Report No. 39 of 1997 Date: 26 September 1997This report includes: A) Democratic People's Republic of Korea B) West Africa: Sierra Leone C) East Africa: Rwanda, Burundi, Tanzania, Uganda and Ethiopia D) Central Africa: Democratic Republic of Congo and Republic of Congo (Brazzaville) E) Resourcing update.
>From J.-M. Boucher, Chief, Programming Service. Available on the Internet at WFP Home Page http://www.wfp.org/ or by e-mail from Deborah.Hicks@wfp.org (fax 39 6 6513 2837). For information regarding resources, donors are requested to contact Francesco.Strippoli@wfp.org or Aleesa.Blum@wfp.org at WFP Rome, telephone 39 6 6513 2504 or 6513 2004.
PART I - HIGHLIGHTS (Details below in Part II)
A. DEMOCRATIC PEOPLE'S REPUBLIC OF KOREA
1. Update a) WFP Deputy Executive Director will lead donor mission to DPRK from 30 September to 4 October. b) WFP has shipped 220,000 metric tons of food into DPR Korea ports since May; an additional 240,000 metric tons scheduled to arrive before the end of the year.
B. WEST AFRICA: SIERRA LEONE
1. Update - Sierra Leone a) Plans for cross-border operations into Sierra Leone discussed with government officials of Guinea and Liberia, and with ECOMOG. b) Severe food shortages reported in Freetown. Supplies of relief food for 60,000 internally displaced persons limited. New arrivals of food aid urgently needed to replace stocks looted since the coup.
C. EAST AFRICA: RWANDA, BURUNDI, TANZANIA, UGANDA AND ETHIOPIA
1. Rwanda a) Military escort now necessary for WFP trucks travelling to Gisenyi from Kigali.
2. Burundi a) WFP holds discussions with authorities in Kayanza, where reinstallation programme recently halted.
3. Tanzania a) Several donors show interest in WFP request for 76,000 metric tons of food for distribution to drought affected population.
4. Uganda a) Security improves in Bundibuguyo and nearby areas, where 71,000 displaced Ugandans receive food from WFP. Some of the displaced return to their villages as planting season begins. b) Security situation remains precarious in Gulu district. c) Transfer of Sudanese refugees from Ogujebe to Palorinya halted because of scarcity of potable water and uncertain security situation.
5. Ethiopia a) Two WFP staff members killed south of Degeh Bur in the Ogaden region, when their vehicle stopped by armed men in a case of attempted robbery.
D. CENTRAL AFRICA: DEMOCRATIC REPUBLIC OF CONGO AND REPUBLIC OF CONGO (BRAZZAVILLE)
1. Update a) WFP airlift of food from Luanda to Kinshasa and Pointe-Noire competed. One-month rations to be distributed with help of Red Cross to some 60,000 extremely vulnerable displaced persons in Pointe-Noire. Total number of displaced in Pointe-Noire estimated at 200,000. b) Influx of refugees from Brazzaville into Kinshasa continues, at average of 500 per day. c) NGOs resume activities in Baraka, south of Uvira, after two-week interruption due to insecurity. d) Goma-Masisi road reopens as security improves.
E. GENERAL
1. Resourcing update a) Selected WFP emergency and protracted relief operations facing resourcing problems are listed below, in order of priority based on the urgency of resourcing needs.
PART II - DETAILS
A. DEMOCRATIC PEOPLE'S REPUBLIC OF KOREA
1. UPDATE
1.1 The WFP Deputy Executive Director will lead a donor mission to DPRK from 30 September to 4 October. The mission will provide an opportunity to show donors the actual situation which will hopefully allow them to react quickly, should a new WFP appeal be issued. In view of recent drought damage to crops, an increased programme for 1998 is expected. However, the decision will be made only after the assessment of the main harvest in October.
