Report No. 28 of 1998 Date: 10 July 1998
This report includes: A) Guinea Bissau B) Sudan C) East and Central Africa: Uganda and Democratic Republic of Congo D) Indonesia E) Afghanistan F) Resourcing update.
>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 Aleesa.Blum@wfp.org or Claudia.VonRoehl@wfp.org at WFP Rome, telephone 39 6 6513 2004 or 6 6513 2504. The address of WFP is Via Cesare Giulio Viola 68, Parco dei Medici, Rome 00148.
PART I - HIGHLIGHTS (Details below in Part II)
A. GUINEA BISSAU
1. Update - information as of 13 July a) No progress in efforts to find negotiated agreement to current crisis; offensive by Senegalese troops to recapture Bissau's international airport continues. Most displaced civilians are in eastern part of the country, which is free of fighting. b) UN Interim Inter-Agency Appeal for Humanitarian Assistance to Guinea Bissau for the period 1 July - 31 December 1998 launched on 10 July. USD 29.2 million requested, of which USD 19.7 million is for WFP operations, to cover immediate humanitarian needs of 350,000 people displaced by the conflict. c) Second WFP convoy with 116 tons of relief food arrives in Bafata on 12 July. d) UN completes assessment of Bijagos islands, location of an estimated 10,000 displaced people; greatest needs are medical supplies, fuel and shelter.
B. SUDAN
1. Update in form of highlights of recent WFP Sudan Daily Bulletins a) Two Ilyushin 76 aircraft which are to be based Khartoum expected to be operational in coming days. Two other IL 76s to be based Nairobi. Three C-130 aircraft and three Buffalo aircraft now delivering food into southern Sudan ex-Lokichokio. An additional C-130 returned to El Obeid after repairs in Lokichokio. b) Summary of deliveries and distributions in south Sudan during June given below. c) Airlifts ex-El Obeid into Wau deliver total of 603 tons since airlift began on 30 May. Large numbers of returnees continue to arrive; WFP registers nearly 1,000 people a day over recent days and total beneficiary caseload now 46,100 people. NGOs operate five feeding centres in Wau. Airlift to be increased.
C. EAST AND CENTRAL AFRICA: UGANDA AND DEMOCRATIC REPUBLIC OF CONGO
1. Uganda a) WFP staff member killed on 9 July in West Nile region of northern Uganda, in ambush by heavily armed men.
2. Democratic Republic of Congo a) Angolans cross into DR Congo at rate of 600 to 700 a day, fleeing insecurity in northern Angolan province of Lunda Norte.
D. INDONESIA
1. Update a) Food supply situation has deteriorated since FAO/WFP assessment in March. Intensified financial and economic crisis and prolonged effects of El Nino drought threaten household food security of increasing numbers of people. b) Generous donor response covers 113,000 tons of total 208,000 tons of rice requested by WFP, and 10,000 tons of requested 17,000 tons blended food.
E. AFGHANISTAN
1. Update a) Findings of FAO/WFP crop and food supply assessment mission to Afghanistan summarized below. An estimated 1.1 million people will require food aid over the coming year despite good cereal harvest. b) Total required imports expected to be 740,000 tons of wheat and milled rice, of which 140,000 tons will need to be covered by food aid, 105,000 tons through WFP. c) An estimated 167,000 people in the Hazarajat region face an acute food shortage; 7,500 tons of relief food will be needed for the region over the coming year.
F. GENERAL
1. Resourcing update a) Details of selected WFP Emergency Operations (EMOPs) and Protracted Relief Operations (PROs) with priority resourcing needs are given below.
PART II - DETAILS
A. GUINEA BISSAU
1. UPDATE - Information as of 13 July
1.1 No progress has been reported in terms of possibilities for a negotiated agreement to the current crisis in Guinea Bissau. According to observers, conditions proposed by President Joao Bernardo Vieira are "impossibly hard" for the rebel leader to accept. The offensive by Senegalese troops to recapture Bissau's international airport continues. Fighting was also reported to be continuing in the Buba area as of 10 July. The eastern part of the country remains free of fighting and is the destination of the displaced civil population. The fighting has now lasted more than one month, and there are fears that the stage is set for a long-lasting humanitarian crisis, which may affect the entire sub-region.
