Report No. 21 of 1997 Date: 23 May 1997This report includes: A) Zaire, Rwanda, Burundi and Tanzania B) Uganda C) Afghanistan.
>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 (Strippoli@wfp.org) or Ms. A. Blum (Blum@wfp.org), WFP Rome, telephone 39 6 5228 2504 or 5228 2004.
PART I - HIGHLIGHTS (Details below in Part II)
A. REGIONAL OPERATION FOR ZAIRE, RWANDA, BURUNDI AND TANZANIA (WITH INFORMATION FROM CONGO/BRAZZAVILLE)
1. Zaire
a) The new government in Kinshasa renames the country the Democratic Republic of Congo. b) Remainder of refugees moved from the Biaro camp to Kisangani. c) Repatriation focuses on Obilo and Ubundu; food delivered by WFP to the two locations by train. d) New air repatriation operation from Mbandaka to Rwanda to start soon.
2. Congo/Brazzaville
a) Temporary sites for estimated 10,000 Rwandan refugees from Zaire made available near Brazzaville by Government of Congo.
3. Rwanda
a) Movement of UN personnel in western prefectures, including joint crop assessment mission, restricted due to insecurity. Distribution suspended in Ruhengeri.
4. Burundi
a) Tension in Bujumbura in response to news that President Buyoya's party is taking part in talks with the rebel National Council for the Defence of Democracy (CNDD). b) Sixty-three civilians and one soldier killed in attack in Buganda, Cibitoke. c) Assessment missions in southern provinces restricted due to continued violence and military operations, but visits made to communes all three affected provinces. d) Authorisation received from Tanzanian authorities to re-open lake route between Kigoma, Tanzania and Bujumbura.
5. Tanzania
a) Continuing heavy rains in Kigoma limit delivery of food to refugee camps and affect transfer of refugees to the camps. b) Implementation of drought relief operation delayed due to lack of resources. WFP makes local purchase of 500 metric tons of maize for drought relief operation pending confirmation of donor pledges. c) The Government of Tanzania releases 10,000 metric tons of maize from its Strategic Grain Reserve for emergency distribution to drought victims. d) Drought conditions continue in northern, central and coastal regions.
B. UGANDA
1. Update
a) Registration of some 10,000 Ugandan returnees from southern Sudan now in Arua district under way. Returnees receive assistance from WFP and UNHCR. b) Low relief food stocks affect distributions and the relocation of Sudanese refugees from transit centres to settlements. c) Therapeutic feeding to start in health units in displaced camps in Gulu district.
C. AFGHANISTAN
1. Update
a) Food security in most regions of Afghanistan deteriorates further. Border between Pakistan and Afghanistan still closed to movement of wheat; market stocks of wheat are low and prices high. WFP stocks of wheat also low. b) Taliban request assistance of WFP to prevent starvation among the most vulnerable part of the population. c) WFP to increase support to its bakeries in Kandahar, Jalalabad, and Kabul by 25 percent, to feed total of 560,000 people. New projects to increase number of beneficiaries of food assistance approved. In coordination with ICRC, WFP continues assistance to displaced persons in many parts of Afghanistan. d) Donors are urged to provide food commodities for monetization in Afghanistan, either directly or through traders, because of the urgent need to increase food supply in local commercial markets.
PART II - DETAILS
A. REGIONAL OPERATION FOR ZAIRE, RWANDA, BURUNDI AND TANZANIA (WITH INFORMATION FROM CONGO/BRAZZAVILLE)
1. ZAIRE
1.1 Note regarding country name: The new government in Kinshasa has changed the name of Zaire to The Democratic Republic of Congo.
1.2 The last group of refugees from the Biaro camp at km 41 has now been moved to Kisangani. Small groups of refugees are still emerging from the surrounding forests and collection points are being established to receive and move these refugees to Kisangani daily by truck. Up to 20 May, 34,918 refugees had been repatriated to Rwanda, of which 62 percent were moved with WFP aircraft. WFP planes also continue shuttling food from Entebbe, but the Mwanza operation is now closed. In total, 2,839 metric tons of food and 121 metric tons of other cargo were transported from Mwanza to Kisangani during the three months that this operation lasted.
1.3 Repatriation operations will now be focused on Obilo at km 82 and Ubundu, further south, where some 3,000 refugees are located. So far, access by aid workers to these areas has been extremely difficult and only short visits by train have been allowed. It had initially been planned to repatriate the refugees south of Biaro from the airstrip at km 95. However, the airstrip will not become operational in time and it will be more feasible to fly them to Rwanda through Kisangani.
1.4 WFP has delivered food to Obilo and Ubundu by train. Community kitchens are now operational at these two locations, providing cooked meals to the refugees. The establishment of these kitchens, in addition to general food distributions, has proved crucial in improving the nutritional status of the refugees and reducing the death rate from previous rate of 40 refugees dying each day.
