Report No. 48 of 1997 Date: 28 November 1997This report includes: A) Democratic People's Republic of Korea B) Afghanistan C) Iraq D) East Africa I - Floods: Somalia and Kenya E) East Africa II and Central Africa: Uganda, Rwanda, Republic of Congo (Brazzaville) and Democratic Republic of Congo F) Angola.
>From J.-M. Boucher, Chief, Programming Service. Available on the Internet at the 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) The report of the FAO/WFP Crop and Food Supply assessment mission to DPR Korea in November has been released. Available on the Web at http://www.fao.org b) Report confirms that food outlook for next year considerably worse than in last two years; WFP currently preparing major expansion of its DPR Korea programme.
B. AFGHANISTAN
1. Update - Hazarajat region (including Bamyan province) a) Various options being explored by WFP to deliver food to Hazarajat region, cut off by Taliban embargo since May. WFP truck convoys escorted by the Northern Alliance will bring 300 tons of food to Bamyan from Herat; 200 tons will be moved from WFP stores in Termez, Uzbekistan, via Hairaton. b) Plans for airlift from Peshawar, Pakistan, are being finalized. Donors are urged to support this operation, which will cost an estimated USD 900,000 to move 1,000 tons of food. c) Assistance given by WFP to some 40,000 beneficiaries in Bamyan, Yakawland, Panjao and Lal, using local purchases of food (1,500 tons of potatoes and 200 tons of wheat) and loans from NGO partners. Target beneficiaries number 160,000.
C. IRAQ
1. Update - information as of 27 November a) UN weapons inspectors return to Iraq, but certain issues remain unresolved. b) UN oil-for-food deal due to be renewed on 4 December; Security Council members have indicated that they might consider expansion of permitted oil sales from USD 2 billion to 3 billion for the next six-month phase. c) Cease-fire between KDP and PUK may allow resumption of distribution of oil-for-food humanitarian supplies in the area affected by fighting. WFP emergency operation is being revised to include some 10,000 people displaced by the fighting since 13 October.
D. EAST AFRICA I - FLOODS: SOMALIA AND KENYA
1. Somalia a) Around 111,800 people reached with at least some food assistance since beginning of flood relief operations in mid-November. b) As logistics coordinator, WFP continues to run air operations, and coordinates boat operations for both rescue operations and delivery of food and non-food items. c) New appeal for food and logistics support to cover expanded needs to be released shortly.
2. Kenya a) Government of Kenya launches appeal for flood victims in the eight eastern border districts. WFP and other organizations to conduct assessment missions in affected areas. b) WFP has prepared a contingency plan to airlift 850 metric tons of food for 122,000 refugees in Dadaab camp for January food distribution.
E. EAST AFRICA II AND CENTRAL AFRICA: UGANDA, RWANDA, REPUBLIC OF CONGO (BRAZZAVILLE) AND DEMOCRATIC REPUBLIC OF CONGO
1. Uganda a) Distributions in Gulu expand to eastern parts of the district. b) In Bundibugyo area, road conditions from Fort Portal to WFP delivery points have seriously worsened due to heavy rains and landslides; food-for-work programmes used to improve road conditions.
2. Rwanda a) Lean season food distributions in Kibungo and Gikongoro temporarily suspended, due to need for better targeting; those with urgent needs are still assisted by WFP.
3. Congo/Brazzaville and DR Congo a) Security conditions in Brazzaville hamper humanitarian assistance activities. Two Congolese Red Cross staff working for the ICRC killed and another injured when shots fired at their vehicle. b) WFP food rations distributed to 10,500 Rwandan and Burundian refugees in Loukolela and Kintele in Congo/Brazzaville. c) In eastern DR Congo, some 12,000 spontaneous Congolese refugees from Tanzania arrived in Kazimiya area over the past week; organized repatriation of Congolese refugees from Tanzania to Uvira due to resume 27 November.
