Report No. 37 of 1998 Date: 18 September 1998
This report includes: A) China B) Bangladesh C) Federal Republic of Yugoslavia and Region: Kosovo crisis D) Cuba E) Guinea Bissau F) Sudan - floods G) Central and East Africa: Democratic Republic of Congo, Congo/Brazzaville, Burundi and Tanzania.
>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 06 6513 2837). For information on resources, donors are requested to contact Aleesa.Blum@wfp.org or Marius.deGaayFortman@wfp.org at WFP Rome, telephone 39 06 6513 2004 or 06 6513 2250. This issue of the WFP Emergency Report prepared by Peter Erhardy and Deborah Hicks.
PART I - HIGHLIGHTS (Details below in Part II)
A. CHINA
1. Flood operations update - most information as of 18 September a) WFP emergency operation (EMOP 6045) for assistance to 5.8 million flood victims in China for four months approved on 18 September. Total WFP cost is USD 87.7 million (247,000 tons of rice). Government of China input is an additional 100,000 tons of rice. b) Food distributions under the EMOP have started, drawing on the Government's confirmed commitment.
B. BANGLADESH
1. Flood operations update - information as of 17 September a) First WFP relief food under recently approved emergency operation for flood victims (EMOP 6043) arrives in Chittagong on 16 September with 52,000 tons of wheat.
C. FEDERAL REPUBLIC OF YUGOSLAVIA AND REGION: KOSOVO CRISIS
1. Update - information as of 22 September a) First snow and accompanying cold rain in the Bjeshket and Nemuna mountains between Kosovo and Albania deepens international concern for conditions to be faced by IDPs in the area during the coming winter. b) Extended four-month UN Consolidated Inter-agency Appeal for Kosovo launched on 8 September for USD 54.3 million, to cover needs of 420,000 affected people in the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia, Albania and FYR of Macedonia. c) WFP requirements under the extended UN Appeal are for an additional 18.6 million (37,800 tons of wheat flour, oil, pulses and sugar).
D. CUBA
1. Update - drought operation a) Donor support urgently sought for WFP emergency operation for drought victims in Cuba, approved by FAO and WFP on 28 August. USD 20.5 million is required for 34,000 tons of relief food assistance to a revised total of 615,000 drought victims. Full operation will cost total of USD 27 million, with Government of Cuba providing the remaining USD 6.5 million. Shortfall for the EMOP is over USD 20 million.
E. GUINEA BISSAU
1. Update - information as of 22 September a) Further donor support needed for WFP emergency operation for 350,000 internally displaced persons; 32 percent of total requirements covered so far. b) Agreement reached on establishment of buffer zone along border between Guinea Bissau and Senegal, but otherwise no concrete accord emerges from Second Round truce negotiation meeting between Government and military junta. c) Assistance to formerly displaced people returning to Bissau is difficult as security situation means international UN staff cannot stay in Bissau beyond 24 hours. d) Senegalese transport corridor remains closed to fuel supplies.
F. SUDAN
1. Brief update on WFP response to floods in Sudan a) In Kassala province, WFP food distribution made to 9,230 people affected by the recent flooding of the Gash River in Kassala town. Roads to IDP sites in the area in bad condition due to the flooding and current rains, but distributions to IDPs on-going. b) In Jonglei province, floods cause further displacement and hinder air transport in Bor county. New airstrips are being cleared in dry areas of the county. c) Population displacement due to floods also reported in Malualkon in Bahr el-Ghazal province.
G. CENTRAL AND EAST AFRICA: DEMOCRATIC REPUBLIC OF CONGO, REPUBLIC OF CONGO (BRAZZAVILLE), BURUNDI AND TANZANIA
1. Update a) WFP airlift of food from Pointe-Noire to Kinshasa and Brazzaville finishes; 198 tons of food airlifted between 10 and 17 September, to support operations for people in Kinshasa affected by the conflict in DR Congo. Port activities have now resumed. Highway between Matadi and Kinshasa reopens after weeks of closure. b) In Burundi, continued fuel shortage delays planned distribution of seeds protection rations in Bururi and Kayanza provinces. Government authorities agree to permit WFP to locally purchase 15,000 litres of diesel. c) Civilians and soldiers seek refuge and assistance in Tanzania as fighting intensifies in the eastern DR Congo.
