4. Tanzania a) Preliminary reports from vulnerability assessment teams visiting drought affected areas in northern Tanzania indicate that current drought is one of the worst ever experienced by the region. Government releases 10,000 metric tons of food for immediate relief distributions. b) Pre-positioning of stocks in Kasulu district under way, and food situation improves in the camps.
D. UGANDA
1. Update a) Large numbers of Sudanese refugees reported to be returning to Sudan, where SPLA has claimed recent successes. Other Sudanese refugees leave settlements to move back to transit camps due to insecurity.
E. KENYA
1. Update a) Drought situation worsens. No rainfall reported since early December 1996. Grazing land depleted and surface water sources have dried up in pastoral areas of North Eastern Province and the northern sector of Eastern Province. b) First distributions under WFP EMOP 5803 expected to commence soon. Further resources may be required if the long rains (mid March - end May) fail to arrive.
F. LAOS
1. Relief operation for flood victims a) WFP emergency operation (EMOP 5823 ) has been approved to assist people whose crops were affected by bad floods in September 1996. WFP is appealing for 30,240 metric tons of rice (valued at USD 11.6 million) for 420,000 people until the next harvest in November 1997. Cash needs total USD 3.26 million.
PART II - DETAILS
A. DEMOCRATIC PEOPLE'S REPUBLIC OF KOREA
1. UPDATE
1.1 Following her recent visit to DPR Korea, the WFP Executive Director, Ms. Catherine Bertini, announced plans by WFP to increase its emergency assistance to the country, where critical food shortages caused by two years of heavy flooding have brought the country to the brink of a major humanitarian disaster.
1.2 The highest-ranking United Nations official to visit DPR Korea since fierce flooding devastated its rural infrastructure in August 1995, Ms. Bertini inspected flood-damaged areas, visited beneficiaries of WFP assistance and met with senior North Korean officials to assess the worsening situation.
1.3 Because of the lack of food, rations under the public distribution system have recently been reduced by the Government to 100 grams of rice per person per day. Even at this low level the food supply is expected to run out by the end of March or early April, according to Government projections. Without urgent food aid, North Korea could soon be facing major famine, Ms. Bertini warned.
1.4 WFP's current appeal is for USD 41.6 million to help feed flood victims over the coming year. Providing a total of 100,000 metric tons of grains and corn soya blend, the appeal will feed 630,000 children under the age of five and 250,000 farmers with 850,000 dependents who lost food stocks and standing crops in the floods.
1.5 Following her visit to the DPRK, Ms. Bertini said that WFP will consult with the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) on a proposal to expand the appeal to cover roughly 2.4 million children under the age of six enrolled in nursery schools and kindergartens in North Korea.
1.6 DPRK officials have agreed to allow WFP teams to travel to the more remote northern parts of the country to evaluate the food situation in areas where humanitarian organizations have not yet been active.
B. ALBANIA
1. UPDATE
1.1 The food supply situation in Albania has deteriorated rapidly over the past week. Various observers have emphasized that security and distribution mechanisms must be ensured before any humanitarian aid can be dispensed in the country.
1.2 An official request was received on 19 March from the Albanian Government for WFP to provide food aid to the country. WFP has fielded an exploratory mission, which arrived in Tirana on 20 March. The mission's objectives are to assess the immediate needs and identify possible food aid distribution mechanisms.
1.3 The immediate concern is the risk of food shortages following the pillaging of most of the state's warehouses and the suspension of all food imports because of border closures. In recent days food prices in the capital Tirana have risen between 30 and 40 percent.
C. EAST AFRICA: REGIONAL OPERATION FOR BURUNDI, RWANDA, ZAIRE AND TANZANIA
1. REGIONAL
1.1 The UN Consolidated Inter-Agency Appeal for the Great Lakes region (excluding Rwanda) was issued in Geneva on 19 March. The appeal, for a total of USD 324.5 million, covers the period January - December 1997, to meet the needs of over 1.4 million refugees, returnees and displaced persons in Burundi (615,000), Zaire (460,000), Tanzania (326,000), Uganda and Zambia (33,000). WFP and UNHCR will require the bulk (80%) of the needed funding. WFP is appealing for 55,000 metric tons of food commodities (this total is the net requirement, taking into consideration current stocks and scheduled arrivals). Breakdown of costs is as follows: for net food requirement, USD 38.1 million; for Special Operations, USD 1.3 million; for Air Operations to Zaire, USD 18.1 million. Rwanda's requirements are not included in the UN appeal as the Rwandan Government will issue its own separate appeal.