1.5 Feeding programmes for hospital patients are ongoing in Kisangani. From 12 to 18 May, 600 vulnerable patients received assistance, as well as 600 health workers involved in the food-for-work programme. These workers also receive rations for their families, bringing the total number of beneficiaries to 2,400 persons. WFP plans to assist some 40,000 vulnerable persons in the Kisangani area during the next three months, with a total food requirement of 1,800 metric tons of mixed commodities. Most of this food will be channelled through food-for-work activities.
1.6 Arrangements are being finalised to start a new air repatriation operation from Mbandaka to Rwanda. A joint UN mission that travelled to the area on 19 and 21 May, visited a refugee site and held discussion with local authorities and non-governmental organizations (NGOs). At a transit centre established near the local airport, the mission found some 2,000 refugees. An additional 10,000 refugees are reportedly in surrounding areas, in a 25 km radius, and another 7,000 appear to be in Bikoro and Irebu, some 125 km away. WFP has 500 metric tons of maize in stock at Mbandaka and food distributions are being implemented by La Procure and the National Red Cross.
1.7 Poor security continues to concern aid workers in Goma. Violent clashes between ADFL soldiers and groups of Interahamwe militiamen trying to cross into Rwanda have been reported north of Goma.
2. CONGO/BRAZZAVILLE
2.1 The Government of Congo has made available two sites north of Brazzaville to accommodate the Rwandan refugees who crossed the border from Zaire. Authorities have made it clear that refugee sites are a temporary measure and that the refugees must be repatriated. An estimated 10,000 refugees are reported to have crossed the Congo River. Those refugees who had arrived in Liranga, further north, are being moved to the new sites by barge. WFP has a stock of 265 metric tons of maize in Brazzaville and has planned two flights from Kampala to deliver additional food commodities.
3. RWANDA
3.1 UN personnel continue to experience restrictions in movement in the western prefectures due to insecurity. In Ruhengeri, all distribution activities have had to be suspended. Insecurity has also prevented a joint FAO/WFP/Ministry of Agriculture crop evaluation mission from visiting western prefectures. Local authorities are carrying out search operations to locate the groups of armed infiltrators.
3.2 A household food security survey has started in Butare, Gikongoro and Kibungo, carried out by WFP/SCF/MINAGRI. The objective of this exercise is to establish better vulnerability criteria and define adequate strategies to solve food insecurity. The results of the study are expected to be available by the end of the month.
3.3 WFP project activities are being hampered by a lack of relief maize meal and pulses in the country. The maize meal shortage was caused by the poor performance of the railway from Mombassa to Kampala. These shortages did not allow deliveries of pulses to the Runda transit centre, thus slowing the return of the returnees to their home communes. The situation is expected to improve soon with the arrival of a shipment of 4,000 metric tons of pulses. Total distributions in Rwanda during the week amounted to 3,000 metric tons, down from 4,500 metric tons in the previous week.
4. BURUNDI
4.1 Tension has increased in Bujumbura after President Buyoya confirmed that his party is taking part in talks in Rome with the rebel National Council for the Defence of Democracy (CNDD). Members of UPRONA, the predominant Tutsi political party, condemned the talks, and students demonstrated in the city, accusing the Government of treason.
4.2 Although fewer incidents were reported during the past week, the situation in the south of the country continues strained. In Buganda, Cibitoke, in the north-western part of Burundi, a serious attack left sixty-three civilians and one soldier dead.
4.3 Assessment missions visited southern provinces recently plagued by rebel attacks. Somewhat limited in their movements due to continued violence and military operations, the mission nevertheless visited communes in each one of the three affected provinces. While most persons displaced have now returned home, some 18,000 people in Bururi and another 21,000 in Makamba still remain displaced.
4.4 Between 12 and 18 May, 195,197 beneficiaries received WFP's food assistance in the country. Burundi is facing a shortage of pulses for distributions, and a local purchase is being considered.
4.5 The lake route between Kigoma, Tanzania and Bujumbura is likely to be re-opened soon, following authorisation received from the Tanzanian authorities.
5. TANZANIA
5.1 Extremely bad road conditions due to continuing heavy rains in the three districts of Kigoma continue to pose serious constraints to the timely delivery of food to the refugee camps. The transfer of refugees to the camps is also being hampered and UNHCR trucks moving newly arrived refugees to Mtabila camp are presently stranded in flooded/inaccessible areas of the region.
5.2 Although the security situation in the camps in general remains calm, during the last non-food items distribution in Muyovosi camp some looting occurred and the police had to intervene. Police are to be present in the camps on distribution days in the future.
5.3 A task force is being established in Kigoma to make preparations for the organised repatriation of Zaireans from Tanzania. Preparations will include the pre-positioning of high-protein biscuits, and the construction of transit/overnight shelters, pit latrines, water points and registration centres.
