Report No. 16 of 1997 Date: 18 April 1997 This report includes: A) Burundi, Rwanda, Zaire and Tanzania B) Uganda C) Kenya D) Angola E) Albania F) Iraq. 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. EAST AFRICA: REGIONAL OPERATION FOR BURUNDI, RWANDA, ZAIRE AND TANZANIA 1. Zaire - most information as of 17 April a) Preparations for repatriation of 100,000 Rwandan refugees from Kisangani area ongoing. Cholera outbreak in some refugee concentration points may delay repatriation operations. 650 displaced Zaireans evacuated to Goma by WFP by air. b) To increase delivery of food for distribution to refugees, WFP obtains additional rail wagons, and secures two barges to move food across the river. c) Food distributions are made by Zairean Red Cross to refugees and by Caritas/La Procure to internally displaced persons. Daily ration is 545 gr, 2,005 Kcal. From 7 to 13 April, some 101,150 refugees and 39,370 displaced Zaireans assisted. Refugees still in very poor shape, weak and sick, with an average of 100 dying each day. d) Unconfirmed reports of large groups of refugees from Tingi Tingi camp nearing border with Angola (some 30,000 people) and heading towards the Central African Republic (a reported 65,000 people). e) Repatriation of Rwandans from Karuba through Goma continues. 2. Rwanda a) Tension in prefectures of Gisenyi and Ruhengeri related to recent repatriation of Rwandans from Zaire; security increased. b) A total of 450 unaccompanied children have arrived at Nkamira Transit Centre in Gisenyi; some to be transported by UNHCR to Bukavu. Number of unaccompanied children expected to increase, and facilities to be expanded. c) Buffer stocks for 30,000 persons positioned in Gisenyi for returnees. 3. Burundi a) Regional leaders agree to ease sanctions against Burundi. Food and food products, medicines and agricultural items, are among items exempted from the embargo. b) Regroupement camps in Karuzi province visited by WFP, US Ambassador, UN Humanitarian Coordinator for the Great Lake Region and OFDA Emergency Disaster Relief Coordinator. B. UGANDA 1. Update a) Assessment mission to drought-affected districts of eastern Uganda confirms that food aid for vulnerable groups needed immediately, to cover period until harvest at end of July. Household cereal reserves in most-affected areas average one month, and in many cases have been depleted. b) WFP Kampala logistics mission currently in southern Sudan to check logistics conditions in border areas in preparation for food deliveries from Uganda to Sudanese returnees. C. KENYA 1. Update a) Rainy season has set in, but impact of 18 months of drought continues. Water and pasture conditions will improve quickly in pastoral areas, but restocking will take time. In agricultural areas, affected population expected to be dependent on food aid until the harvest in August/September. b) WFP food to drought-affected areas continues through expanded school feeding programme and targeted emergency operations, and substantial quantities of relief maize allocated by Government of Kenya. D. ANGOLA 1. Update a) Government of National Unity and Reconciliation sworn in on 11 April. b) Rapid demobilisation of former UNITA troops, war-disabled military and remaining under-age soldiers begins; WFP to provide food rations to soldiers and their dependents. c) FAO/WFP Crop and Food Supply Assessment Mission will begin 28 April. E. ALBANIA 1. Update a) First shipment of WFP food assistance to Albania arrives 14 April at port of Durres. Consignment is being guarded by the Multi-National Force (MNF) at the port warehouses. b) In coordination with the MNF, distribution to selected institutions and targeted destitute persons to begin 19 April, with initial distribution to be made to district of Elbasan. c) The second part of WFP's intervention for Albania approved on 17 April, to provide 15,000 metric tons of wheat flour to some 400,000 destitute people dependent on previously existing social welfare system. F. IRAQ 1. Update a) First distributions take place of food arriving under oil-for-food deal; Government of Iraq starts distribution of wheat flour in the centre and south on 2 April, while WFP starts distribution in northern Iraq on 14 April. b) WFP and other UN Observers report no problems in the food distributions in any part of the country. WFP is responsible for food distributions in the north, while in the centre and the south its role is limited to observing the equity and effectiveness of food distributions. c) As of 15 April, a total of about 200,000 metric tons of food commodities under the oil-for-food agreement had been delivered to Iraq, around 10 percent of total planned for distribution over the next six months. PART II - DETAILS A. EAST AFRICA: REGIONAL OPERATION FOR BURUNDI, RWANDA, ZAIRE AND TANZANIA 1. ZAIRE - most information as of 17 April 1.1 Preparations for the repatriation from Zaire of some 100,000 Rwandan refugees in the Kisangani area are still ongoing and a first group of unaccompanied children is due to be repatriated in the next few days. A cholera outbreak declared in refugee concentration points is, however, likely to delay repatriation operations. The repatriation will be through Goma, for those refugees evacuated by air, and Bukavu for those who will return by truck. Meanwhile, WFP has evacuated some 650 displaced Zaireans to Goma, using the aircraft currently airlifting food into Kisangani. Displaced Zaireans in the Kisangani area, estimated to number 30,000 people, are mostly from Goma and fled their homes when the rebel offensive started late last year. 1.2 WFP has significantly increased the delivery of food for distribution to refugees, despite serious logistics constraints. During the first half of April, 790 metric tons of food and 83 metric tons of non-food items were airlifted by WFP into Kisangani. From there, food is being railed and trucked to the various refugee sites. WFP has arranged for additional rail wagons and has secured two barges of 250 metric tons capacity each to shuttle food between the two river banks. WFP has also rented a 5,000 metric tons capacity warehouse by the side of the river, equipped with cranes, and mobile storage halls are being positioned at the WFP delivery points to build up stocks near refugee sites. 