1.2 The current crisis came abruptly just at the beginning of the rainy season, a time when food reserves are virtually exhausted. With the disruption of the cashew nuts/rice barter system, the main marketing channel for the provision of rice supply is compromised. Agricultural activities for the 1998 cropping season are also being seriously disturbed, thus adding tremendous strain on the already precarious food security situation of the country.
1.3 The United Nations Interim Inter-Agency Appeal for Humanitarian Assistance to Guinea Bissau for the period 1 July - 31 December 1998 was officially launched on 10 July, seeking USD 29.2 million, of which USD 19.7 million is for WFP operations, to cover the immediate humanitarian needs of at least 350,000 people displaced by the conflict. The full report is available on ReliefWeb at http://www.reliefweb.int - Complex Emergencies, Guinea Bissau. A WFP emergency operation is under preparation.
1.4 The UN has re-established a base in Guinea Bissau, in Bafata, to act as a springboard for in-country operations. WFP will use Bafata as an operational and logistical base for its food assistance, which will continue to be done in coordination with the other humanitarian operations present (ICRC, Caritas and other non-governmental organizations).
1.5 A second WFP convoy with 116 tons of relief food arrived in Bafata on 12 July; as with the first convoy from Conakry, food was consigned to ICRC, and will be distributed by them in coordination with Caritas. A third convoy is being organized.
1.6 The UN completed an assessment at the weekend (11/12 July) of Guinea Bissau's outlying Bijagos islands, to which an estimated 10,000 people have fled. The joint WHO, FAO, UNICEF and UNDP delegation found the local community was well organized to meet immediate needs of the displaced, but was desperately short of drugs, fuel and shelter.
1.7 Under an initiative and decision of the Government of Guinea Bissau, a French vessel is expected to load 200 tons of WFP food commodities from Bissau stocks to be used for distribution to 7,000 displaced persons in the Bijagos islands.
B. SUDAN - OLS SOUTHERN AND NORTHERN SECTORS
1. UPDATE
1.1 The following are highlights from recent WFP Sudan Daily Bulletins (available on request), with some additional information.
1.2 Note on use of terms, for clarification: The southern sector of Operation Lifeline Sudan comprises all aid delivered to beneficiaries in the non-Government controlled areas of south Sudan, while aid provided under the northern sector is targeted to beneficiaries in the Government held territories of south Sudan, the transitional zones and the Khartoum displaced camps. This definition does not take into account the origin of supply lines. Assistance provided to people in the southern sector used to be mainly delivered by air from Lokichokio and by road from Kenya and Uganda. With the C-130 starting air drop operations from El Obeid on 6 June, the food supplied from El Obeid and taken to people in non-Government held areas is counted under the southern sector. Food airdropped to people in non-government held territories by the Ilyushin aircraft to be stationed in Khartoum also comes under the southern sector operations. Although Juba is very much in the south, assistance is included under the northern sector, since Juba is Government controlled. The city of Wau is also Government controlled and assistance flown in from El Obeid is included under the northern sector.
1.3 Air operations: Arrangements are being finalized for the addition of four Ilyushin 76 aircraft to the air operation for south Sudan; two of these, to be based in Khartoum, are expected to be operational in the coming days (information as of 13 July). The other two IL 76s will be based in Nairobi. Three C-130 aircraft and three Buffalo aircraft are presently operational, delivering relief food items into southern Sudan ex-Lokichokio. An additional C-130 has returned to El Obeid after a few days in Lokichokio for repairs.
1.4 Deliveries and distributions in south Sudan during June
a) June deliveries to southern sector (final figures): Over 1 million people received some 6,400 tons of relief food in June in the southern sector. Deliveries by air and road were as follows: 1,037 tons by air ex-El Obeid; 3,955 tons by air ex-Lokichokio; 659 tons by road ex-Lokichokio; 744 tons by road ex-Koboko; 20 tons by road ex-Nzara/Sudan. Out of this figure, 4,018 tons of relief food were delivered and distributed to over 590,000 beneficiaries in Bahr el-Ghazal. To deliver the total 6,400 tons of food commodities a total of 282 C-130 flights and 71 Buffalo flights took place in June. Total delivered by air was 4,991 tons. Total delivered by road was 1,426 tons.
b) Food deliveries to Ajiep in Bahr el-Ghazal: Last month, a total of 15 C-130 flights and 5 Buffalo flights delivered 252 tons of food commodities to Ajiep between 5 and 10 June to cover the needs of 25,124 beneficiaries. A further 63 tons were airdropped to Ajiep over the weekend of 11/12 July. Ajiep is one of the 90 locations in southern Sudan where widespread hunger persists and urgent food needs have been identified.