1.2 Donor response to the current appeal has been highly satisfactory with USD 101.6 million (70 percent of the commitment) pledged by 25 September. Since May, WFP has shipped some 220,000 metric tons of relief food into DPR Korea ports and there is an additional 240,000 metric tons programmed to arrive in the last quarter of 1997. WFP uses four main ports for larger cargo or bulk commodities: Nampo, Wonsan, Hungnam and Chongjin. Smaller line type parcels carried in containers are shipped to Dalian port, with inland transportation through China to Sinuiji.
1.3 In August, WFP carried out a nutritional study in 18 DPR Korea clusters (counties) in four provinces selected by the Government. The 200 children under seven years of age per cluster, measured at nurseries and kindergartens, were also selected by the government. Although it was a non-random sampling of children, some achievements can be claimed. The mission trained the Institute of Child Nutrition staff on nutrition methodology and left the nutritional assessment equipment with the institute for their own future studies.
1.4 WFP will finalize the draft report and present the final report to the authorities in DPR Korea, as well as to the agencies participating in the exercise, UNICEF, FAO, and SCF/UK (which was contracted by WFP). Due to the inherent limitations of the data collection, WFP has decided not to publish the report. It will be used as an internal document and shared with a limited number of selected agencies.
B. WEST AFRICA: SIERRA LEONE
1. UPDATE - SIERRA LEONE
1.1 WFP is currently making efforts to start cross-border operations into Sierra Leone, following meetings with government officials in Guinea and Liberia, and with ECOMOG.
1.2 Residents of Freetown are facing severe food shortages because of the embargo applied by neighbouring ECOWAS countries to punish soldiers who overthrew the elected government on 25 May.
1.3 Some 60,000 internally displaced persons depend entirely on food aid distributed by WFP and non-governmental organizations in Freetown and surrounding areas. WFP will be forced to cease all food distribution to vulnerable people and internally displaced persons unless food aid is rapidly delivered to the city. Current in-country food stocks amount to less than 2,500 metric tons. Since the coup, some 3,000 metric tons of relief food has been looted from WFP Freetown stores, which are now under the control of elements of the Armed Forces Revolutionary Council (AFRC).
1.4 WFP is extremely concerned about increasing reports of malnutrition throughout Sierra Leone, particularly among children.
C. EAST AFRICA: RWANDA, BURUNDI, TANZANIA, UGANDA AND ETHIOPIA
1. RWANDA
1.1 WFP continues to closely monitor the situation in the camps for Congolese refugees who fled from the Masisi area of eastern DR Congo. Some 360 metric tons of food have been delivered by WFP to Mudende since the beginning of August, and rations to cover needs for three months has recently been sent to Kiziba. Nkimira transit centre has also been provided with rations for displaced persons.
1.2 Military escort are now accompanying WFP trucks travelling to Gisenyi from Kigali. This measure follows the increased reluctance of truck owners and drivers to travel without escorts, due to the unstable situation in the prefecture. In the latest security incident reported, a school was attacked in Rubavu commune, and three students were killed and seven injured.
2. BURUNDI
2.1 WFP is holding discussions with the provincial authorities in Kayanza regarding security in the province, particularly in the communes of Ranfo and Buranganzwa, where the reinstallation programme was recently halted by the governor of the province.
2.2 Security problems continue to persist elsewhere in the country as well; at the Rumonge displaced camp in Bururi province, an attack reportedly killed seven people and left 13 injured. A further six people were killed in two more incidents in the province. Several deaths were also reported in the Gitaza area of Bujumbura Rural, where at least 19 people were killed and 30 injured in an attack on a military post.
2.3 In Bujumbura city, electricity was cut for two days last week when electrical poles were reportedly burned by rebels in Bubanza province.
2.4 Emergency distributions continue in Karuzi province, where 360 metric tons of food were provided to 24,780 beneficiaries at three sites.
2.5 A total of 245 refugees were repatriated to the Gatumba transit site in Bujumbura Rural from DR Congo. A further 158 refugees from DR Congo were repatriated to Burundi through the Butare, Rwanda, transit site.