2. EASTERN ZAIRE - information as of 19 March
2.1 Kisangani fell to the Alliance of Democratic Forces for the Liberation of Congo-Zaire (AFDL) of Laurent-Desire Kabila on March 15 and the future of the Rwandan and Burundian refugees dispersed in Eastern Zaire remains uncertain. The WFP airlift from Mwanza (Tanzania) delivering relief food to Kisangani, interrupted only two days after it had re-started, could only be resumed on 19 March. Aid deliveries to Ubundu had to be halted and access is still being negotiated. Food held in one of the two WFP warehouses in Kisangani was looted.
2.2 A one-week cease-fire in a 20 km belt around Kisangani was announced by the AFDL on 17 March to allow relief operations and to permit the return to town of the residents who had run away. Following this announcement, a UN team from Goma visited Kisangani on 19 March, to assess the situation.
2.3 Over 2,200 refugees stranded in Tingi Tingi and Amisi are receiving relief assistance, transported by air from Goma. WFP staff have travelled to both locations, to fix storage facilities and set up distribution arrangements. Six metric tons of biscuits have been distributed but no general food distribution is envisaged. The refugees are suffering from exhaustion, lack of basic food and diseases and WFP high-energy biscuits are being distributed to help refugees regain strength before repatriation. Blankets, plastic sheeting, medical kits and other items have been supplied by UNHCR, OXFAM, MSF/OMNIS and UNICEF.
2.4 On March 17, the UN started the first repatriation of Rwandan refugee children from Tingi Tingi and Amisi. A first group of 16 unaccompanied and malnourished children were flown to Goma, and from there will be taken to Rwanda. On 18 and 19 March, a further 57 children from Tingi Tingi were taken to Goma, where they will stay in a centre for a few days, before going to Rwanda. This programme is a joint WFP/UNICEF/UNHCR operation.
2.5 An inter-agency mission travelled to Shabunda, Kalima and Kindu on 17 March to assess the situation of refugees, unaccompanied children and the local population. The mission was unable to land in Shabunda, as the airstrip was flooded. In Kalima there was little information regarding the whereabouts of the refugees after they fled the camp on February 28. In Kindu the mission found 197 unaccompanied children and local authorities requested the use of the small stock of WFP maize left in the warehouses to help these children and some 2,000 displaced persons. Barge and rail operations are still suspended.
3. RWANDA
3.1 Between 10 and 16 March 1,771 Rwandans returned from Eastern Zaire and Tanzania. During the same period, 25 refugees from Zaire and Burundi entered in Rwanda. Preparations for an influx of returnees from Zaire are ongoing: 60 metric tons of high-energy biscuits are being moved across the border to Goma; MSF and Food for the Hungry have been given the responsibility for medical assistance. WFP has now two aircraft based in Kigali in support of Eastern Zaire operations, to be moved to Goma when clearance is obtained.
3.2 WFP deliveries are progressing well with 3,322 metric tons delivered country wide during the period 10-16 March, the highest figure to date. Current in-country stocks are however rather low and expected deliveries to Rwanda during March will be below requirements. Some alternatives are being explored, namely direct haulage from Mombasa and Dar es Salaam and the re-deployment of WFP fleets in the region.
3.4 The WFP programme in Rwanda has been under review with the objective of strengthening sub-offices, reinforcing co-operation with the Government, and introducing increased security measures. WFP's country programme will stand at 12,000 metric tons of food per month until May/June, when the focus will shift to rehabilitation programmes and targeted assistance to vulnerable groups.
4. BURUNDI
4.1 Following mine incidents in Bujumbura and the announcement of a failed coup attempt, the situation remained tense, but restrictions imposed on expatriate staff movements have been lifted. Some security incidents also were reported in Bujumbura Rural.
4.2 WFP assessment missions visited regroupment and displaced sites and drought-stricken communes. In some areas in Bubanza province, near the highly insecure Kibira forest, large population movements were observed. New sites are being created, and others split, fused or closed. Population numbers and composition in these sites vary significantly and constantly, but in general the food situation is poor. Signs of malnutrition were visible among many of the people who have just come out of hiding and among those with little access to land. Food assistance is being planned for the most food-insecure groups.
4.3 In drought-affected areas in Kirundo province, there is a serious deficit in food stocks. The price of beans, the staple food in these areas, has been pushed up by large sales of beans for seed, further aggravating the situation. A distribution of beans in three of the communes before the next harvest is being considered.
