Report No. 14 of 1998 Date: 3 April 1998This report includes: A) Sudan B) West Africa: Liberia and Sierra Leone C) East and Central Africa: Burundi, Tanzania, Uganda, Democratic Republic of Congo and Congo/Brazzaville D) Indonesia E) Democratic People's Republic of Korea.
>From Manuel Aranda da Silva, Chief, Technical Support Service. Available on the Internet on the WFP Home Page at http://www.wfp.org/ or by electronic mail from Deborah.Hicks@wfp.org (fax 39 6 6513 2837). For information on 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. New address of WFP is Via Cesare Giulio Viola 68, Parco dei Medici, Rome 00148.
Note: the next issue, for 10 April 1998, will be transmitted mid-week following the long Easter holiday weekend.
PART I - HIGHLIGHTS (Details below in Part II)
A. SUDAN
1. Update a) Food aid needs increase across southern Sudan as conditions deteriorate. In Bahr el-Ghazal, displacement due to fighting has resulted in 350,000 people in need of urgent humanitarian assistance. Fighting also leads to displacement of people in Eastern Equatoria and Western Upper Nile. b) Government of Sudan allows relief flights to resume into all areas of Bahr el-Ghazal province. WFP seeks approval for a second C130 Hercules aircraft. c) Further funds urgently needed by WFP/OLS for food and non-food supplies and support for airlift operations.
B. WEST AFRICA: LIBERIA AND SIERRA LEONE
1. Liberia a) WFP logistics Special Operation launched in Liberia; roads and bridges to be rehabilitated to support repatriation of refugees and return of internally displaced persons to home areas. b) Project to be carried out in conjunction with Swiss Disaster Relief and Government of Liberia, for one year at total cost of USD 6.3 million.
2. Sierra Leone a) Situation in Freetown, Bo, Kenema, Makeni and Kabala towns calm, but eastern and south-eastern Sierra Leone remain tense; more people flee to Lofa County, Liberia. b) After next delivery of food from stocks in Conakry to Freetown by WFP-chartered vessel, remaining WFP Conakry stocks will be used for overland deliveries.
C. EAST AND CENTRAL AFRICA: BURUNDI, TANZANIA, UGANDA, DEMOCRATIC REPUBLIC OF CONGO AND REPUBLIC OF CONGO (BRAZZAVILLE)
1. Burundi a) Airlift completed on 4 April of nearly 690 tons of food commodities from Dar es Salaam into Bujumbura, for use in nutritional centres. b) FAO/WFP Crop and Food Supply Assessment Mission findings show that increase in planted areas offset by lack of agricultural inputs and by late and then exceptionally heavy rains and flooding.
2. Tanzania a) Organized repatriation trips of Congolese refugees from Lugufu and Nyarugusu camps to eastern DR Congo continue. b) Increased deliveries under drought/flood relief operations as road conditions improve. Further requests received for assistance to flood-affected people in various regions.
3. Uganda a) Action Contre la Faim contracted to carry out nutritional surveys in all camps/settlements in Uganda.
4. Democratic Republic of Congo and Republic of Congo (Brazzaville) a) In Kinshasa and eastern parts of DR Congo, heavy rains leave many people homeless and hamper food transport. Road conditions between Uvira and Bukavu deteriorate. b) Another 2,000 Burundian refugees cross into DR Congo in Uvira region, bringing total in the area to around 5,000. c) Relief food stocks in eastern parts of DR Congo remain low; second convoy with 300 tons of food dispatched from Kampala to Uvira, but delayed because of need for military escorts while transiting through Rwanda.
D. INDONESIA
1. Update a) FAO/WFP Crop and Food Supply Assessment mission completes visit; mission findings to be released in the near future.
E. DEMOCRATIC PEOPLE'S REPUBLIC OF KOREA
1. Update a) WFP Executive Director to visit DPR Korea from 7 to 11 April; visit to be followed by discussions with major donors. b) First consignment under the new WFP emergency operation arrives at Nampo port on 4 April.