1.5 Wau (Bahr el-Ghazal) - airlifts via northern sector
a) By 10 July, airlifts ex-El Obeid into Wau had delivered a total of 603 tons since the airlift to Wau began on 30 May. WFP registered nearly 1,000 people a day over recent days, and the total beneficiary caseload was up to 46,100 people on 9 July (from 36,245 at the end of June). General food distribution continues. At the end of June, returnees were arriving in Wau at a rate of close to 2,000 persons per day. The returnees are in a poor nutritional state. Non-governmental organizations are operating five feeding centres in Wau. One of the centres provides therapeutic feeding for 400 severely malnourished children, while another four centres offer supplementary foods for more than 2,000 people. Supplies airlifted to Wau are to be increased.
b) Other government held towns have also been receiving influxes of people, although on a smaller scale. In Aweil, Bahr el-Ghazal, at least 9,000 people need humanitarian assistance. In Abyei and Meiram, West Kordofan, more than 15,000 are being fed by WFP. The movement of returnees and displaced to these areas is due to the continued fighting and the general food insecurity in northern Bahr el-Ghazal.
C. EAST AND CENTRAL AFRICA: UGANDA, BURUNDI AND DEMOCRATIC REPUBLIC OF CONGO
1. UGANDA
1.1 A WFP staff member was killed on 9 July as he was returning to WFP offices in Pakelle from Arua in the West Nile region of northern Uganda, when twelve heavily armed men ambushed the vehicle, robbed and shot him. The vehicle was then blown up. Security in the region remains unpredictable. Following an attack on the power station and a grenade blast in Arua town, a curfew has been imposed in Arua.
2. DEMOCRATIC REPUBLIC OF CONGO
2.1 An average of 600 to 700 Angolans have been crossing the border into DR Congo every day over recent weeks, to find refuge from the insecurity in the northern Angolan province of Lunda Norte. Some 30,000 Angolans were already registered in Dilolo, in southern DR Congo, and the local authorities have transferred the newcomers to Kisenge and Divuma. Results of the joint mission to Kahemba, 515 kms from Kinshasa, revealed that some 4,000 refugees have settled there; another 6,000 have been identified in Madimba, Lower Congo province. WFP will consider an assistance programme for these refugees after receiving the recommendations of the joint assessment missions that travelled to the areas to assess the situation.
D. INDONESIA
1. UPDATE
1.1 The food supply situation in Indonesia has deteriorated since the FAO/WFP assessment last March, due to the prolonged effects of the El Nino drought and the intensification of the financial and economic crisis. As a result, the household food security of an ever larger portion of the population is being threatened. The World Bank has estimated that up to 50 million people will face problems in maintaining an acceptable caloric intake in the coming months. FAO and WFP feel that it will be important to undertake a re-assessment of the situation in August to re-evaluate the current 1998 crop forecast and food import situation as well as food aid requirements.
1.2 WFP assistance complements and is coordinated with national and other international efforts (by NGOs, the World Bank and the Asia Development Bank) to address severe household insecurity in the most serious drought-affected areas of the country.
1.3 WFP activities fall into three main categories: a) nutritional support to selected pregnant women, nursing mothers and children under five years in seven provinces; b) labour intensive food for work community development in twelve provinces; c) highly targeted general relief rations to be provided to families in seven provinces who are only eating once a day and have lost the means of supporting themselves.
1.4 Generous donations from the Governments of Australia, Japan, USA and Norway have resulted in confirmed donations for 113,000 tons of rice towards the total WFP requirement of 208,000 tons of rice, and for 10,000 tons towards the requirement of 17,000 tons blended food.
E. AFGHANISTAN
1. FAO/WFP CROP AND FOOD SUPPLY ASSESSMENT
1.1 The latest FAO/WFP crop and food supply assessment mission to Afghanistan, 4-27 May, estimates that more than one million victims of war and natural disaster will need international food aid this year, even though Afghanistan's cereal harvest will be the largest in twenty years.
