Report No. 31 of 1999 Date: 6 August 1999
This report includes: A) Democratic People's Republic of Korea - floods B) Afghanistan C) Sierra Leone D) Somalia E) Ethiopia F) D.R. Congo - Angolan refugees G) Zambia - D.R. Congo refugees.
>From Manuel Aranda da Silva, Chief, Technical Support Service. Available on the WFP Home Page at http://www.wfp.org/ or by electronic mail from Deborah.Hicks@wfp.org or Natasha.Nadazdin@wfp.org (fax 39 06 6513 2854). 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.
This issue of the Emergency Report was prepared by Natasha Nadazdin.
PART I - HIGHLIGHTS (Details below in Part II)
A. DEMOCRATIC PEOPLE'S REPUBLIC OF KOREA
1. Update - information as of 5 August a) Between 30 July and 3 August, crops and infrastructure in DPR Korea suffer severe damage from floods and heavy rains caused by Typhoon Olga; IFRC reports 42 killed (information as of 6 August). b) WFP, UNICEF and UNDP inter-agency mission visits flood-affected Kaesong on 3 August together with the Government's Flood Damage Rehabilitation Committee. Some 1,600 hectares of maize reported submerged and wider paddy areas seriously affected after floods; full impact still not known. IFRC also visits flood areas. c) Government formally requests WFP assistance in form of food for work for rehabilitation projects. d) WFP urgently needs pulses, oil, sugar and high energy biscuits to complement pledges of cereals.
B. AFGHANISTAN
1. Update - information as of 5 August a) Tens of thousands of people displaced by recent fighting; UN finalizes contingency plan to cover basic needs of 100,000 affected people in the Panshir valley. b) Some 10,000 IDPs arrive in Jalalabad, and thousands arrive in Kabul. c) WFP to move stocks closer to Faizabad to assist the new IDPs; WFP needs at least 1,500 tons of wheat for emergency rations. d) UN flights to Kabul resume 3 August.
C. SIERRA LEONE
1. Update - information as of 5 August
a) UN operations in Sierra Leone suspended following abduction of a group of 36 persons negotiating release of prisoners of war (group abducted on 4 August includes UNOMSIL civilian and military personnel, twelve ECOMO soldiers, relief workers and four Sierra Leonean journalists) near Masiaka, east of Freetown; abductors presumed to belong to the former Junta AFRC. b) WFP staff movement limited to Freetown only, until security situation is reassessed.
D. SOMALIA
1. Update - information as of 5 August a) Bay, Bakool and Gedo regions face serious food shortages in case of Gu harvest failure; crops are threatened by unusually dry spell in rainfed areas. Alarming water shortages already reported in several areas. b) Food supply situation further affected by increased fighting causing flight of people to Kenya, disrupting trade routes and restricting access to agricultural land. c) Expected harvest of up to 168,300 tons is only 50 percent of pre-war levels of production. d) In July, the Somalia Aid Coordination Body launched a donor alert for USD 17.5 million; WFP requests 8,000 tons of food aid in addition to yearly 21,000 tons needed for current phase of the WFP protracted relief and recovery operation (PRRO 6073). Further donor pledges also sought for the three-year PRRO which started in July.
E. ETHIOPIA
1. Update - information as of 3 August a) WFP operations for populations affected by border conflict between Ethiopia and Eritrea (EMOP 6080) in critical need of additional contributions of cereals. No cereal contributions received since initial pledge of 10,000 tons. b) Distributions continue under WFP operations for populations affected by reduced crops (EMOP 6143); beneficiary numbers increase to 1.5 million. c) Joint field visit by WFP, UNDP/EUE and USAID to Eastern Hararghe finds that further food aid required; similar findings reported in Amhara region.