PART II - DETAILS
A. SUDAN
1. UPDATE
1.1 Across southern Sudan needs for food aid have greatly increased because of escalating insecurity and the drought of last year, which hit during the cultivation period. The situation in Bahr el-Ghazal, where 350,000 people are in need of urgent humanitarian assistance, is deteriorating rapidly. The population of the province is being displaced due to fighting and people travel great distances on foot to receive aid. People in Eastern Equatoria province are leaving their homes for refugee camps in Uganda and Kenya. Fighting has also increased in Western Upper Nile, displacing large numbers of people, and resulting in parts of the province remaining inaccessible to WFP/OLS.
1.2 This time of year, immediately preceding the rains, leads into the hunger gap when the least food is available and market prices are at their highest. Many people are already surviving on wild foods, and malnutrition rates amongst children are rising. Throughout southern Sudan, urgent supplies of seed and tools are needed within the next three weeks before the rains arrive.
1.3 The recent decision by the Government of Sudan to allow relief flights to resume into all areas of Bahr el-Ghazal province will ease the constraint of the limited number of delivery sites. The new clearance allows OLS agencies to fly in the month of April to more than 50 locations in Bahr el-Ghazal, and to 180 countrywide. All but five requested locations were approved. This is the highest number of approved locations since June 1997. WFP is currently seeking approval from the Government for a second C130 Hercules aircraft to be used in the operation.
1.4 The clearance for the expanded number of delivery sites adds to the urgency of the need for further funds to purchase food and non-food supplies and to support additional aircraft to airlift the supplies to the many locations in the region which can only be reached by air. WFP has received only USD 7.3 million out of a total of USD 58.8 million requested under the UN Inter-agency Consolidated Appeal for Sudan, launched in February, which seeks a total of USD 109 million to meet the emergency needs of more than 4 million drought and war affected Sudanese. OLS and WFP urges donors to contribute generously to the UN Interagency Consolidated Appeal.
1.5 During March, WFP delivered a total of 1,879 tons of food aid into southern Sudan, which was distributed to 370,000 beneficiaries. Most of this food went to Jonglei region (740 tons for 108,000 beneficiaries) and Bahr el-Ghazal region (621 tons supporting 207,000 beneficiaries). An additional 629 tons of WFP food was delivered by road and distributed in the Lakes region (Tonj-Thiet area) by World Vision International, while 150 tons are currently en route to Bahr el-Ghazal from Kampala by road.
B. WEST AFRICA: LIBERIA AND SIERRA LEONE
1. LIBERIA
1.1 WFP is launching a logistics Special Operation in Liberia, which focuses on the rehabilitation of 600 km of key access roads and 19 bridges to improve accessibility to designated resettlement areas. The project, which is being carried out in conjunction with the Swiss Disaster Relief and the Government of Liberia, will last for one year and has a total cost of USD 6.3 million.
1.2 Although the overall security situation has greatly improved in Liberia and the Government is actively promoting national reconstruction, the repatriation rate of refugees and return of displaced persons to their home areas is slower than the international community had hoped. This can be directly attributed to the poor state of roads and bridges, many of which are impassable.
1.3 WFP plans to focus rehabilitation efforts on roads and bridges along four important routes in Liberia: Gbarnga to Voinjama, Voinjama to Kolahun, Zwedru to Harper, and Pleebo to Barclayville.
1.4 Rehabilitating key access roads and bridges will facilitate the repatriation of refugees and the return of internally displaced persons to their home areas and the delivery of aid and other needed non-food inputs to returnees located in some of the least developed and most war-affected areas of Liberia.
1.5 Simultaneously, targeted food aid under the on-going WFP Protracted Relief Operation (PRO 4604.06), including school feeding, food for work, food for training and nutritional rehabilitation, will be distributed as the reinstallation and resettlement of populations are taking place, with the active participation of WFP's operational partners, under the coordination of the National Committee on Food Aid.
2. SIERRA LEONE
2.1 Security in eastern and south-eastern Sierra Leone remains tense with continued fighting resulting in the fleeing of thousands of civilians into Lofa County, Liberia. The situation in Freetown, Bo, Kenema, Makeni and Kabala towns remains calm.
