Report No. 28 of 1997 Date: 11 July 1997This report includes: A) East Africa: Tanzania, Burundi, Rwanda, Uganda B) Central Africa: Democratic Republic of Congo, Republic of Congo C) Sudan D) Angola E) Mozambique F) Laos
>From J.-M. Boucher, Chief, Programming Service. Available on the Internet at WFP Home Page http://www.wfp.org/ Contact point during July: Shortley@wfp.org 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. EAST AFRICA: TANZANIA, BURUNDI, RWANDA, UGANDA
1. Tanzania a) WFP/UNHCR make recommendations to reflect the increasing number of refugees in Tanzania; as at 6 July, there are 412,000 refugees. b) Burundian refugees continue to arrive in Kigoma region. New arrivals from DR Congo were also registered in Kasulu district. All received a full week's ration.
2. Burundi a) WFP assessment mission to Bubanza province concludes that insecurity and lack of access to land under cultivation has severely limited the last two harvest seasons. b) Based on this and last weeks assessments, some 34,000 persons received ad-hoc emergency relief rations and approximately 13,000 received 30-day rations. c) Insecurity still prevails in Bubanza and Bujumbura rural provinces.
3. Rwanda a) Six-month free food distributions to those who returned in late 1996 from Zaire and Tanzania ends. b) WFP will target assistance to returnees who have not been able to attain food self-sufficiency, as well as to other food insecure households.
4. Uganda a) Of the 793,000 persons affected by conflict or drought in Uganda, 43% are drought related, 30% are internally displaced persons and 27% refugees. b) Rebels of the Lord's Resistance Army attack refugee settlement in north Uganda. c) A military escorted convoy of commercial and private vehicles was attacked by rebels of the Allied Democratic Forces. d) WFP distributes cereals to the displaced persons who were attacked in north Uganda. Additional food has been sent to the area.
B. CENTRAL AFRICA: DEMOCRATIC REPUBLIC OF CONGO, REPUBLIC OF CONGO
1 Democratic Republic of Congo a) Registration of refugees from the Republic of Congo continues in Kinshasa. Efforts are being made to identify a site near the airport to accommodate them. b) Repatriation by air continued from Kisangani and Mbandaka to Rwanda. As at 6 July, these two transit centers hosted a total of some 2,400 refugees. c) Refugees were also repatriated from Goma and surroundings to Rwanda. d) A joint WFP/UNHCR/GOC mission to Beni that took place on 29 June confirmed the arrival of at least 10,000 refugees from Uganda. e) Rwandan refugees repatriated via Bukavu by UNHCR. f) In spite of earlier reports of the presence of over 15,000 refugees in the Shabunda/Lulingu/Katchungu area, only 1,231 refugees had been positively identified; UNHCR repatriated 55 of the refugees to Rwanda by air on 6 July. g) The repatriation of Congolese refugees from Tanzania to Uvira has not yet occurred.
2. Republic of Congo a) The security situation in Brazzaville remains worrisome. b) Food and non-food relief assistance to Rwandan refugees in Loukolela, Ndjoundou and Liranga continued to be delivered by air and by river from Kinshasa. c) Repatriation of 85 refugees from Loukolela to Rwanda by air started on 5 July. d) Rwandan refugees reported to be on their way to Gabon. e) ICRC and WHO reported large groups of internally displaced persons in the north of the Congo and near Pointe Noire.
C) SUDAN
1. Update a) WFP airlifts food from Khartoum to Juba to cover needs of internally displaced persons, including refugees arrived from DR Congo. b) A further WFP airlift of food from El Obeid to Wau takes place. c) Departure imminent of WFP convoy barge for delivery of food to beneficiaries along Renk-Malakal, Sobat and Tanja-Fanjak corridors. d) WFP continues to monitor food situation in Red Sea area. e) WFP June food deliveries total 4,000 metric tons.
D. ANGOLA
1. Update a) WFP increases emergency airlift operations to N?Zaji and Lunda Norte as number of displaced persons increases. More arrivals expected. b) New arrivals from Cachimo (south) and Chonza (south-east) report having hidden in the bush for over three weeks, with little food or assistance. c) WFP coordinates UN/NGO/donor assistance to internally displaced persons in Kiuje and Lombe who have fled UNITA violence in villages of Kangadala and Kalandula. d) Government temporarily suspends resettlement in Huila province. Approximately 1,600 displaced persons from Quipungo, Kuvango and Dongo return to their areas of origin.