PART II - DETAILS
A. CHINA
1. FLOOD OPERATIONS UPDATE - most information as of 18 September
1.1 On 18 September, FAO and WFP approved a USD 87.7 million emergency operation (EMOP 6045) for 247,000 tons of rice to meet the acute food needs of 5.8 million people in the four most flood--affected provinces of China along the Yangtze river: Anhui, Hubei, Hunan and Jiangxi. This food, together with a Government of China input of 100,000 tons of rice, will provide a total of 347,000 tons of rice for four months. The WFP emergency operation is part of the United Nations Consolidated Inter-agency Appeal to be issued the week of 21 September. [Update: UN Appeal launched on 23 September.]
1.2 Since March 1998, in the provinces of Anhui, Hubei, Hunan and Jiangxi alone, more than 7.4 million hectares of cropland have been severely damaged. An estimated 122 million people are in need of relief assistance. The overall relief food requirements are estimated at 1.7 million tons per month. According to the preliminary findings of the United Nations Disaster Assessment and Coordination (UNDAC) Team / UN Inter-Agency Field Assessment Mission on 7 September 1998, Chinese local authorities do not expect the water level to recede completely for over two months in these provinces. Emergency assistance may need to be extended in some form for part of the winter, until houses destroyed or damaged by the floods are reconstructed and the first post-flood crops are harvested. More information on the UNDAC mission and the disaster is available from the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) Situation Report No. 9 dated 19 September 1998 on ReliefWeb at http://www.reliefweb.int/
1.3 Following the approval of the emergency operation, distribution of food has started by drawing on the Government's confirmed commitment of 100,000 tons of rice. Upon confirmation of availability of resources from donors, additional rice will be borrowed from Government stocks.
1.4 The WFP Vulnerability Analysis and Mapping Unit (VAM) has combined the Chinese concept of "poverty stricken areas" with the WFP concept of "vulnerable areas" to identify the worst affected and most food insecure populations. The proposed WFP emergency operation will address their immediate food aid needs and support short-term rehabilitation of essential rural assets. As previously reported, the majority of the targeted people have sought shelter on higher levels of the dykes or in other secure areas. Depending upon the draining of the flood waters, people are expected to return to their homes between October and December. The beneficiaries will receive an initial one-month emergency food ration upon their return. Those who can only return later will also receive emergency food rations at their temporary locations. Following the initial emergency food ration, beneficiaries will engage in food-for-work activities, such as restoration of drinking water facilities, land clearance, desilting of irrigation channels and rebuilding of damaged farm roads.
1.5 Seven international plus 23 national staff will be required for the emergency operation. Based in WFP's Country Office and two new sub-offices which are being established to serve the four affected provinces, WFP staff will coordinate the operation which is being implemented with Government counterparts at national, provincial, county and township levels, and monitor food distribution.
B. BANGLADESH
1. FLOOD OPERATIONS UPDATE - information as of 17 September
1.1 The first ship of WFP relief food under the recently approved emergency operation for flood victims (EMOP 6043) arrived in Chittagong on 16 September with 52,000 tons of wheat. A WFP mission visited Chittagong port and confirmed that is able to handle more than 150,000 tons of food aid per month. WFP logistical experts have been sent to Chittagong to prepare for the reception and onward movement of food supplies. The OCHA Situation Report No. 9 dated 18 September 1998 which is available on ReliefWeb (http://www.reliefweb.int/) gives more detailed information on the floods situation as well as on national and international response, especially with regards to the increasing impact of the crisis on people's health. The International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies issued a revised appeal on 10 September seeking USD 6.8 million to assist 1.5 to 2 million beneficiaries for four months with food, seeds, medical services and clothing. WFP's five-month emergency operation is for a total value of USD 84 million, to provide 352,000 tons of wheat and 3,500 tons of blended food to an increased target of 19 million flood victims.
C. FEDERAL REPUBLIC OF YUGOSLAVIA AND REGION: KOSOVO CRISIS
1. UPDATE - information as of 22 September
1.1 While Serbian military operations continue, the first snow and accompanying cold rain, reported on 18 September in the Bjeshket and Nemuna mountains between Kosovo and Albania is deepening international concern for the conditions that will soon be faced by internally displaced persons (IDPs) in the area. Snow and rain will render delivery of humanitarian aid far more complicated, as many of the displaced people are located in isolated areas, along narrow dirt roads.
1.2 As a follow-up to the UN Flash Appeal for USD 18 million for humanitarian assistance needs related to the Kosovo crisis, issued in June to cover the period until August 1998, an extended four-month UN Consolidated Inter-agency Appeal was launched on 8 September for USD 54.3 million on behalf of the participating agencies UNHCR, UNICEF, WFP, WHO, UNDP, the UN Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (UNHCHR), the UN Office for Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) and the International Organisation for Migration. The Appeal, which is giving special attention to the winter preparations, is to cover the needs of 420,000 affected people in the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia, Albania and the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia.