2.2 A total of 1,300 tons of assorted WFP food commodities is currently available in Sierra Leone, with an additional 3,000 tons in Conakry. A WFP-chartered vessel, the M/V Cecil Dande, is expected to return to Freetown from Conakry with its second shipment on 3 April, carrying 1,120 tons of mixed commodities. The vessel will be discontinued after this consignment and commodity balances in Conakry will be reserved for overland deliveries to Kambia and Makeni.
2.3 Prices of locally produced commodities, such as palm oil, are decreasing in Freetown, partly due to the availability of fuel for transport. The price of rice, however, is increasing, as stocks from the last harvest are being depleted.
2.4 Over the period 25 to 31 March, WFP released more than 400 tons of assorted commodities to Action Contre la Faim for use in wet feeding centres. A total of 20,000 children under five and 10,000 adults are targeted at the six wet feeding centres, which are located in the most vulnerable communities in Freetown. A one-month food ration was also distributed to some 10,000 vulnerable persons in Makeni town, through Concern and Caritas. WFP has also provided food to institutions such as hospitals and orphanages in Bo and Kenema, through various health implementing partners.
C. EAST AND CENTRAL AFRICA: BURUNDI, TANZANIA, UGANDA, DEMOCRATIC REPUBLIC OF CONGO AND REPUBLIC OF CONGO (BRAZZAVILLE)
1. BURUNDI
1.1 Between 23 and 29 March a total of 344 tons of urgently needed WFP food commodities were airlifted from Dar es Salaam into Bujumbura, for distribution to malnourished children in nutritional centres. A total of 37,000 children are assisted through the centres. Ten flights have been carried out to date, transporting pulses, powdered milk and oil. Another ten flights are expected during the forthcoming week. In addition, 390 tons of maize grain and pulses arrived in Burundi by road from Kampala. Update: the airlift was completed on 4 April, with close to 690 tons of food commodities delivered in total.
1.2 WFP participated in a joint mission to Isale commune, Bujumbura Rural, with representatives from the Government, UN and non-governmental organizations, to assess the situation of displaced persons in the area. Some 18,333 individuals were found to be newly grouped in the area, and new arrivals are reported daily. WFP agreed to provide a seven-day food ration for this population, with further distributions to be carried out later as required. However, due to insecurity, the initial food distributions scheduled for 31 March had to be postponed.
1.3 The special report on the FAO/WFP Crop and Food Supply Assessment Mission that visited Burundi during February, forecasts a two percent decline in the A/98 season harvest compared with A/97 levels. The report notes that this is 20 percent lower than the pre-crises average. Despite a considerable increase in planted areas, yields have been affected by lack of agricultural inputs, combined with late and then exceptionally heavy rains and flooding.
1.4 The report estimates that the import requirements for Burundi during 1998 will be 139,000 tons of cereal equivalent. Considering an estimated 54,000 tons of commercial imports, together with 60,000 tons of emergency food aid which WFP expects to distribute, a deficit of 25,000 tons remains to be covered.
2. TANZANIA
2.1 Organized repatriation trips have continued, with 1,577 Congolese refugees from Lugufu and Nyarugusu camps returning to eastern DR Congo during the week. The sixth UNHCR-facilitated voluntary repatriation of Burundian refugees living in Kibondo camps was also accomplished during the week. To date 936 Burundians have voluntarily returned home since January and WFP continues to provide arriving returnees with a one-week full ration of all commodities.
2.2 Mortality rates among children under five in the Kibondo camps remain of concern. According to reports received, some 35 percent of the total deaths are attributed to malaria combined with anaemia. A similar trend is reported for Ngara camps. In Kibondo, mosquito nets are to be distributed to all refugees and health centres are being expanded to accommodate the increasing number of cases.
2.3 The refugee caseload in Tanzania presently includes 277,785 Burundian refugees, 61,927 Congolese and 1,952 mixed refugees in all camps in Kagera and Kigoma regions. It is reported that 5,255 refugees out of the total 341,664 are attending special feeding programmes in the camps.
2.4 Drought/Flood Operations Update: The dry spells experienced in some parts of the country have improved road conditions and many villages are now accessible by road. WFP food monitors, non-governmental organizations and local government authorities involved in food delivery and distribution report that the floods have left many families homeless and vulnerable, in need of assistance. WFP continues to receive requests from various regions for assistance to flood-affected people.