E. MOZAMBIQUE
1. Update a) WFP to deliver food to approximately 68,000 flood victims in Sofala, Tete and Zambezia provinces, where around 103,000 hectares have been destroyed. b) Plans underway for provision of emergency food relief to 70,000 people each month, under new "Food Assistance to Flood Victims" project, to run through April 1998. c) WFP works with provincial government to assist 3,600 drought victims in Negomano (bordering Tanzania). Women are targeted as main food relief recipients.
F. LAOS
1. Update a) Of the requested 30,240 metric tons of food requested, only 6,710 metric tons have been pledged to assist 420,000 flood victims. b) 2,291 metric tons of rice for flood victims to arrive this week in Thailand, from where it will be transported by small ferries to ports of Pakse, Vavannakhet and Thakek. c) NGOs distribute one- or two-month supplies of rice to the neediest. Rice prices rise with the onset of the rainy season.
PART II - DETAILS
A. EAST AFRICA: BURUNDI, TANZANIA, RWANDA AND UGANDA.
1. TANZANIA
1.1 WFP/UNHCR representatives recommended that the planning figure of refugees in Tanzania as stated in the 1997 United Nations Consolidated Inter-Agency Appeal, be adjusted upwards from 326,000 to 430,000 to better reflect the actual situation. The present caseload, as at 6 July, stands at 412,000.
1.2 Burundian refugees continue to arrive in Kigoma region at a slow but steady rate. During the first week of July 1,156 refugees were registered in Mtabila II camp in Kasulu district and 66 in Nduta camp in Kibondo district. 80 new arrivals from DR Congo were registered in Nyarugusu camp in Kasulu district. All received a full ration for a week.
2. BURUNDI
2.1 Food Economy Assessments during the second half of June were carried out by WFP teams at five sites in Kayanza province and at seven sites in Bubanza province. The assessment missions concluded that populations in Nyarurama, Buraniro, Ningo and Banga of Kayanza province and in Gashanga, Muzinda and Mpanda/Gahwazi of Bubanza province were in dire need of food assistance. Insecurity and lack of access to land under cultivation severely limited their harvest of the last two seasons. Most residents showed clear signs of malnutrition
2.2 34,515 persons received ad-hoc emergency relief. In addition, 30-day rations were distributed to 3,165 people in Mpanda, 2,108 people in Gashanga, 4,164 people in Gatura and 917 in Gitovu in Bubanza province and 2,613 people in Muganza, Ngozi province, based on the above WFP assessments.
2.3 During the first week of July insecurity prevailed in Bubanza and Bujumbura rural provinces. At least 12 people were killed and 5 injured due to explosions of anti-tank and anti-personnel mines. One rebel attack in Bururi province was reported during which the assailants captured 10 people.
3. RWANDA
3.1 Since January 1997, WFP has delivered 82,637 mt to projects and distribution centres for over 1.1 million vulnerable people. The coming week will see the end of the six-month period of free food distributions to those who returned in late 1996 from Zaire and Tanzania. Thereafter, WFP will target assistance to returnees who have not been able to attain food self-sufficiency, as well as to other food insecure households. Assistance will be predominantly through food-for-work programmes aimed at agricultural recovery, housing and basic infrastructure rehabilitation. Nutritional support programmes will continue for the most vulnerable.
4. UGANDA
4.1 The number of persons affected either by conflict or by drought in Uganda, as at 8 July, totalled 792,287. Of these, 341,000 are drought affected, 242,000 are internally displaced persons and 209,287 are refugees. 20% of the drought affected were targeted for immediate relief assistance and received half rations during the months of April, May and June. Internally displaced persons and refugees received full rations throughout the month of June.
4.2 Rebels of the Lord's Resistance Army attacked Adjumani refugee settlement in Mungola, north Uganda, over the weekend of 5-6 July and looted household and food items. The captured refugees had to carry the stolen items and were later released, most of them unharmed.
4.3 A military escorted convoy of commercial and private vehicles was attacked by rebels of the Allied Democratic Forces between Bundibugyo and Fort Portal on 7 July. After 30 minutes of exchanging fire, the convoy proceeded without casualties.
4.4 During the first week of July, WFP distributed 60 metric tons of cereals to 15,000 out of the 40,000 people that were displaced after rebels of the Allied Democratic Forces attacked Bundibugyo at the end of June. A further 211 metric tons of food commodities representing a 15 day full ration for 40,000 people was earmarked and sent to the area on 9 July.