F. DEMOCRATIC REPUBLIC OF CONGO
1. Angola refugees in D.R. Congo update - information as of 5 August a) Number of Angolan refugees in Katanga province currently 42,990, located at three sites (Kisenge, Divuma and Tshimbulumbulu); 1,620 tons of WFP food aid distributed between April and July. WFP food dispatched from Lubumbashi warehouse by train to Kisenge, then transported by World Vision trucks to the camps. Scarcity of wagons due to high demand causes frequent delays. b) In Bas-Congo province, Kilueka camp holds some 9,000 Angolan refugees. Food supplied by WFP between January and July from Kinshasa stocks; in July, WFP delivery point established in Kimpese to avoid delay in dispatches. c) In Bandundu province, some 4,000 refugees in Kahemba municipality are all with host families, and are currently being registered by UNHCR. Difficult access due to poor roads; UNHCR transports food from Kinshasa to Kahemba by road.
G. ZAMBIA
1. D.R. Congo refugees in Zambia update - information as of 3 August a) A D.R. Congo rebel faction, the MLC, signs ceasefire document on 1 August in Lusaka, but fresh fighting reported in previous days around Pweto. b) D.R. Congo refugee population in Mwange camp now 14,100, including 1,600 new arrivals from Kaputa and Chienge transit centres. Round up by Zambian authorities of refugees settled with local population in areas close to the border continues. c) WFP deliveries in Zambia to refugees from D.R. Congo total 2,000 tons since beginning of operation; food borrowed from WFP stocks for development projects.
PART II - DETAILS
A. DEMOCRATIC PEOPLE'S REPUBLIC OF KOREA
1. UPDATE - information as of 5 August
1.1 Over the past few days DPR Korea has suffered severe damage to crops and infrastructure caused by Typhoon Olga. The south-western province of Kaesong, amongst others, was badly affected by flooding from heavy rainfall from 30 July to 3 August.
1.2 An inter-agency team comprising WFP, UNICEF and UNDP visited the flood-affected areas of Kaesong on 3 August together with the Flood Damage Rehabilitation Committee (FDRC). The IFRC also inspected flood-affected areas. Much damage to property was seen, and some 39,140 people were reported homeless. Reports say 6 people were killed and 94 injured. (IFRC on 6 August reports that the number killed has increased to 42.) The team saw an area where 40 houses had been destroyed in Kaepung County. In Panmun County, a village was visited where a landslide had destroyed 19 houses with two lives lost. Inundated fields, road wash outs and a section of washed out railway line were seen. Some 1,600 hectares of maize were reported to be submerged and larger areas of paddy also affected in this area which is normally part of the breadbasket of DPR Korea. The full impact of the floods is still not known.
1.3 The FDRC has formally requested assistance from WFP in the form of food-for-work projects in the affected areas. Most rehabilitation work will have to take place after the harvest.
1.4 If expected WFP food aid shipments arrive on schedule, the cereal pipeline for on-going WFP operations is now secured with a recent donor pledge. However, in September only 55 percent of requirements for the ongoing WFP operations will be available. WFP still urgently needs commodities such as pulses, oil, sugar and high energy biscuits to complement pledges of cereals.
B. AFGHANISTAN
1. UPDATE - information as of 5 August
1.1 The latest fighting in Afghanistan, which began with a new Taliban offensive on 4 August, has pushed tens of thousands of people out of the area north of Kabul and into the Panshir valley, according to UNHCR. UN agencies are in the process of finalizing a contingency plan to provide food, medicine and other non-food items to 100,000 affected people in the Panshir valley.
1.2 A significant group of internally displaced persons (IDPs) is expected to reach Badakshan, in Faizabad region, progressively in the coming days/weeks. IDPs may also move to Kabul and to Chitral in Pakistan. WFP and other UN agencies present in Faizabad, Kabul and Chitral are closely monitoring the situation.
1.3 Approximately 10,000 IDPs have arrived in Jalalabad and are located in the camp of New Hada. These people are reportedly arriving with little or no belongings, and are not provided with any assistance by the authorities. It is estimated that as many IDPs have arrived in Kabul.