F. ANGOLA
1. Update a) WFP Executive Director meets with the Prime Minister, other Government officials and UN and NGO representatives, and visits WFP projects in Luanda, Malange and Benguela provinces.
PART II - DETAILS
A. DEMOCRATIC PEOPLE'S REPUBLIC OF KOREA
1. UPDATE
1.1 The FAO/WFP Crop and Food Supply Assessment mission which visited DPR Korea in November has confirmed that the food outlook for the next year is considerably worse than in the previous two years. In the recently released FAO/WFP special report, the Mission estimates that this year's production of maize and rice, the country's staple grains, will total 2.66 million tons, enough to cover minimum needs for only seven months.
1.2 The mission assessed the import requirement for 1997/98 at 1.95 million tons. Commercial imports, including cross border trade with China, mostly on barter terms, were provisionally estimated at 700,000 tons, leaving needs of some 1.25 million tons uncovered. Most of the unmet food requirements will need to be covered by bilateral and multilateral emergency food aid. WFP is currently preparing a major expansion of its DPR Korea programme.
1.3 The full special report will be available in the near future on the FAO Web site at http://www.fao.org (click on Economics, then GIEWS, then Special Reports). Also available by e-mail by contacting giews1@fao.org or Deborah.Hicks@wfp.org
1.4 WFP now has 22 international staff in the country. The number was recently increased from 16 with the arrival of more project staff, including two monitoring staff and a vehicle fleet manager. The number of international staff will reach 29 before the end of the year with the arrival of an additional port captain, the remaining five project monitoring staff, and an additional food aid liaison officer.
B. AFGHANISTAN
1. UPDATE ON SITUATION IN NORTH-CENTRAL AFGHANISTAN
1.1 WFP continues to explore various options for delivering food to the Hazarajat region (including Bamyan province), which has been affected by a Taliban embargo since May. WFP truck convoys, escorted by the Northern Alliance (Hezbe Wahdat), will be dispatched on the long journey from Herat in the next few days, carrying some 300 tons of food (mostly wheat). This route goes from Herat in Afghanistan via Turkmenistan back down into Afghanistan via Shibarghan to Bamyan and takes ten days. An additional 200 tons will be transported on the shorter route from WFP stores in Termez, Uzbekistan, via Hairaton in the north of Afghanistan to Bamyan.
1.2 Plans for an airlift utilizing Antonov 12 aircraft (carrying capacity 15 tons) from Peshawar, Pakistan, are being finalized. The estimate of costs for an initial 1,000 tons of food is approximately USD 900,000. Donors are encouraged to respond to the funding needs of this airlift operation as soon as possible.
1.3 Through local purchases of food (some 1,500 tons of potatoes and 200 tons of wheat) and borrowings from partners such as ACTED, WFP has managed to reach a total of 40,000 vulnerable persons in Bamyan, Yakawland, Panjao and Lal. Rations to cover one to two months' needs were distributed to these beneficiaries in recent days. An additional 1,000 needy children will be assisted in these areas beginning 1 December, utilizing existing limited WFP food stocks in Yakawlang (rice, pulses and high-energy biscuits). WFP expects to assist a total of 160,000 persons once additional food reaches the region.
1.4 Although distances within the region are not great, roads are so bad and so dangerous, covered with snow in the high passes, that a 90 kilometre trip takes four days. In view of the shortage of trucks in the area, WFP will move in some forty trucks, which will be equipped with snow chains.
C. IRAQ
1. UPDATE - information as of 27 November
1.1 A Russian-brokered diplomatic agreement has allowed UN weapons inspectors to return to their work in Iraq. This has diffused tension in the region, but there continue to be outstanding issues which have not been resolved in the current stand-off. Principal among these is the unrestricted access of weapons inspectors to all sites around the country.
1.2 The UN oil-for-food deal must be renewed on 4 December, but the issue has become ensnarled in the rhetoric of the arms inspection crisis. Members of the Security Council have indicated that the oil-for-food operation will be renewed, and possibly expanded from USD 2 billion to 3 billion for the next six-month phase.
