Report No. 46 of 1998 Date: 20 November 1998
This report includes: A) Central America: Hurricane Mitch B) Somalia C) Sudan D) East and Central Africa: Rwanda, Burundi, Tanzania, DR Congo and Congo Brazzaville E) Democratic People's Republic of Korea - Nutritional Survey.
>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. The address of WFP is Via Cesare Giulio Viola 68, Parco dei Medici, 00148 Rome, Italy.
PART I - HIGHLIGHTS (Details below in Part II)
A. CENTRAL AMERICA: RELIEF OPERATIONS FOR VICTIMS OF HURRICANE MITCH IN HONDURAS, NICARAGUA, EL SALVADOR AND GUATEMALA
1. WFP Regional Emergency Operation a) Highlights from a special briefing on Hurricane Mitch operations for WFP Executive Board members in Rome on 20 November are given below; the President of the WFP Executive Board and the Permanent Representative of Ethiopia reported on their mission to Guatemala and Nicaragua between 27 October and 7 November. b) A UN Consolidated Appeal prepared by OCHA is expected end November. c) WFP food stocks in the region will be depleted soon; 10,000 tons of maize are being diverted for use in the hurricane relief operations, but vegetable oil and beans are in short supply. d) Coordinated reporting on all donations to the hurricane operations is being given high priority.
B. SOMALIA
1. Update - information as of 19 November a) Food supply situation continues to deteriorate in southern Somalia. An estimated 300,000 people are facing food shortages in Bay, Bakool and parts of Gedo, Hiraan and Middle Shabelle. Due to the food situation, people are already moving towards the Kenyan border and the larger coastal towns, including Mogadishu. b) An additional 12,000 tons of food are required to cover planned WFP deliveries for southern and central Somalia from November 1998 to June 1999. Donor alert launched by UN agencies in Geneva. c) Factional fighting in southern Somalia continues to hinder humanitarian operations.
C. SUDAN
1. Update a) Agreements to increase access to people in need in southern Sudan and to improve security for relief personnel signed by Government of Sudan, SPLM and the UN following a meeting of the Technical Committee on Humanitarian Assistance at WFP headquarters in Rome from 16 to 18 November. b) October Monthly Overview of WFP Activities in Sudan available on the WFP Web page at http://www.wfp.org/ along with twice-weekly WFP Sudan bulletins.
D. EAST AND CENTRAL AFRICA: RWANDA, BURUNDI, TANZANIA, DR CONGO AND CONGO/BRAZZAVILLE
1. Update a) In Rwanda, distributions continue in response to growing humanitarian crisis in Ruhengeri and Gisenyi. WFP increases food distributions and support for nutritional programmes. General food distributions begun late October in Gikongoro completed. b) In Burundi, WFP assessment of situation in Bubanza continues; some areas still not accessible due to insecurity. c) First round of food distributions in Tanzania drought operation in Singida region provides over 5,200 tons of maize to 88 villages Drought operation distributions will also take place in Dodoma, Kondoa and Mpapwa regions. d) WFP limited airlift of food commodities begins from Pointe-Noire to Brazzaville.
E. DEMOCRATIC PEOPLE'S REPUBLIC OF KOREA
1. WFP/UNICEF/EU nutritional survey a) Summary of findings of the nutritional survey carried out during three weeks in September and October by WFP, UNICEF and the EU in collaboration with the DPR Korea Institute of Child Nutrition given below. b) Survey found acute malnutrition rate, or wasting of 16% and chronic malnutrition rate or stunting of about 62% of the children surveyed. c) High malnutrition rates attributed not just to lack of food but also to high incidence of diseases such as diarrhoea and bronchitis, caused by contaminated water and the impaired immune systems of the malnourished children. Nevertheless, WFP has reason to believe that without food aid the situation would have been catastrophic.
PART II - DETAILS
A. CENTRAL AMERICA: RELIEF OPERATIONS FOR VICTIMS OF HURRICANE MITCH IN HONDURAS, NICARAGUA, EL SALVADOR AND GUATEMALA
1. WFP REGIONAL EMERGENCY OPERATION
1.1 A special briefing on WFP's response to the effects of Hurricane Mitch in Central America was given to WFP Executive Board members in Rome on 20 November.