1.4 WFP currently has 120 tons of wheat in Faizabad, 2,000 tons of wheat in Ishkashim and 3,000 tons in Osh, Kyrgyzstan. These stocks will be moved closer to Faizabad in the coming days. For the estimated 100,000 new IDPs, at least 1,500 tons of wheat will be required for a one-month period at the full emergency ration of 500 grams of wheat per day. Stocks are currently available in Kabul and Jalalabad. In addition to wheat, there are 18 tons of high-energy biscuits in Quetta and over 800 tons of CSB available in Kabul.
1.5 WFP is part of a newly-formed emergency task force consisting of representatives from UNOCHA and the other UN agencies as well as representatives of the non-governmental organizations (NGOs) and donors, which will meet on a daily basis.
1.6 The UN flight, which was interrupted by the shelling of Kabul airport on 27 July resumed regular operations to Kabul on 3 August.
C. SIERRA LEONE
1. UPDATE - information as of 5 August
1.1 UN operations in Sierra Leone have been temporarily suspended following the abduction of a group of 36 persons, including UNOMSIL civilian and military personnel, twelve ECOMOG soldiers, relief workers and four Sierra Leonean journalists. The group was abducted near the rural town of Masiaka, 51 km east of Freetown by rebels presumed to belong to the former Junta, the Armed Force Revolutionary Council (AFRC).
1.2 Before it was taken hostage itself, the mission team was to negotiate the release of some 150 prisoners of war. The AFRC combatants took the cars and two trucks, as well as personal belongings of the mission members. Later in the day, five of the mission members were released.
1.3 No WFP staff are among the hostages. But until the security situation is reassessed, WFP staff movement is limited to Freetown only.
D. SOMALIA
1. UPDATE - information as of 5 August
1.1 Over one million people, mostly in the Bay, Bakool and Gedo regions of southern Somalia will face serious food shortages if this year's Gu harvest fails. These crops, which follow the Gu season rains of April-June, normally account for 75-80 percent of the country's annual cereal production, but are threatened this year in the key agricultural production areas of Somalia by an unusually dry spell in rainfed areas. River levels are low and water catchments are empty. Several areas already report alarming water shortages.
1.2 A number of factors have contributed to the food shortages. Increased factional fighting in southern Somalia has forced hundreds of people to flee to refugee camps in Dadaab, Kenya. Many others remain displaced near the Kenyan border. The conflict in southern Somalia has also disrupted major trade routes and the restricted access to agricultural land. Prices of food have increased.
1.3 The most optimistic estimate for food production in the first main harvest is 168,300 tons, only 50 percent of pre-war levels. In the repeatedly hard hit areas of Bay and Bakool, yields are expected to be significantly low. The Food Security Assessment Unit (FSAU), FAO and WFP will conduct an aerial survey over southern Somalia from 7-9 August and will hold a workshop to with various field monitors to determine the extent of the 1999 Gu crop failure.
1.4 In response to the growing food crisis in southern Somalia, the Somalia Aid Coordination Body (SACB) launched in July a donor alert for USD 17.5 million. WFP now requests 8,000 tons of food aid (7,000 tons of cereals and 1,000 tons of pulses) in addition to the yearly 21,000 tons needed for the current phase of the WFP protracted relief and recovery operation (PRRO 6073). Available resources are expected to suffice until October. WFP recently received an Italian donation of 3,980 tons of food commodities for this operation which targets 1.3 million beneficiaries over a three-year period beginning in July 1999. WFP urges further donor pledges.
1.5 During the month of July, WFP distributed some 2,640 tons of food commodities to over 250,000 people in Somalia.
E. ETHIOPIA
1. UPDATE - information as of 3 August
1.1 WFP operations for populations affected by border conflict
a) The need for additional contributions of cereals for the WFP emergency operation (EMOP 6080) to assist populations displaced by the border conflict between Ethiopia and Eritrea has now reached a critical stage. This operation has not received any cereal pledges since an initial contribution of 10,000 tons in April which has been almost totally distributed. While cash pledges and non-cereal in-kind pledges have been received from donors recently, WFP still needs urgent contributions of cereals. Total food requirements of this EMOP are 45,350 tons.