1.3 Food distributions are now being carried out in an organised fashion. The Zairean Red Cross is responsible for feeding the refugees and Caritas/La Procure are in charge of the food distribution to internally displaced persons. Each beneficiary is receiving a 545 gr. daily ration composed of maize, pulses, CSB, oil and salt. As of 11 April, all refugees were receiving a ration of 2,005 Kcal. Current distributions are covering three days requirements but WFP hopes to increase this to at least weekly rations. From 7 to 13 April, the caseload was estimated at 141,520 beneficiaries, of which 101,150 were refugees and the remaining displaced Zaireans. The refugees are still in very poor shape, weak and sick, and an average of 100 refugees are reportedly dying each day. 1.4 There are unconfirmed reports of the presence of other large groups of refugees in Zaire, in both the south and northern border areas. A group of some 30,000 refugees are seemingly near the border with Angola and a larger group of some 65,000 people is reportedly on the way to the Central African Republic. These are refugees from the former Tingi Tingi camps. UNHCR is sending teams to these areas to confirm the reports and assess the situation. 1.5 From 31 March to 12 April, over 20,000 refugees had been repatriated from Karuba through Goma. Some 5,000 refugees still remained to be repatriated in the Karuba area, and WFP continued to provide food commodities for a wet feeding programme. Small groups of refugees continue to spontaneously appear and register for registration. 1.6 A joint UNHCR/SCF/MSF mission from Bukavu visited Shabunda. The mission faced some difficulties as authorisation documents issued in Bukavu were rejected by military authorities in Shabunda. UNHCR has reportedly decided to drop the idea of opening an office in Shabunda, following these communication problems. 2. RWANDA 2.1 There is some tension in the prefectures of Gisenyi and Ruhengeri, over recent repatriation of Rwandans from Zaire, with the first groups of returnees arriving in transit camps and local communes. Repatriation is expected to go on for several weeks, through both Gisenyi and Cyangugu, and security in the area has been stepped up. 2.2 A total of 450 unaccompanied children arrived at Nkamira Transit Centre in Gisenyi. UNHCR plans to transport some of these children to Bukavu. As the number of unaccompanied children is likely to increase, plans for expanding facilities for these children are being discussed. MSF Belgium is now running a hospital facility at Nkamira Transit Centre. So far, 59 recently arrived returnees have died in Gisenyi Hospital. 2.3 Over 3,400 metric tons of food were distributed in Rwanda from 7 to 13 April. Buffer stocks for 30,000 persons have been positioned in Gisenyi for distribution to returnees and additional food will be stockpiled at the transit centres. WFP and UNHCR will try to provide a one-month ration to all returnees at the final transit centre, before they leave for their destinations, to cover possible delays in the returnees receiving food at commune level. 3. BURUNDI 3.1 Regional leaders meeting at a summit held in Arusha on 16 April, agreed to ease sanctions against Burundi. Exempted from the embargo are food and food products, education and construction materials, medicines and agricultural items. 3.2 WFP organised a visit to regroupement camps in Karuzi province, together with the US Ambassador, the UN Humanitarian Coordinator for the Great Lake Region and the OFDA Emergency Disaster Relief Coordinator. The mission visited three camps hosting the most food insecure populations and met with the Governor to discuss the regroupement situation in the province. The Governor informed the mission that it was hoped that regrouped populations would be able to return to their homes after July, provided that security remained stable. 3.3 From 7 to 13 April, WFP assisted 321,677 persons in Burundi. Most of these beneficiaries are persons receiving ad hoc emergency relief distributions. Areas with the largest concentration of food beneficiaries are Kirundo, in the north, and Cibitoke, Bubanza and Bujumbura in northern and western parts of the country. 3.4 Insecurity remains a matter of concern in Burundi. Incidents were reported in Bujumbura city, Bujumbura Rural and Cibitoke. There have also been reports of increasing disturbances in the south of the country, both along the border with Tanzania and from attacks launched from boats on the lake. B. UGANDA 1. UPDATE 1.1 Preliminary findings of the assessment mission to drought-affected districts of eastern Uganda confirm that immediate delivery of food aid for targeted feeding of vulnerable groups until the next harvest, end-July, is necessary. The mission found that in the most-affected areas, household cereal reserves are enough to last on average one month, until mid-May. In many households, food reserves have already been depleted. In worst-hit areas, the mission observed the following patterns: reduced food consumption; reduced school attendance; reduced attendance at medical units by pregnant at lactating mothers and sale of livestock and possessions. WFP is reviewing the findings of the mission in order to prepare an adequate response. 