1.3 In June, WFP had already requested USD 1.9 million under the Flash Appeal, for food assistance particularly for the refugees who fled into northern Albania. Under the extended UN Appeal launched this month, WFP is requesting an additional 18.6 million (37,800 tons of wheat flour, oil, pulses and sugar) to cover food needs until December 1998, including contingencies for the first two months of 1999, for a total of 420,000 projected Kosovar beneficiaries, made up of 300,000 IDPs in Kosovo, 40,000 IDPs in Montenegro, 30,000 IDPs in Serbia, 30,000 refugees in Albania and a possible 20,000 refugees in FYR of Macedonia. Due to the volatility of the situation, refugee movements cannot be predicted with any certainty, and allowance has been made in the plans for potential assistance to Kosovar refugees in FYR of Macedonia, if this becomes necessary. All funds related to the Kosovo crisis are additional to those requested in the 1998 UN Consolidated Inter-agency Appeal for the Former Yugoslavia which was launched before the present expansion of the Kosovo crisis. A new WFP emergency operation is currently under preparation for relief activities related to the Kosovo crisis.
1.4 The 18 September UNHCR briefing notes on the Kosovo Crisis available on ReliefWeb at http://www.reliefweb.int provide more information on the relief operation.
D. CUBA
1. UPDATE - DROUGHT OPERATION
1.1 Donor support is urgently sought for a WFP emergency operation for drought victims in Cuba, approved by FAO and WFP on 28 August. Under the emergency operation (EMOP 6037), USD 20.5 million is required for 34,000 tons of relief food assistance to a revised total of 615,000 drought victims in the five eastern provinces of Holguin, Las Tunas, Granma, Santiago de Cuba and Guantanamo. Food aid is planned for a period of nine months (September 1998 - June 1999) until the next crop is available. The full operation will cost a total of USD 27 million with the Government of Cuba providing the remaining USD 6.5 million. As of 21 September, WFP had received confirmation of donations of USD 325,000 from Spain and USD 50,000 from Oxfam America towards the WFP EMOP, leaving a shortfall of over USD 20 million.
1.2 As previously reported, the production of food crops in Cuba has been seriously affected by the erratic weather patterns associated with the El Nino Southern Oscillation phenomenon (ENSO) during the planting and growing seasons of 1997 and 1998, characterized by a severe reduction in the water supply. Food crop losses in the five eastern provinces affected as of the end of August were estimated at USD 60 million for the 1997/1998 crop year. If drought conditions persist this could rise to USD 205 million.
1.3 The emergency operation includes programmes for 91,000 pregnant women, nursing mothers, infants and elderly people in the health sector and 524,000 children in the education sector.
1.4 In the context of the drought, the WFP Vulnerability Analysis and Mapping Unit (VAM) is reinforcing its capacities in Cuba. Additional funds have been allocated to assist the National Institute of Physical Planning to enhance its regional VAM offices.
E. GUINEA BISSAU
1. UPDATE - information as of 22 September
1.1 Further donor support is needed for the USD 22.5 million (37,000 tons of food) WFP emergency operation approved on 24 August to address the humanitarian needs of 350,000 internally displaced persons located mainly around Bafata, Guinea Bissau's second largest city, and one of the areas most affected by the conflict. Donations received so far total USD 7.2 million (32 percent of the emergency operation requirement) including USD 4.1 million from the US, USD 1.4 million from Sweden, USD 1.4 million from Germany and USD 0.3 million from Switzerland. As reported previously, the WFP emergency operation is the primary component of the USD 29 million UN Interim Appeal launched on 10 July to cope with the humanitarian crisis. So far, WFP has been able to respond to the crisis by borrowing from its food stocks in Bissau and more recently from Banjul, Gambia, as well as from the WFP operation in Liberia/Sierra Leone through Guinea Conakry food stocks.
1.2 Except for agreement on the establishment of a buffer zone along the border between Guinea Bissau and Senegal, no concrete accord was reached under the Second Round truce negotiation meeting between the Government and the military junta, which was held under the auspices of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) and the Community of Portuguese-Speaking countries (CPLP) and concluded on 16 September. This round of talks followed the cease-fire agreement reached on 26 August ending the conflict which broke out in Bissau on 7 June 1998. The media reports that divisions exist not only between warring parties but also between the mediators over an intervention force. New talks are planned at the end of September in Cape Verde.