B. CENTRAL AFRICA: DEMOCRATIC REPUBLIC OF CONGO, REPUBLIC OF CONGO
1. DEMOCRATIC REPUBLIC OF CONGO
1.1 Between the end of June and 4 July, 5000 refugees from the Republic of Congo were registered in Kinshasa and an average of 150 new arrivals per day were counted last week. Efforts are underway to identify a site near the airport to accommodate all refugees who are scattered throughout the city. WFP distributed 25 metric tons of food commodities to the refugees with the assistance of the Congolese Red Cross and the Federation between the third and fifth of July.
1.2 Repatriation by air continued from Kisangani and Mbandaka, 215 refugees from Kisangani and 56 from Mbandaka were flown to Rwanda between the first and sixth of July. Kisangani and Mbandaka transit centers hosted respectively 1763 and 636 refugees on the sixth of July. Apart from the refugee caseload, WFP is feeding 469 internally displaced persons in Kisangani and 2236 others through FFW projects and feeding centers in hospitals.
1.3 A total of 17 metric tons of food was distributed in the Goma region to 4,700 beneficiaries of FFW and special programmes. 133 refugees were repatriated from Goma and surroundings to Rwanda.
1.4 After the joint WFP/UNHCR/GOC mission to Beni, on the 29th of June confirmed the arrival of at least 10,000 refugees from Uganda in the Beni area, Ugandan Authorities visited Goma and discussed the matter with the Goma Authorities. It was agreed between them that the people were refugees who fled the fighting in Uganda between ADF rebels and the UPDF. A follow up mission of WFP/UNHCR and GOC is planned for the coming week to establish needs of the refugees.
1.5 During the first week of July, WFP Bukavu dispatched 29 metric tons of mixed food commodities to a total of 10,695 beneficiaries of refugee and FFW programmes. 254 Rwandan refugees were also repatriated through Bukavu, escorted by UNHCR.
1.6 In spite of earlier reports of a presence of over 15,000 refugees in the area, only small numbers of refugees had been positively identified. 531 refugees had been registered in Shabunda by SCF and an approximate 700 refugees had been found near Katchungu and Lulingu. During the first week of July, WFP airlifted 22 metric tons of food for FFW and refugee programmes into the area. A WFP Caravan with a capacity to transport 1.4 metric tons remains positioned in Goma for airlifting food commodities to the Shabunda/Lulingu/Katchungu area. On 6 July, UNHCR repatriated by air from Shabunda 55 refugees to Rwanda.
1.7 The planned repatriation of Congolese refugees from Kigoma, Tanzania to Uvira has not yet occurred. A revised date still needs to be established.
2. REPUBLIC OF CONGO
2.1 In spite of efforts for the establishment of an UN Peace Keeping Force in the Republic of Congo, the security situation in Brazzaville remained worrisome and inaccessible for UN staff.
2.2 Food and non-food relief assistance from WFP, UNHCR and MSF-France to the Rwandan refugees in Loukolela, Ndjoundou and Liranga continued to be delivered by air and by river from Kinshasa. WFP offloaded 40 metric tons of beans from a barge that arrived from Bangui, CAR on 9 July. On the 6th of July, 9,751 refugees were registered in the three places while an average of 100 new arrivals were registered per week. Repatriation by air started on the 5th of July. 85 refugees were flown from Loukolela to Kigali. It is planned to move all refugees from Liranga and Ndjoundou to Loukolela by road and airlift them to Rwanda using UNHCR Buffalo.
2.3 The 5000 Rwandan refugees that were registered in Bilolo by the end of May had been reported to be on the way to Gabon. 300 of them have already crossed the border and 4200 others have been identified in the region of Nzondo of the Republic of Congo.
2.4 ICRC and WHO reported large groups of internally displaced persons in the north of the Congo and near Pointe Noire. A UNHCR assessment was underway to establish population figures and their need for humanitarian assistance.
C. SUDAN
1 UPDATE
1.1 On the eight of July, WFP began the airlift of 352 metric tons of food commodities to Juba from Khartoum. Food is being distributed to cover the urgent needs of 20,000 internally displaced persons and new arrivals in Juba; at least 1,000 refugees have arrived from the Democratic Republic of Congo.
1.2 On the ninth of July, WFP began airlifting 400 metric tons of food from El Obeid to Wau. Food is being distributed to 16,250 displaced and vulnerable persons, and malnourished children. WFP international staff have been deployed to both Juba and Wau to monitor distribution.