1.2 The report, which was released on 2 July, predicts that this year's cereal production will be 3,854,000 tons. This would be up 5 percent since last year and the best since the country's last peacetime harvest in 1978. Adequate rainfall, improved security in the south and most of the east and agricultural rehabilitation helped to compensate for a lack of fertilizers and damage caused by floods in some areas, an unusually cold and snowy winter, the devastating earthquakes and continuing conflict. Mine clearing and high prices for last year's crops encouraged farmers to plant larger areas of wheat.
1.3 Despite a favourable outlook for this year's cereal harvest, the country will need to import 740,000 tons of wheat and milled rice to feed a growing population and meet emergency food aid needs. Afghanistan will be able to import 600,000 tons commercially, and the remaining 140,000 tons will need to be covered by food aid. Supply routes blocked by conflict (and harsh winter weather during part of the year) prevent surpluses in the north from reaching Badakhshan and Bamyan and the heavily populated area around Kabul. The largest part of the wheat consumed in the cities of Afghanistan is imported through commercial channels, but an important part of the city population remains dependent on food aid to supplement their rations.
1.4 WFP estimates that 167,000 people in the Hazarajat region are at risk of starvation due to the acute food shortage in this chronically food deficit region, where 7,500 tons of food will be needed over the coming year to support the most needy. In all, WFP plans to supply more than 105,000 tons of food aid to 1.1 million vulnerable people in Afghanistan. The aid will go to female-headed households with no source of income, orphans, displaced people, the sick and elderly, victims of natural disaster and people taking part in food-for-work rehabilitation projects.
1.5 The full FAO/WFP Special Report can be found on the Web via the FAO page at http://www.fao.org then click on Economics, then GIEWS, then special reports.
F. GENERAL
1. SUMMARY OF THE RESOURCING SITUATION FOR SELECTED WFP EMERGENCY AND PROTRACTED RELIEF OPERATIONS
1. UPDATE - information as of 10 July
1.1 The following emergency operations (EMOPs) and protracted relief operations (PROs) are current resourcing priorities for WFP. The operations listed below may face serious pipeline problems in the coming months if proposals already submitted and/or new contributions are not confirmed shortly. For each country, details are given for the tonnage still required and value.
1.2 Current highest priority Emergency Operations (EMOPs):
Sudan EMOP 5826.01. Drought and war displaced. Current shortfall: 62,203 metric tons (mt) - USD 85.9 million - 63% of EMOP needs. (Pledged but awaiting confirmation: 23,886 mt).
DRP Korea EMOP 5959.00. Vulnerable groups. Current shortfall: 374,706 mt - USD 215.4 million - 57% of EMOP needs.
Albania/Kosovo. War displaced. New EMOP. Requirements: 1,991 mt - USD 680,000 - provisional figure for three months.
Guinea Bissau. War displaced, conflict affected. New EMOP under preparation. Tentative needs: 35,280 mt.
1.3 Other priority EMOPs
Kenya EMOP 5969.01. Flood operation. (Expansion 02 to be approved shortly). Current food shortfall: 18,708 mt - USD 10.9 million - 71% of 1998 needs.
Rwanda/Burundi Regional EMOP 5624.03 (Expansion recently approved). EMOP requirements: 148,910 mt - USD 103 million. Current shortfall: 100,210 mt - USD 69.3 million - 67% of EMOP needs. (Pledged but awaiting confirmation: 20,287 mt).
Former Yugoslavia EMOP 5142.05. Current shortfall: 51,721 mt - USD 17.1 million - 63% of 1998 needs.
Ethiopia EMOP 5979.00. Drought. Current shortfall: 39,467 mt - USD 15.6 million - 66% of EMOP needs.
Cameroon EMOP 6007.00. Locust infestation and crop losses in northern Cameroon. Current food shortfall: 6,000 mt - USD 1.7 million - 100% of EMOP needs.
1.4 Current priority Protracted Relief Operations (PROs)
Among resourcing needs for PROs, one that is of special concern is the Kenya PRO 4961.04, which currently has a shortfall of approximately 3,500 mt of commodities (pulses and CSB). These commodities are urgently needed so that food can be transported by road to the refugee camps in the Dadaab region and stocked before the rains arrive in September. In the recent past, food had to be airlifted in this region causing interruptions and delays, and extra costs in moving the food.
Note: all tonnage figures above refer to metric tons
(End WFP Emergency Report No. 28 of 1998 - July 10, 1998)
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