1.2 A WFP Kampala logistics mission is presently assessing roads, routes, warehousing and other logistics conditions in border areas in southern Sudan, in preparation for food deliveries from Uganda to Sudan, for assistance to Sudanese returnees. C. KENYA 1. UPDATE 1.1 Despite the favourable onset of the rainy season in Kenya, adverse effects of 18 months of drought will not be eliminated in the short term. While water and pasture conditions may improve relatively quickly in pastoral areas, restocking of lost herds will take considerably longer. Populations in agricultural areas are likely to be dependent on food aid until at least until the next harvest (August/September). 1.2 WFP continues to provide food to drought-affected areas through its expanded school feeding programme and targeted emergency operations, which started in January and March respectively. 1.3 At the same time, the Government of Kenya continues to allocate substantial quantities of relief maize to all drought affected areas in Kenya. WFP is taking measures to ensure the full coordination of relief food provided by the Government of Kenya, WFP and other sources. WFP will closely monitor the progress and outcome of the current rainy season in order to assess future relief food requirements in drought affected districts of Kenya. D. ANGOLA 1. UPDATE 1.1 After long delays, the Government of National Unity and Reconciliation was sworn in on 11 April, marking an important first step toward the consolidation of peace in Angola. The mandate of the UNAVEM III peacekeeping force has been extended by the UN Security Council through 30 June 1997 in light of the establishment of the reconciliation government. If, as hoped, there is a restoration of peace and security, WFP will be able to decrease its relief assistance in favour of resettlement and rehabilitation activities. 1.2 Rapid demobilisation of former UNITA troops, war-disabled military and remaining under-age soldiers from the country's 15 Selection and Demobilisation Centres has begun. WFP will provide food rations to soldiers and their dependents. The entire demobilisation exercise is expected to be completed within six months. WFP is preparing a new emergency operation to cover additional requirements for demobilisation, as resources for this exercise have been absorbed due to the prolonged quartering process. 1.3 A two-week FAO/WFP Crop and Food Supply Assessment Mission will begin on 28 April. The mission will estimate the country's food supply for the 1996/97 agricultural season and review the needs for humanitarian food assistance for the next crop cycle. E. ALBANIA 1. UPDATE 1.1 Following weeks of chaos and rapidly dwindling food stocks in Albania, WFP's first food aid arrived on 14 April at the Albanian port of Durres. This first consignment of some 400 metric tons of wheat flour and beans has been stored under the safeguard of the Multi-National Force (MNF) at the Port's warehouses. 1.2 In coordination with the MNF, distribution to selected institutions and targeted destitute persons is likely to commence 19 April. Initial distribution of some 200 metric tons of wheat flour will be made to the district of Elbasan. Further distributions will follow promptly, prioritising the most needy districts of the country. Some 20 metric tons of vegetable oil will be arriving in the next two days. This first part of WFP's intervention will provide relief for some 7,500 needy people residing in institutions. 1.3 Meanwhile, the second part of the WFP's intervention for Albania has been jointly approved by the Executive Director of WFP and the Director-General of FAO on 17 April. It consists of 15,000 metric tons of wheat flour which will be distributed, country-wide, to some 400,000 destitute people previously benefiting from the now collapsed social welfare system. F. IRAQ 1. UPDATE 1.1 Following the first distribution of wheat flour undertaken in the centre and south of Iraq by the Government of Iraq on 2 April in the framework of Security Council Resolution 986, WFP started distribution of wheat flour in northern Iraq on 14 April. This marked the first time that the food commodity has been distributed to the entire population in the three autonomous governorates. As of 16 April, 4,500 metric tons of wheat flour had been distributed by WFP to 490,000 people. 1.2 The WFP and other UN Observers have indicated that these first food distributions using commodities brought in to Iraq under the oil-for-food deal did not encounter problems in any part of the country. 1.3 The role of WFP is two-fold: while it is responsible for food distributions in the north, its role in the centre and the south of the country is limited to observing the equity and effectiveness of food distributions. 1.4 Out of the USD 2 billion revenue from authorised oil sales under Resolution 986, a total of USD 804.6 million (USD 113.3 for the north and USD 691.3 for the centre and south) are allocated to the procurement of food commodities to provide a 15 kg monthly ration (2,030 Kcal per person per day) to the whole population of Iraq, for a period of six months. Total quantities involved amount to 2.15 million metric tons (302,400 metric tons in the north and 1.85 million metric tons in the centre and south). 1.5 As of 15 April, about 200,000 metric tons of food commodities under the oil-for-food agreement had been delivered to Iraq. This represents just under 10 percent of the total quantities to be distributed over the six month period. (End WFP Emergency Report No. 16 of 1997 - April 18, 1997)
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