5.4. Drought operation
a) Through the current emergency operation in response to food shortages caused by drought during the last growing season, WFP will provide a total of 10,080 metric tons of food commodities over a four-month period to 200,000 of the most vulnerable drought-affected persons. Implementation of the operation has been delayed due to lack of resources.
b) Pending the confirmation of recent donor pledges and in order to respond urgently to the crisis, WFP Tanzania has purchased locally 500 metric tons of maize, which is currently being distributed by NGO implementing partners in the most vulnerable areas (four districts in Arusha and one district in Lindi Region).
c) Meanwhile, drought conditions persists in parts of Tanzania, where harvest prospects remain poor in the northern, central and coastal regions. Pastures remain very dry in northern Tanzania, aggravating the already poor condition of the livestock. Cereal prices continue to rise, while livestock prices have declined sharply with the deteriorating condition of the animals, worsening the terms of trade for pastoralists, who depend on the sale of their animals to purchase cereals.
d) The Government of Tanzania has appealed to the donor community for immediate assistance and has already released 10,000 metric tons of maize from its Strategic Grain Reserve for emergency distribution to the drought victims.
B. UGANDA
1. UPDATE
1.1 The Ugandan Government is carrying out a registration exercise of the Ugandan returnees in Arua district who came from southern Sudan. WFP and UNHCR have provided immediate assistance to this caseload, estimated at some 10,000 persons. It is planned that all returnees will receive a one-time package after registration.
1.2 Security continues to be reported as unpredictable in the West Nile region and in East Moyo. Relief food stocks remain low which has affected distribution activities and the relocation of Sudanese refugees from transit centres to settlements.
1.3 A therapeutic feeding programme is to start in health units in displaced camps in Gulu district. The programme will be carried out by Action Contre la Faim using WFP food. Screening to identify malnourished children in the camps and training of nutrition workers for implementing the programme is commencing soon.
1.4 Aid agencies continue providing non-food assistance to displaced Ugandans in Gulu. ACCORD/OXFAM, World Vision and the International Committee of the Red Cross have donated seeds and agricultural tools; Canadian Physicians for Aid and Relief has distributed cooking utensils, blankets and hoes; Action Contre la Faim handles feeding programmes and World Vision is involved in the rehabilitation of traumatised persons.
C. AFGHANISTAN
1. UPDATE - information as of 22 May
1.1 Recent news reports indicate that the Taliban have made major advances in northern Afghanistan over recent days, and now control two-thirds of the country.
1.2 Food security in most regions of Afghanistan continues to deteriorate. In Kabul, the price of bread has shot up by 350 percent since the end of March. In northern Afghanistan as well, wheat stocks in the markets are low. At the same time, WFP's own stocks, if not replenished soon, will be exhausted by early summer. Signs of hardship are increasing in Kabul, where the number of people begging on the streets for bread is rising. Many households have now sold everything that can be sold in order to purchase food.
1.3 Closure of the border by Pakistan to prevent the movement of wheat from Pakistan into Afghanistan has had a severe impact on the food supply situation, as Afghanistan depends heavily on cereal imports which cross the Pakistan/Afghanistan border.
1.4 Prospects for the harvest beginning in late June are poor. This is the result of several factors: floods in western and northern Afghanistan, a shortfall of rain and snowfall in Mazar-i-Sharif, late rains in Kandahar, and the widespread displacement of farmers due to fighting north of Kabul and in the west. It is predicted that the cereal deficit in Afghanistan for the marketing year 1997/98 will be higher than last year's deficit of 1.3 million metric tons.
1.5 Authorities in Taliban-controlled areas have requested WFP's help in dealing with the situation to prevent starvation among the most vulnerable part of the population.
1.6 Action taken by WFP:
a) WFP has agreed to increase support to its bakeries in Kandahar, Jalalabad, and Kabul, where it already feeds 450,000 people every day. WFP will increase the number reached by 25 percent, to 560,000 people.
b) In the south, under the protection of armed escorts from the Government of Pakistan, WFP has transported over 3,800 metric tons of food aid in the period 1-21 May, into Kandahar, Jalalabad and Kabul. A further 9,700 metric tons is currently being moved to Jalalabad and Kabul. In the north, WFP is attempting to move food aid from the south. In addition, food shipments are being reprogrammed to be delivered in the north by the end of June/early July.
c) Over recent weeks, WFP has approved a number of new projects, in support of institutional feeding, food for training and vulnerable group feeding, in all regions of the country. These projects fall within the parameters of the interim policy, which shifted WFP's assistance from development to strictly humanitarian relief, in response to the Taliban's policy against girls going to school and women going to work.
d) In coordination with ICRC, WFP continues to provide food aid to displaced persons in many parts of Afghanistan, including Herat, Badghis, northern Afghanistan, and Kandahar.
1.7 Afghan authorities have also approached WFP for a loan of food to increase the food supply until the harvest, which was not possible because WFP's own stocks are very limited. Moreover, donor pledges are not intended for monetization in the market but for emergency intervention. However, there is an urgent need to increase the food supply in local commercial markets, both to provide food for the poor and to stabilize spiraling prices. WFP Afghanistan is therefore appealing for donors to come forward to provide food commodities for monetization to markets in Afghanistan, either directly or through traders.
(End WFP Emergency Report No. 21 of 1997 - May 23, 1997)
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