4.4 From 10 to 16 March WFP assisted 137,367 persons, mostly displaced and returnees in the provinces of Cibitoke and Kayanza. Current stocks in Burundi stand at 5,675 metric tons of various foods, adequate to cover next month's requirements.
5. TANZANIA
5.1 Drought: Preliminary reports from vulnerability assessment teams visiting drought affected areas in northern Tanzania indicate that the current drought is one of the worst ever experienced by the region. NGOs working in the region confirm that it is the worst they have seen since their arrival in Arusha, fifteen years ago. The Government has released 10,000 metric tons of food for immediate relief distribution, together with the necessary trucks and funding for distribution.
5.2 Refugees:
a) Fewer refugees are entering through Kigoma: only 2,108 refugees arrived between 10-16 March. Another 52 refugees arrived in Kibondo. In Ngara, district authorities re-opened the Mbuba reception centre to accommodate Burundians who are arriving in the area. The number of Burundians entering Tanzania is however small, totalling 178 between 24 February and 14 March. Meanwhile, other refugees from Burundi are returning to their country: 940 during the first two weeks of March.
b) Pre-positioning of stocks in Kasulu district is under way. The food situation has improved in the camps and all commodities in the food basket were available for distribution to all the refugees. The current refugee caseload in Kigoma stands at 264,019 people: 115,981 in Kasulu, 103,497 in Kibondo, 43,541 in Kigoma and 1,000 in Kigwa. The total refugee caseload in Tanzania as of 16 March is 369,069 persons.
D. UGANDA
1. UPDATE
1.1 It has been reported that large numbers of Sudanese refugees in northern Uganda are going back to Sudan as a result of changing conditions in southern Sudan, where recent SPLA successes are being claimed. No confirmation has been received from UNHCR or Ugandan Government officials regarding this movement. Other Sudanese refugees are, however, leaving their settlements and moving back to transit camps due to insecurity.
1.2 A WFP sub-office has been established in Gulu, manned by a logistician and one Emergency Officer. The office is assisting in the registration/verification exercise for displaced persons in the district and will liaise with the military for the organisation of convoys to West Nile camps and Pakelle.
E. KENYA
1. UPDATE
1.1 Kenya's drought situation is worsening with virtually no rainfall reported since early December 1996. In the pastoral areas of North Eastern Province and the northern sector of Eastern Province, most grazing land has been depleted and surface water sources, including some rivers, have completely dried up. Field assessments confirm intensification of drought conditions in pastoral and agro-pastoral areas of Tana River and Taita-Taveta districts of Coastal Province, as well as Samburu, Turkana and Kajiado districts of Rift Valley Province.
1.2 A total of 80,000 mt commercial maize has arrived in Kenya following Government lifting of import duties on commercial maize imports. The market price of maize and other food commodities, however, remain well above normal and are not generally affordable to local populations.
1.3 Recently approved WFP emergency operation (EMOP 5803) and WFP assistance through its emergency school feeding programme is expected to help ease the deteriorating situation in the six pastoral districts (Marsabit, Moyale, Isiolo, Mandera, Wajir and Garissa) and in pre/primary schools in the most severely drought-affected parts of the country. More than fifty percent of needs for EMOP 5803 have been resourced, with additional pledges in the pipeline. Further resources may be required if the long rains (mid March - end May) fail to arrive. First distributions under the EMOP are expected to commence next week.
F. LAOS
1. FLOOD OPERATION
1.1 A WFP Emergency Operation (EMOP 5823 ) has been approved to assist 420,000 persons in Laos, whose crops have been adversely affected by bad floods in September 1996. Three successive typhoons, in areas previously affected by droughts, caused the worst flooding in living memory over large areas of the most productive central and southern provinces of Laos. The FAO/WFP Crop and Food Supply Assessment Mission in December estimated that the deficit amounts to 179,000 metric tons of a total national requirement of just over 1 million metric tons.
1.2 WFP is appealing for 30,240 metric tons of rice (at a total food value of USD 11.6 million) for 420,000 people until the next harvest in November 1997. Cash needs to cover other costs related to the operation total USD 3.26 million.
1.3 To aid in coordination of relief efforts, a pyramid of five-person Committees of Food Aid Reception have been established by the Government, rising from the village level through district and provincial to central levels. At the village level, Committee members include elders of the community and elected members of the village council. The Lao Women's Union actively participates in village committee meetings. Food will be channeled through NGOs that work with local village committees, which will have a major role in ensuring involvement of women in food distribution and food management, as well as targeting of the most vulnerable people, including widows, children and orphans, the elderly and landless people.
(End WFP Emergency Report No. 12 of 1997 - March 21, 1997)
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