1.3 The Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP) announced a halt to military activity on 24 November after regaining areas in northern Iraq from its rival, the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK). It is hoped that the cease-fire will allow for the distribution of SCR 986 (oil-for-food) humanitarian supplies. The recent renewed fighting, which broke out on 13 October, has left over 10,000 people displaced from their homes and in need of humanitarian assistance. The WFP emergency operation is currently being revised to include these new needs in the north in the caseload of its feeding operation targeted to vulnerable groups. The emergency operation has recently been extended in time from 31 December 1997 to 31 March 1998 to cover needs during the winter period.
D. EAST AFRICA I - FLOODS: SOMALIA AND KENYA
1. SOMALIA
1.1 More than 111,800 victims of the widespread flooding in southern Somalia have been reached with at least some food assistance since the beginning of flood relief operations in mid-November. Over the period 22-27 November, WFP delivered a total of 168 metric tons of food commodities for various agencies using two Buffalo, a Hercules and Twin Otter aircraft from the Garissa logistics base in Kenya. Small quantities of protein biscuits have been airdropped to Afmadow and Hagar using the Twin Otter.
1.2 A joint WFP and World Concern assessment mission which visited Jamame, Lower Juba, on 27 November reported that the water has not receded at this location. Rains continue to fall in the region. An estimated 10,000 to 15,000 persons have moved towards Jamame town after being marooned in their villages in the surrounding area. According to the WFP nutritionist, who visited 100 families in a displaced persons' camp, high malnutrition was found among children 2 years of age and younger. The population in Jamame was already reported to be in a poor nutritional state prior to the floods, and no health care centres exist in the area. Cases of malaria and diarrhoea have been reported and medical intervention and vaccinations are needed urgently. WFP has two staff members and two boat operators present in Jamame. Supplies of plastic sheeting, blankets, biscuits and Supermix are being delivered to Jamame by air.
1.3 As part of its overall logistics coordination role, WFP is coordinating boat operations for both rescue operations and the delivery of food and non-food items. Currently six boats are operational (in Bardera, Gedo region; Bu'alle, Juba region; and Jamame, Juba region); additional boats will soon be operational in Kismayo. Twelve more boats are expected to be allocated to various locations.
1.4 WFP urges donors to continue their support for this operation. A new appeal for food and logistics support to cover expanded needs will be released shortly.
2. KENYA - FLOOD SITUATION
2.1 The Government of Kenya has launched an appeal for flood victims in the eight eastern border districts in Kenya. The Tana River has burst its banks at several points and a state of emergency has been declared in several districts in Northeastern and Coast provinces. WFP and other organizations are planning assessment missions into affected areas and continue to monitor the situation closely.
2.2 An expansion of WFP's on-going drought operation was previously approved for 6,638 metric tons of cereals. WFP plans to use resources contributed towards this operation to cover the needs of people affected by flooding.
2.3 Meanwhile, WFP is preparing a contingency plan to airlift 850 metric tons of food for 122,000 refugees in Dadaab camp, now cut off by floods, for the first January food distribution.
E. EAST AFRICA II AND CENTRAL AFRICA: UGANDA, RWANDA, REPUBLIC OF CONGO (BRAZZAVILLE) AND DEMOCRATIC REPUBLIC OF CONGO
1. UGANDA
1.1 Between 17 and 23 November, approximately 95,000 displaced Ugandans were provided with WFP food commodities in Gulu and Kitgum. In Gulu, distributions have been extended to the eastern parts of the district, an area at times inaccessible due to insecurity.
1.2 In the Bundibugyo area, in western Uganda, the displaced caseload stands now at approximately 60,000 persons, following the resettlement, last week, of 13,591 persons. Road conditions from Fort Portal to the extended delivery points have seriously worsened due to heavy rains and landslides, hindering food transportation. Food-for-work programmes are under way to improve road conditions.