3. TANZANIA
3.1 Various donors have indicated support for WFP's request for 76,000 metric tons of food for distribution to drought affected populations in Tanzania. This new WFP emergency operation, presently under preparation, follows the Government's declaration of a national food emergency in the country. Relief food approved under the previous WFP drought emergency operation continued to be distributed in Mwanza, Mara and Dodoma areas.
3.2 Burundian refugees are still entering Tanzania. Between 15 and 21 September, 247 new arrivals were registered in Mtabila II camp, 143 arrived and were registered in Nduta camp and 130 were registered in camps in Ngara.
4. UGANDA
4.1 The 71,000 displaced Ugandans in Bundibuguyo and nearby areas have so far received 676 metric tons of WFP food commodities. Security during the week was relatively good. It appears that a number of these displaced are returning to their homes, a move that is being encouraged now that the planting season has begun.
4.2 In Gulu, 15,624 displaced beneficiaries received approximately 100 metric tons of WFP rations of maize, pulses and vegetable oil. The distribution took place in three different sites in Opit and was somewhat disrupted by the reported presence of rebels near the area. A military escort was made available which permitted the distribution to be completed successfully.
4.3 The security situation remained precarious in Gulu during the past week with 14 attacks reported, targeting military detachments and local defence units, to which displaced camps are attached. These attacks cause movements of displaced persons, rendering registration data completely out of date.
4.4 The transfer of Sudanese refugees from Ogujebe transit centre to the Palorynia settlement in northern Uganda has now been halted. In addition to problems related to the scarcity of potable water at the site, the security situation has become uncertain. On 19 September, there was an attack on one of the settlements in Palorinya during which food and other items were looted from the refugees.
5. ETHIOPIA
5.1 WFP strongly condemns the brutal murder of two national staff members in Ethiopia's central Ogaden region, in what appears to be a case of attempted robbery.
5.2 Three WFP personnel were travelling late on the afternoon of 19 September from Kebre Dehar to Jigiga after a field mission when their vehicle was stopped by armed men, 55 kilometres south of Degeh Bur. One of the three staff members managed to escape and fled by foot to the nearby town of Birkot where he reported the incident to the authorities. After days of searching, the two bodies were discovered only on 24 September. Both staff had been shot.
5.3 This particular area of central Ogaden has been increasingly insecure over recent months due to tensions on the Somali-Ethiopian border.
D. CENTRAL AFRICA: DEMOCRATIC REPUBLIC OF CONGO AND REPUBLIC OF CONGO (BRAZZAVILLE)
1. UPDATE
1.1 Kinshasa and Congo/Brazzaville
a) The airlift organized by WFP to shuttle urgently needed food from Luanda in Angola to Kinshasa and Pointe-Noire in Congo/Brazzaville has been successfully competed. Some 60,000 extremely vulnerable displaced persons in Pointe-Noire will receive a one-month WFP food ration, to be distributed in collaboration with the national Red Cross Society. Most of the 60,000 beneficiaries are from Brazzaville and are accommodated in abandoned buildings or have found shelter with families in the area. In total there are an estimated 200,000 displaced in Pointe-Noire.
b) The influx of refugees from Brazzaville into Kinshasa stands now at an average of 500 per day. There are presently some 28,500 refugees in Kinshasa, most of whom, due to lack of accommodation at Kinkole camp, are staying in the city with Congolese families.
1.2 Kisangani
a) Over 500 displaced Congolese are on their way to Kisangani from Kinshasa by boat. Their return to home areas has been organized by the Government. These displaced persons were provided with food to help them cope with the voyage, which due to low water levels in Congo River, will take some two weeks. A trip from Kinshasa to Kisangani under normal conditions takes nine days.
b) WFP has distributed 142 metric tons of food commodities between 15 and 21 September in Kisangani. WFP is assisting close to 75,000 beneficiaries in the area, most of whom are participants in food-for-work programmes. The latest food-for-work project approved will benefit 6,000 families, or 30,000 beneficiaries, in the Lubutu-Walikale-Kisangani axis.