1.2 The Executive Director reported on the actions taken by WFP from the beginning of the emergency: immediate response by using stocks of food from the Regional EMOP for the El Nino emergency still operational; three Immediate Response operations each totalling USD 200,000 were approved for Nicaragua, Honduras and Guatemala; stocks in-country pertaining to development projects were made available for the victims; and a budget revision for the El Nino EMOP was approved, increasing the commitment by 10 percent.
1.3 The second phase of response to this emergency consisted in the approval of the regional WFP emergency operation (EMOP 6079) on 11 November for USD 58.4 million dollars for a period of six months and 116,239 tons of food commodities.
1.4 The third phase consists of a Protracted Relief and Recovery Operation, under preparation, for rehabilitation of the affected areas, which will be presented for approval to Executive Board meeting 1/99, in January 1999.
1.5 OCHA is putting together a UN Consolidated Appeal which is expected at the end of November. The WFP emergency operation is part of the Consolidated Appeal.
1.6 The President of the WFP Executive Board and the Permanent Representative of Ethiopia made a presentation on their mission to Guatemala and Nicaragua, which took place from 27 October to 7 November. The objectives of the mission, originally organized to visit to WFP development project sites, was modified because of the arrival of the hurricane, and the mission members reported on the implementation of the emergency operation. The mission drew attention to the chain of tragedies which have hit the hurricane-affected countries: first the drought caused by El Nino, then the floods caused by Hurricane Mitch, and now an anticipated future crisis of major crop losses. They were able to view the work of WFP in a time of crisis and witness the rapid response made possible by the presence of stocks of food in the affected countries for development projects. The mission also stressed the need for investment in disaster prevention and preparedness.
1.7 The Regional Director for Latin America gave an update of the situation via a telephone conference connection from Nicaragua. He reported that while food had reached nearly all of the affected population, there are isolated communities, many of them made up of indigenous groups, that have not received food on a continuous basis because of transport difficulties. He stressed that WFP food stocks in the affected countries will be depleted soon. A shipment of 10,000 tons of maize currently being diverted to the region will ease the stock situation for cereals, but vegetable oil and beans are in short supply. In addition to immediate food needs to be covered, the UN and others are concerned that seeds be distributed immediately for planting in November, to avoid urgent food needs in the period between May and November next year. Two FAO/WFP missions will start on Monday 23 January, to assess the crop and food supply situation in the four hurricane-affected countries.
1.8 While confirmation of food donations by donors to WFP is being awaited, needs are being met by swapping and loans of food commodities from other WFP projects. Food, medicines and other supplies for the hurricane victims were made available immediately in the affected countries by donors and by individuals and groups in many parts of the world, and distributed through the UN system, NGOs, and other organizations.
1.9 Efforts are being made by the Regional Bureau and the WFP Country Offices of the affected countries to provide coordinated reporting on all donations to the hurricane operations, bilateral and via NGOs as well as through the UN, in the form of consolidated reports. Donors are urged to provide information on up-dates and corrections. It is felt that the decentralization of WFP's Latin America Bureau, which is now run from Managua, has been a major factor in the capacity of WFP to respond rapidly and effectively, and to play a key role in the food aid coordination.
1.10 For updated operational details and news, please consult the WFP Web page at http://www.wfp.org (click on Food Crisis in Honduras and Nicaragua or on individual country pages under Field Operations) and ReliefWeb at http://www.reliefweb.int for OCHA Situation Reports, NGO reports, and news wire items.
B. SOMALIA
1. UPDATE - information as of 19 November
1.1 The food supply situation in Bay, Bakool and parts of Gedo, Hiraan and Middle Shabelle continues to deteriorate. An estimated 300,000 people are facing food shortages in central Somalia.
1.2 Populations movements are already taking place towards the Kenyan border and the larger coastal towns, including Mogadishu as a result of the food shortages in their home areas. Results of nutritional screenings carried out in mid November in Luuq, Burdhubo and Bullo Hawa (Gedo and Bay regions) show an alarming number of cases of malnutrition.