3. UGANDA
3.1 Action Contre la Faim has been contracted to carry out nutritional surveys in all camps/settlements in Uganda. The objective of the survey is to ascertain the nutritional status of children under five years, in settlements receiving varying food rations.
3.2 The working caseload of refugees in Uganda being provided with WFP food assistance presently stands at a total of 187,980 persons: 163,690 Sudanese refugees in camps and settlements in north-western areas, and 24,290 Rwandan and Congolese refugees in western and southern areas of the country.
4. DEMOCRATIC REPUBLIC OF CONGO AND REPUBLIC OF CONGO (BRAZZAVILLE)
4.1 Heavy rains in Kinshasa and in the eastern parts of DR Congo have left many people homeless and have seriously hampered food transport arrangements. Road conditions between Uvira and Bukavu have seriously deteriorated and road access between Uvira and Baraka is presently not possible. As a consequence, UNHCR had to cancel a repatriation trip of refugees from Tanzania to Baraka.
4.2 UNHCR reported that another 2,000 Burundian refugees have crossed into DR Congo in the Uvira region, following clashes in Burundi. WFP provided food assistance to these refugees, borrowing commodities from the repatriation programme. The Burundian refugee population in the Uvira region is approximately 5,000 persons.
4.3 Due to continuing transport constraints, WFP food stocks remain low in eastern areas of DR Congo. In Goma, it has been reported that new cases are not being admitted to nutritional feeding centres as available food stocks are insufficient. Currently, some 2,700 persons receive WFP food in nutritional centres and hospitals in the area.
4.4 A second food convoy carrying 300 tons of food commodities has been despatched from Kampala to Uvira. Delays faced by this transport operation have been related to the provision of military escorts which must accompany the trucks while they are transiting through Rwanda.
4.5 During the week, 205 tons of WFP food commodities were distributed to some 12,000 persons in Congo/Brazzaville and to approximately 5,300 beneficiaries in eastern areas of DR Congo. In eastern parts of the country, WFP assistance is restricted to special feeding programmes and the support to the repatriation programme in Uvira.
4.6 WFP food distributions continue also in the Kisangani area. Since the beginning of January 142 metric tons of WFP food has been distributed to 13,674 persons affected by flooding and to over 700 adolescents in nutritional centres.
D. INDONESIA
1. UPDATE
1.1 The FAO/WFP Crop and Food Supply Assessment mission to Indonesia has completed its work. The mission team reported on preliminary findings to a meeting of donors in Jakarta on 31 March.
1.2 The mission reviewed the impact of the El Nino drought and deteriorating economic conditions on the food supply. Food security is currently affected by both tight rice supplies and the effects of the financial crisis. Amongst the poorest segment of the rural population, many households are likely to be acutely affected by food insecurity during the upcoming dry season. A WFP emergency operation is under preparation. Finalized estimates of numbers of people in need will be available once the FAO/WFP Special Report containing the mission findings is released in the near future.
E. DEMOCRATIC PEOPLE'S REPUBLIC OF KOREA
1. UPDATE
1.1 The new DPR Korea emergency operation (EMOP 5959) officially began on 1 April, to cover a period of one year. WFP will provide emergency assistance to 7.47 million people. WFP food is intended to meet the immediate nutritional needs of the most vulnerable population groups in DPR Korea. Under the operation, children in nurseries, kindergartens and children's centres will receive full rations, while school children and pregnant and nursing women will receive supplementary rations. In addition, workers participating in food-for-work schemes will receive family rations.
1.2 The WFP Executive Director will be in DPR Korea from 7 to 11 April to review the WFP relief operation with Government officials. The visit will be followed by discussions with major donors.
1.3 The first contribution under the new EMOP 5959 arrived at Nampo port on 4 April. The US ship, M/V HSTC-1, which began discharging on 5 April, is carrying 16,000 tons of maize and 6,000 tons of rice, the first tranche of the US contribution.
1.4 During the period November 1997 through March 1998, some 245,000 tons of food aid, including known bilateral shipments, were delivered to DPR Korea. Of this amount, 140,000 tons or 57 percent was shipped under the WFP emergency operation.
(End WFP Emergency Report No. 14 of 1998 - April 3, 1998)
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