1.3 Departure of a WFP 3-convoy barge, carrying 2,400 metric tons of commodities, is imminent following government clearance earlier this week. The barge will make deliveries along the following corridors: Renk-Malakal (79,000 beneficiaries), Sobat (96,000 beneficiaries) and Tonja-Fanjak (111,500 beneficiaries). WFP is also loading a convoy for Juba, carrying a total of 2,800 metric tons of commodities for 483,300 beneficiaries along the Juba corridor. Some 1,500 metric tons of this amount will be distributed in Juba town.
1.4 The International Federation of the Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies and OXFAM have been providing relief assistance to nomads and farmers affected by drought in the Red Sea Hills area in northeast Sudan. Some 6,500 metric tons of food is being distributed by the two agencies. WFP continues to monitor the food situation in the Red Sea area, which is currently reported as under control.
1.5 WFP deliveries in Sudan for the month of June totalled 4,000 metric tons, with 2,500 metric tons delivered to 221,321 beneficiaries in the North, and 1,472 metric tons to 282,000 beneficiaries in the South.
D. ANGOLA
1 UPDATE
1.1 WFP has increased its emergency airlift operation to N?Zaji, Lunda Norte, in response to the growing numbers of displaced persons, which have now reached more than 6,000. Over 1,000 people have arrived since the end of June, and reports indicate that more are on the way.
1.2 The majority of the displaced, who started arriving in late May, are from Cossa and Maludi, 25 and 45 km respectively south of N?Zaji. Recent arrivals have come from Cachimo, further south, and from Chonza, to the southeast near the border with the Democratic Republic of Congo. Many of the new arrivals report having emerged from the bush after hiding for as long as three weeks with little access to food and assistance. Among the displaced are 100 nationals of the Democratic Republic of Congo. An estimated 60 percent of the displaced population are women, children and elderly people. Since June, the WFP has delivered 107 metric tons of relief food to N?Zaji.
1.3 WFP is coordinating UN/NGO/donor assistance, including food distribution and the provision of non-food items such as seeds and tools, to 400 displaced persons in Kuije and 1,600 displaced persons in Lombe (20 km east of Malange). Displaced have reportedly been fleeing violence in the UNITA-held villages of Kangadala and Kalandula.
1.4 Resettlement in Huila province has been temporarily suspended by the Government due to instability. Some 1,600 internally displaced persons residing in Quipungo, Kuvango and Dongo have returned to their areas of origin in the province through the end of June, all receiving WFP food rations.
E. MOZAMBIQUE
1 UPDATE
1.1 WFP will assist 68,000 flood victims in Mozambique, who are in urgent need of food through the next harvest in September. Flooding has destroyed an estimated 103,000 hectares of crops in the central provinces of Sofala, Tete and Zambezia. WFP plans to deliver 1,000 metric tons of maize and beans to the provinces. Final distribution will be carried out by the government's Provincial Departments for the Prevention and Combat of Natural Disasters (DPCCN) and WFP implementing partners including World Vision International. WFP has already provided some 5,500 metric tons of food to victims of floods since early 1997.
1.2 Under the umbrella of WFP's newly designed emergency food aid project "Food assistance to flood victims", WFP plans to provide immediate food response and minimum household food security to about 70,000 needy people each month. This operation will run through April 1998. Priority will be given to the purchase of commodities at the local and regional levels.
1.3 Meanwhile, WFP is working with the provincial government of the northern province of Cabo Delgado to assist victims of drought in Negomano, (Mueda district) which borders Tanzania. WFP will provide maize, beans and vegetable oil for 3,600 drought victims living in the town and surrounding area. WFP will deliver food to Mueda, from where it will be transported to the affected areas by the DPCCN. Women heads of households will be targeted as the main recipients of relief food.
F) LAOS
1. UPDATE
1.1 A second tranche of 2,291 metric tons of glutinous rice for flood victims in Lao PDR is arriving. Small ferry boats will bring the rice from Thailand to the ports of Pakse, Vavannakhet and Thakek en route to the six flood-affected provinces in the southern and central parts of the country.
1.2 Only 6,710 metric tons have been pledged of the estimated 30,240 metric tons needed to assist the 420,000 people who lost their entire crop in last year's flooding. WFP had expected to help these people by supplying them with food for the six-month agricultural season from May to November, thus allowing them to devote full attention to the 1997 cultivation in order to avert disaster next year.
1.3 Due to the shortfall in contributions, NGOs are distributing only one or two-month supplies of sticky rice to the neediest families. With the onset of the rainy season, rice prices are rising and it will become more and more difficult to deliver the food to needy families unless it is received soon.
(End WFP Emergency Report No. 28 of 1997 - 11 July, 1997)
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