Report No. 32 of 1999 Date: 13 August 1999
This report includes: A) Angola B) Liberia C) East Africa - Tanzania and Burundi D) Democratic People's Republic of Korea E) Afghanistan.
>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 and Deborah Hicks.
PART I - HIGHLIGHTS (Details below in Part II)
A. ANGOLA
1. Update - information as of 13 August a) Malange: Nutritional situation in Malange town very critical. Security on road from Luanda to Malange improves slightly; more WFP food convoys arrive. Four hundred tons of food distributed in the first week after resumption of WFP activities. Approx. 2,600 tons of food required monthly to cover basic needs. International WFP staff member is in Malange to coordinate WFP food intervention. b) Huambo: Supplementary feeding centre opens in the Sao Luis neighbourhood, operated with partner SCF-UK, to assist 500 children. More shelling; WFP flights continue when airport open. Market prices of food increase. c) Kuito: Distributions to 72,000 new IDPs begin. Vulnerable group feeding programmes will continue. d) Benguela: WFP road deliveries to Cubal threatened due to deteriorating security situation in Benguela province. Access to Ganda limited by destruction of major bridge in Calondende. Reports of 30,000 new IDPs in Cubal. US delegation visits Bengela to discuss issue of access for humanitarian activities in the province. e) Lunda Sul: Heavy shelling in Cacolo destroys bridge linking Cacolo and Saurimo. f) Huila: Influx of 6,000 IDPs in Jamba due to armed attack in Kuvango municipality. Food needs being assessed by WFP. g) Moxico: Further displaced persons arrive in Luena. SCF-USA begins food distribution to the IDPs.
B. LIBERIA
1. Update - information as of 14 August a) Concern for six WFP national staff, missing since outbreak of fighting between rebels and Government forces in Kolahun, Lofa county, on 10 August. All eight national WFP staff in Vahun evacuated by WFP to Monrovia on 13 August along with other UN staff and staff of humanitarian organizations in the area. b) UN activities in Upper Lofa suspended; Government has declared a state of emergency in the area. c) Six foreign aid workers seized by the rebels in Kolahun on 10 August, along with 73 Liberians, released at Guinea border late on 13 August.
C. EAST AFRICA - TANZANIA AND BURUNDI
1. Tanzania - information as of 11 August a) Food pipeline under regional operation improves; full rations for refugees will resume. Influx of Congolese and Burundian refugees decreases. Facilitated voluntary repatriation from Ngara suspended due to security situation in Burundi. b) Budget revision for WFP drought relief operation, for 1.14 million beneficiaries at total cost of USD 8.3 million, extends operation until the end of December. c) Currently only 2,620 tons of food available for drought operation distributions; additional 2,790 tons of food commodities urgently required in areas where there is continuing food emergency.
2. Burundi a) Heavy fighting in the suburbs of Bujumbura on 10 August; 75 people reported killed in clashes in early August. Some major roads blocked at times, but WFP able to continue operations in keeping with recommendations of the UN Security Cell. b) WFP resumes food despatches to food-for-work projects, which had been suspended due to food pipeline shortages.
D. DEMOCRATIC PEOPLE'S REPUBLIC OF KOREA
1. Update - information as of 12 August a) WFP Executive Director makes third visit to DPR Korea 5 to 9 August, and stresses the importance of continued international food assistance to the country, appealing to donors for further contributions. b) USD 115 million raised towards total of USD 250 million needed for latest WFP emergency operation for DPR Korea, a 12-month programme which began in July. c) There are currently 46 international WFP staff in Pyongyang office and five sub-offices to monitor the distribution of food aid in the country.
E. AFGHANISTAN
1. Update - information as of 12 August a) Fighting north of Kabul increases in intensity as the Taliban launch a counter-offensive in the Shomali Plains. b) Some among estimated 100,000 people displaced by the initial Taliban offensive have begun to return to homes in the Shomali Plains following last week's counter-offensive by the Northern Alliance, but because of renewed fighting, some are expected to head to north-eastern province of Badakshan. Up to 10,000 IDPs reported to have arrived in northern cities of Kunduz and Pul-e-Khumri and are in need of assistance. Situation is being carefully monitored by UN agencies and NGOs. c) WFP is moving food commodities currently stored in Osh, Kyrgyzstan and Ishkashim, Afghanistan towards Badakshan. d) Approximately 3,300 IDPs from the Shomali Plains, mainly women and children, arrive at the ex-Soviet Embassy compound in Kabul; WFP starts food distributions. More IDPs expected to arrive in Kabul due to the increased fighting north of the city.