1.3 The Food Security Assessment Unit (FSAU) estimates the food needs for southern and central Somalia at some 44,350 tons for the period November 1998 to June 1999. WFP foresees required food deliveries totalling 21,800 tons over the same period, of which an additional 12,000 tons is still required. A donor alert has been launched by the UN agencies in Geneva.
1.4 WFP will distribute 3,000 tons of food aid to almost 100,000 people in Bay and Bakool alone during November and December 1998. Beneficiaries will include internally displaced persons, agro-pastoralists and farmers depending on rain-fed crops.
1.5 The logistics of the operation are complex and costly. A first shipment of 850 tons of maize and pulses has arrived in the port of El'maan in southern Somalia which will be transported to distribution sites. WFP food aid monitors are in place to identify beneficiaries, prepare distribution modalities, receive the convoys and monitor food distributions.
1.6 Heavy factional fighting in southern Somalia continues to hinder humanitarian response.
C. SUDAN
1. UPDATE
1.1 The Government of Sudan, the rebel Sudan People's Liberation Movement (SPLM) and the UN have signed two agreements aimed at increasing access to people in need of humanitarian assistance and improving the security of relief personnel in the country. The agreements were signed following three days of talks at the Technical Committee on Humanitarian Assistance (TCHA) meeting, which took place at WFP headquarters in Rome from 16-18 November, chaired by the UN Special Envoy for Humanitarian Affairs for Sudan. The TCHA talks were convened at the request of the Inter-governmental Authority on Development (IGAD).
1.2 The agreements for the first time laid down rules for aid convoys crossing front lines, and set out a framework under which aid deliveries could be sent to southern areas by train for the first time since 1995. If OLS/WFP is able to deliver relief supplies by train from Babanusa to Wau and by road across lines of conflict, this will reducing dependency on expensive air delivery operations. One of the steps agreed upon to improve the security of relief workers is the assurance that the warring parties will provide the UN with advance notice of military movements in locations where there are OLS personnel. The two parties also agreed to allow aid workers to utilize a wide range of communications equipment on the understanding that it is not used to send information of a militarily sensitive nature. The two sides also agreed not to lay landmines in designated humanitarian access corridors and to press for the release of any aid workers taken hostage.
1.3 The Monthly Overview of WFP Activities in Sudan for October is on the WFP Web page at http://www.wfp.org - click on Field Operations and then on Sudan. Also available at this location are the twice-weekly Sudan bulletins with details of WFP operation in southern Sudan.
D. EAST AND CENTRAL AFRICA: RWANDA, BURUNDI, TANZANIA, DR CONGO AND CONGO/BRAZZAVILLE
1. RWANDA
1.1 The distribution of food and non-food items proceeds in Ruhengeri and Gisenyi, in response to the growing humanitarian crisis in these two prefectures. WFP is increasing general food distributions and support to nutritional programmes.
1.2 During the first two weeks of November there were no significant increases in the number of displaced in Ruhengeri and Gisenyi, which currently stands at 556,743 persons: 336,963 in Ruhengeri and 219,780 in Gisenyi. During this period, displaced persons in these prefectures received a total of 1,394 tons of WFP food commodities.
1.3 In-country food stocks in Rwanda are low, at less than one month's requirements, but the situation is improving with the recent arrival of food commodities at the ports of Mombassa and Dar-es-Salaam. Some 33,000 tons of food are expected to arrive in the coming months for Rwanda.
1.4 General food distributions in Gikongoro which began on 21 October have now been completed. A total of 1,242 tons of WFP commodities were distributed to 20,701 vulnerable families in all 13 communes of the prefecture.
2. BURUNDI
2.1 Food Economy Analysis teams continue their cycle of assessments in Bubanza province. Some 22 sites housing an estimated 72,000 residents have been selected as priority for assessment, based on perceived urgent needs. Half of these sites are, however, still not accessible due to insecurity. Assessments carried out at the Giko site indicate that close to 5,000 persons require half-monthly rations until the January harvest.