1.3 Approximately 194,000 refugees in Uganda ( 165,000 Sudanese and 29,000 Rwandans and Congolese) continue receiving WFP's food assistance. Insecurity prevails in some areas, disrupting the transfer of refugees from transit camps to settlements.
2. RWANDA
2.1 Lean season food distributions that had been initiated in Kibungo and Gikongoro have been temporarily suspended, due to the need for better targeting and collation of nutritional data to support the proposed high number of beneficiaries. Pockets of urgent need are being assisted after identification and verification by WFP monitors.
2.2 WFP dispatched over 2,000 metric tons of food to various destinations between 17 and 23 November. Deliveries to areas in the west and north-west are being made under escort, at an average of two convoys per week. To date, over 850 metric tons of food have been delivered under escort for the month of November.
3. REPUBLIC OF CONGO (BRAZZAVILLE) AND DEMOCRATIC REPUBLIC OF CONGO
3.1 Congo/Brazzaville and Kinshasa
a) Security conditions in Brazzaville remain precarious, hampering humanitarian assistance activities. On 22 November two staff members from the Congolese Red Cross, working for the International Committee of the Red Cross, were killed and another one was injured when shots were fired at their vehicle. Various other incidents were reported, some related to the disarmament of the militia initiated by the Government.
b) A large part of the population who returned to Brazzaville is still concentrated in neighbouring areas, as the situation inside the town is not stable yet. Many of the returnees, southerners whose houses were destroyed, are housed in schools, churches and other public buildings
c) WFP food distributions to 20,000 vulnerable persons continued in Brazzaville, with 60 percent of the food being collected by women, against presentation of family cards.
d) A ten-day WFP food ration was distributed in Loukolela and Kintele, areas hosting Rwandan and Burundian refugees. There are now approximately 10,500 people at those sites, following the repatriation of 65 refugees to Kigali on 19 November.
e) In Kikole camp, Kinshasa, a one-week ration was distributed to over 15,000 refugees, up from some 13,000 in the previous week. This increase in the caseload is attributed to inadequate control and identification of refugees. UNHCR officially repatriated 232 refugees to Brazzaville on 22 November.
f) WFP has successfully forwarded 200 metric tons of mixed food commodities by train from Pointe-Noire to Brazzaville; the food arrived on 28 November. This was a test case, with the train going under armed escort, in view of the high insecurity along the railway line.
3.2 In eastern DR Congo, approximately 12,000 spontaneous Congolese refugees from Tanzania arrived in Kazimiya and surrounding areas over the past week. In agreement with UNHCR, WFP continues to monitor, register and assist these new arrivals. The organized repatriation of Congolese refugees from Tanzania to Uvira was due to resume on 27 November.
F. ANGOLA
1. UPDATE
1.1 The WFP Executive Director Catherine Bertini concluded a six-day visit to Angola on 24 November. The Executive Director met with the Prime Minister, the Ministers of Social Affairs, Agriculture and Health, the Special Representative of the Secretary-General Maitre Alioune Blondin Beye, heads of UN agencies, and NGOs.
1.2 During her trip, Ms. Bertini saw at first hand the implementation of WFP's humanitarian intervention in Luanda, Malange and Benguela provinces. Ms. Bertini viewed activities for displaced persons, demining activities and rehabilitation of social infrastructure at resettlement sites. She also visited WFP-assisted projects catering to children, including an orphanage, a community kitchen which feeds children of displaced families and a community infant programme.
1.3 While in Benguela province, the Executive Director toured Damba Maria camp where some 9,000 internally displaced persons receive WFP food assistance. Ms. Bertini pressed local officials to make every effort to bring the investigation into the 23 October slaying of humanitarian workers near Chongoroi to a conclusion, so that resettlement activities from Damba Maria to Chongoroi, which were halted after the incident, can resume.
1.4 In Luanda, Mrs. Bertini visited WFP projects assisting the most vulnerable groups, including an artificial limbs centre for mine victims, a home for the elderly and a centre for street girls.
(End WFP Emergency Report No. 48 of 1997 - November 28, 1997)
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