1.3 Eastern DR Congo
a) The repatriation, both organized and spontaneous, of Congolese refugees from Kigoma in Tanzania to Uvira, continued during the week, with 715 refugees arriving from Kigoma. WFP has all the necessary food commodities to provide monthly rations to all refugees, with assistance from World Vision and Malteser. World Vision is now assisting arriving refugees with trucks for the transportation of their belongings.
b) Non-governmental organizations have resumed activities in Baraka, south of Uvira, after a two-week interruption due to insecurity. Traffic from Uvira to Bukavu is however still being directed through Rwanda. UNHCR organized flights are now shuttling passengers between these two towns twice a week.
c) Security improved in the Goma area during the week and the road Goma-Masisi has been reopened to traffic. World Vision, WFP's implementing partner for food-for-work programmes benefiting displaced persons in the area, has returned to Masisi to resume activities.
d) Forty-one metric tons of WFP food intended for distribution by Caritas in two displaced sites in Goma were looted when the populations abandoned the camps in recent weeks, fleeing mostly to Rwanda. Small quantities of maize meal were recovered by Caritas and will be reallocated to other projects carried out by this agency.
E. GENERAL
1. SUMMARY OF THE RESOURCING SITUATION FOR SELECTED WFP EMERGENCY AND PROTRACTED RELIEF OPERATIONS
1.1 Donor response to WFP emergency and protracted relief operations has been very generous thus far in 1997, but certain operations face resourcing problems. Among the relief operations which are not fully resourced, the operations below are of significant concern to WFP. Included in the list are operations which will need funding beyond their current phase. Operations are listed in order of priority based on the urgency of resourcing needs. For each country, details are given for the tonnage still required, value, and a percentage showing shortfall compared to adjusted net 1997 needs. Figures are as of 26 September. Emergency operations under preparation but not yet approved have not been included (Tanzania and Ethiopia).
1.2 Current highest priority Emergency Operations (EMOPs)
Armenia EMOP 5301.02 - 6,180 mt - US$ 3.4 million - 62 % shortfall Iraq EMOP 5311.06 - 12,000 mt - US$ 6.2 million - 54 % shortfall Former Yugoslavia EMOP 5142.05 - 17,400 mt - US$ 10.6 million - 19 % shortfall
Note: For DPR Korea, in view of expected production shortfalls this year, further WFP assistance is likely to be required in 1998.
Other priority EMOPs:
Georgia EMOP 5315.02 - 3,530 mt - US$ 1.8 million - 45 % shortfall Mozambique EMOP 5832.00 - 3,130 mt - US$ 1.2 million - 50 % shortfall Laos EMOP 5823.00 - 16,840 mt - US$ 8.3 million - 56 % shortfall (For Laos, 7,346 mt of requirements have been advanced from WFP Immediate Response Account funds, pending directed pledges by donors)
1.3 Current highest priority Protracted Relief Operations (PROs)
Zambia PRO 5428.03 - 3,750 mt - US$ 2.25 million - 100 % shortfall (new PRO) Algeria PRO 4155.07 - 5,700 mt - $ 3.4 million - 100 % shortfall (new PRO) Cambodia PRO 5483.03 - 4,372 mt - US$ 2.2 million - 17 % shortfall Sierra Leone PRO 5802.00 - 15,868 mt - US$ 10.8 million - 68 % shortfall (distribution rate lower than planned due to security situation) Angola PRO 5602.01 - This operation will go for approval to the Executive Board in January for an additional 80,000 mt of commodities.
Other priority PROs:
Ethiopia - PRO 5241.02 - Additional funds may be needed to cover increased caseload of Sudanese and Somali refugees. Mali Regional - PRO 5804.00 - Funding is required to cover local purchases of millet and sorghum for distribution next year. Marketing period is September to March.
(End WFP Emergency Report No. 39 of 1997 - September 26, 1997)
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