3. TANZANIA
3.1 The first round of food distributions to drought-affected persons in Singida Region has been completed with over 5,200 tons of maize provided to 88 villages. The second phase of distributions comprising 3,456 tons of WFP food will start in January. The Save the Children Federation (SCF) is carrying out a monitoring exercise at the household level, to assess the impact of these food distributions on the vulnerability levels of the beneficiaries. Drought-affected persons in Dodoma, Kondoa and Mpapwa will also benefit from this WFP operation. Food distributions are already under way in Dodoma, while in the other areas food stocks are currently in the process of being pre-positioned.
4. DEMOCRATIC REPUBLIC OF CONGO AND REPUBLIC OF CONGO (BRAZZAVILLE)
4.1 The planned WFP limited airlift of food commodities from Pointe-Noire to Brazzaville has begun. On 16 November, the first WFP-chartered aircraft landed in Brazzaville loaded with 15 tons of food. This air operation is being implemented to avoid a disruption in food distributions to the most affected people in both Brazzaville and Kinshasa. WFP will airlift 200 tons of maize meal and pulses to help feed 150,000 beneficiaries, while waiting for the resumption of railroad traffic.
4.2 Security constraints continue to prevent regular rail traffic from the port city of Pointe-Noire where WFP has a stock of some 3,700 tons of food. Traffic has been suspended for over a month, seriously curtailing food deliveries into Brazzaville. Prices of basic food stuffs have sharply risen during this period.
E. DEMOCRATIC PEOPLE'S REPUBLIC OF KOREA
1. WFP/UNICEF/EU NUTRITIONAL SURVEY
1.1 For three weeks in September/October 1998, WFP, UNICEF and the EU conducted a nutritional survey in DPR Korea in collaboration with the DPR Korea Institute of Child Nutrition. The survey covered 70% of the population, in 8 (out of 9) provinces and all three major cities.
1.2 This was the first ever random sample nutritional survey undertaken in DPR Korea. Eighteen teams, each led by an international staff member from one of the three agencies, measured the height and weight of approximately 1,800 children aged 6 months to 7 years and recorded their date of birth. The methodology of this survey was widely discussed with other professionals and technical experts in this field; likewise the analysis. This survey provides a baseline, for the first time, to which further surveys can be compared. A survey measuring some 4,000 children had been conducted in 1997 but as it was not a random sample survey the results are not comparable.
1.3 The survey found an acute malnutrition rate, or wasting (measured by the ratio of weight for height), of 16%. This rate is the highest in East Asia, and the effects will lead to an increase in child morbidity and mortality rates. Acute malnutrition varied by age with the highest - 30% - affecting children between 12 and 24 months. This is the age when children are weaned from breast milk and are thus most susceptible to malnutrition, which can permanently impair physical and intellectual growth. Another important finding is that acute malnutrition rates were found in 18% of children below one year of age, usually an indication that pregnant and lactating women had inadequate food intake.
1.4 Chronic malnutrition or stunting (low height for age) affected about 62% of the children surveyed. This is indicative of the longer term effects of the lack of food. In the case of DPR Korea, this means that these children have been suffering from inadequate food intake for several years.
1.5 The high malnutrition rates must also be attributed to the high incidence of diseases such as diarrhoea and bronchitis, caused by contaminated water and the impaired immune systems of the malnourished children. Nevertheless, WFP has reason to believe that without food aid the situation would have been catastrophic.
1.6 FAO and WFP have been conducting Crop and Food Supply Assessment missions over the last four years, with the last one (9th) just recently completed. (The report released on 12 November 1998 is available on the internet on the WFP web page at http://www.wfp.org/ - click on field operations and DPR Korea.) These surveys provide a global view of the supply of cereals, both from local production and imports, and of the extent of consumption. The final shortfall figure has been used as a basis to help determine food aid needs. The nutritional survey zooms in on the children who provide a mirror into the state of their families and even of society. It will help WFP to better understand the food security of households and the extent of their coping mechanisms, and thus allows WFP to better target food aid programmes.
1.7 The joint WFP/UNICEF/EU nutritional assessment mission outlining the methodology used for data collection and listing the results will be available in the near future.
Note: all tonnage figures above refer to metric tons
(End WFP Emergency Report No. 46 of 1998 - November 20, 1998)
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