1.2 WFP operations for populations affected by reduced crops
a) Food aid distributions under the WFP emergency operation (EMOP 6143) to assist people affected by failed 1999 belg rains and the lower than expected late 1998 meher harvests in some areas of the country are under way to about 1.5 million beneficiaries. The operation is to provide a total of 93,600 tons of cereals, 6,030 tons of supplementary food and 3,620 tons of pulses. The increase from the original figure of 1.2 million planned beneficiaries to the current 1.5 million beneficiaries is due to the reduced cereal production compared to earlier estimates. As a result, food aid is distributed to a larger population than originally foreseen.
b) A recent joint field visit by WFP, UNDP/EUE (Emergency Unit for Ethiopia), and USAID's Office of US Foreign Disaster Assistance and Food for Peace to Eastern Hararghe revealed that, in addition to ongoing distributions, further supplies of food aid are necessary to meet the current needs of beneficiaries. Similar findings were reported from Amhara region.
F. DEMOCRATIC REPUBLIC OF CONGO
1. ANGOLAN REFUGEES IN D.R. CONGO UPDATE - information as of 5 August
1.1 Katanga:
a) Currently the number of Angolan refugees in Katanga stands at some 42,990 refugees located in three sites: 14,320 in Kisenge, 14,990 in Divuma and 13,670 in Tshimbulumbulu.
b) Between April and July, total WFP food aid distributed to Angolan refugees reached some 1,620 tons for both general and special feeding programmes. From Lubumbashi warehouse WFP food is dispatched by train to Kisenge, and then transported by World Vision trucks to the three refugee camps.
c) SNCC, the national railway company, is the only transporter operating between Lubumbashi and Kisenge. Due to poor road conditions between Lubumbashi and Kisenge and the many military road blocks, railway is the preferred means of transport not only for WFP but also for local businesses and civilians. A great demand for railroad transport has created a scarcity of wagons which causes frequent delays in food dispatches and disruption of the planned distributions.
1.2 Bas-Congo: According to UNHCR, Kilueka camp in Bas-Congo is hosting some 9,000 Angolan refugees. Between January and July WFP supplied food aid for refugees in Bas-Congo from Kinshasa stocks. In July, WFP established a new delivery point for Bas-Congo in Kimpese to avoid delay in dispatches.
1.3 Bandundu: There are some 4,000 refugees in Kahemba municipality, all accommodated by host families. UNHCR is currently registering this caseload to establish the exact number. Access to the refugees remains problematic due to poor road conditions. UNHCR is currently transporting food from Kinshasa to Kahemba by road.
G. ZAMBIA
1. D.R. CONGO REFUGEES IN ZAMBIA UPDATE - information as of 3 August
1.1 Following the ceasefire agreement for D.R. Congo signed on 10 July, one of the rebel factions, the Movement for the Liberation of Congo (MLC), signed the ceasefire document on 1 August in Lusaka. Two days before the signing by MLC, there were reports on fresh fighting around Pweto.
1.2 The refugee population in Mwange camp for the week ending 25 July was 14,100, including 1,600 new arrivals from Kaputa and Chienge transit centres. The Zambian security forces continue to round up refugees settled with local population in areas close to the border. If the round up of refugees by security forces succeeds, some 5,000 more refugees can be expected to arrive in Mwange camp by mid-August. According to some reports from Kaputa, those refugees rounded up by the authorities last week have managed to escape, probably back to the villages close to the border, in order to be able to repatriate spontaneously if the ceasefire holds.
1.3 Total WFP deliveries in Zambia to refugees from D.R. Congo have amounted to 2,000 tons of food commodities, which are largely borrowed from the existing WFP stocks for development projects. The stock of beans has improved with the new arrival of 104 tons. In addition, local purchasing arrangements are under way for 100 tons from the wider area of Mwange, which is a major bean growing area. During the last distribution for the month of July a total of 128 tons of food rations were handed out to refugees to cover a period of 14 days.
Note: all tonnage figures in report above refer to metric tons
(End WFP Emergency Report No. 31 of 1999 - August 6, 1999)
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