1.3 Since the security situation still does not allow international UN staff to stay in Bissau beyond 24 hours, WFP is still faced with difficulties in trying to assist formerly displaced people returning to Bissau. As of 20 August, WFP has provided about 5,500 tons of food aid to approximately 325,000 people, mostly to IDPs who left Bissau, since fighting broke out in June (distributions began 5 July). IDP registration is impeded by the rainy season, by the fact that IDPs live with host families and by the general feeling of insecurity among IDPs. The raining season is also affecting food deliveries.
1.4 Continuous movement of population to and from Bissau is occurring because of the insecurity. Following the cessation of hostilities, Caritas has managed to register some 37,000 refugees returning to Bissau between 7 August and 2 September.
1.5 Problems in the supply of fuel continues to be a serious constraint to relief operations in Guinea Bissau, as the Senegalese transport corridor, opened partially and erratically for humanitarian assistance since 10 August, remains closed to fuel supplies, affecting all activities in Guinea Bissau. WFP weekly consumption of fuel is estimated at 2,000 litres. The main route supply remains the route from Guinea Conakry. WFP is investigating other route options, in particular from Banjul, Gambia.
F. SUDAN
1. Brief update on WFP response to floods in Sudan - information as of 22 September 1998
1.1 Kassala province: WFP food distribution to 9,230 people affected by the recent flooding of the Gash River in Kassala town is proceeding (154 tons of food aid received so far). Distribution to a further group of 20,800 IDPs near Kassala town is on-going, although roads to many sites where the IDPs are sheltering are in bad condition due to the flooding and current rains. The IDPs were displaced in August by conflict along the Sudan-Eritrea border.
1.2 Jonglei province: Floods continue to cause displacement and to hinder air transport in Bor county in Jonglei province. Flooding has forced communities to evacuate several areas, with people moving in some cases to Kongor Payam. New airstrips are being cleared in dry areas of Bor county. Airdrops to Mabior have started; in Padak, WFP is establishing a dropzone. WFP is currently distributing food to 20,000 targeted beneficiaries in Paluer and plans are under way to start deliveries for 10,000 beneficiaries in Padak. WFP is also assessing the situation in Nyal.
1.3 Bahr el-Ghazal province: Population displacement due to the floods has also been reported in Malualkon. WFP is currently organizing a preliminary assessment. Flood relief operations in Bahr el-Ghazal and Jonglei are taking place alongside the on-going emergency operation for drought and war-affected populations.
1.4 For information on further flood relief operations by ICRC, IFRC and NGOs, see ReliefWeb at http://www.reliefweb.int (Sudan floods under Natural Disasters section).
G. CENTRAL AND EAST AFRICA: DEMOCRATIC REPUBLIC OF CONGO, REPUBLIC OF CONGO (BRAZZAVILLE), BURUNDI AND TANZANIA
1. DEMOCRATIC REPUBLIC OF CONGO AND REPUBLIC OF CONGO (BRAZZAVILLE) - information as of 17 September
1.1 The WFP airlift operations which began on 10 September to Kinshasa to support operations for people affected by the conflict in DR Congo, ended on 17 September with a total of 198 tons of food commodities airlifted from Pointe-Noire to Kinshasa and Brazzaville. Port activities have now resumed with the first barge carrying 190 tons of WFP food commodities arriving in Kinshasa from Brazzaville on 17 September.
1.2 The National Highway One which links Kinshasa and Matadi, the supply port in the south-west, reopened on 15 September, after weeks of closure. Supply trucks are reported to be unloading food commodities in Kinshasa and buses with passengers are seen on the highway. A number of military road blocks have been set up along the route but traffic is moving without escorts.
2. BURUNDI
2.1 The continued fuel shortage in Burundi has forced WFP to postpone the planned distribution of the seeds protection rations in Bururi and Kayanza provinces. The situation is exacerbated by the shortage of private trucks due to the coffee harvest season. However, as of 15 September Government authorities agreed to permit WFP to locally purchase 15,000 litres of diesel. In addition, WFP is negotiating with the Government for further imports of fuel.
3. TANZANIA
3.1 As fighting intensifies in the eastern DR Congo both civilians and soldiers are now seeking refuge and assistance in Tanzania. UNHCR statistics indicate that 5,333 Congolese refugees have arrived in Kigoma so far, with the majority arriving from Kalemie and Kabimba in eastern DR Congo.
Note: all tonnage figures above refer to metric tons
(End WFP Emergency Report No. 37 of 1998 - September 18, 1998)
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