PART II - DETAILS
A. ANGOLA
1. UPDATE - information as of 13 August 1999
1.1 Malange
a) Following the resumption of WFP humanitarian activities in the city, 800 tons of food arrived in Malange on 30 July out of which 400 tons were distributed within the first week. The nutritional situation in Malange is still very critical; deaths from malnutrition are recorded daily. WFP estimates that approximately 2,600 tons of food is required monthly to cover basic needs. WFP has reinforced its capacity to address the malnutrition problem in Malange by deploying an international staff member to coordinate WFP food intervention.
b) Occasional shelling is still reported in Malange and its environs. Security on the road from Luanda to Malange has improved slightly. WFP food convoys arrived safely at the city last week, and this has encouraged commercial drivers to ply the route thus improving commercial activities in the city.
c) In the on-going internally displaced persons (IDPs) registration exercise, about 250,000 new IDPs have so far been registered.
1.2 Huambo
a) This week in Huambo a supplementary feeding centre was opened in the Sao Luis neighbourhood. The centre, which is operated with partner SCF-UK, has the capacity to assist 500 children.
b) Shelling continued in some parts of the city, resulting in an unknown number of civilian deaths. The airport was closed temporarily, but WFP flights continued when possible. Partly due to the shelling, and partly because of the payment of public sector salaries, prices of food in Huambo markets jumped during the week, making it harder for most residents and IDPs in the city to purchase food.
1.3 Kuito
a) General distributions to 72,000 new IDPs in Kuito were begun by WFP this week in an effort to stave off starvation. Vulnerable group feeding programmes will also be maintained. Efforts regarding the reinstallation of IDPs on agricultural land are on-going; CARE international is distributing seeds to IDPs for this purpose.
1.4 Benguela
a) The security situation in Benguela province is fast deteriorating, with several ambushes reported on the major road to Cubal. Two trucks were totally burnt and eleven people seriously wounded in two attacks reported this week. A major bridge in Calondende on the way to Cubal Ganda was blown up; as a result, access to Ganda is now limited. WFP road deliveries to Cubal are threatened due to the deteriorating security situation in the area.
b) During the week, information received from the Municipal administration of Cubal indicates that a total number of 30,000 new IDPs arrived in the municipality from Capupa, Yambala, Tumbulo and Ebanga (Ganda Municipality). Some 1,100 newly displaced persons were also reported in Caimbambo.
c) An American delegation consisting of USAID, OFDA and the US Embassy in Luanda visited Bengela, principally to discuss the issue of access for humanitarian activities in the province. The issue of providing agricultural land for reinstallation of IDPs in the province was also discussed.
1.5 Lunda Sul
a) Heavy shelling was reported in Cacolo, and as a result a major bridge linking Cacolo and Saurimo was said to have been destroyed. A number of people are reported trapped in this area with no escape route.
1.6 Huila
a) There was an influx of about 6,000 IDPs in Jamba community, following an armed attack in Kuvango municipality. WFP is now assessing the food situation of this newly displaced population.
b) Identification of agricultural land for the reinstallation of IDPs has continued. The Norwegian Refugee Council this week identified 425 ha of land in Muolo and Chinhama for reinstalling 845 families.
1.7 Moxico
a) The influx of newly displaced persons into the city of Luena continues. During the past week, a commission consisting of MINARS/SCF-USA/WFP registered 54 new IDPs. SCF-USA has commenced food distribution to the IDPs, and over the past week 63 tons of food were distributed to 1,241 families in the Sinai Velho camp.
b) The security situation remained relatively calm within Luena, however in the municipalities of Moxico, Leua, Lumeje-Cameia, ten mine incidents were reported; five out of the twelve victims died, while seven required amputations.
B. LIBERIA
1. UPDATE - information as of 14 August
1.1 WFP remains concerned about six of its national staff, missing since the outbreak of fighting between rebels and Government forces in Kolahun, Lofa county, on 10 August. The six were last reported to be in Bolahun, 12 km from Kolahun.
1.2 All UN activities in Upper Lofa have been suspended as a result of the declaration by the Government of a state of emergency in the area.
1.3 WFP assisted in the evacuation of UN staff and staff of other humanitarian organizations from this insecurity-prone area on 13 August. All eight national WFP staff in Vahun, near Kolahun, were evacuated to Monrovia.
1.4 Six foreign aid workers who had been seized by the rebels who attacked Kolahun on 10 August were released by their captors at the border with Guinea, and walked across the border, on the evening of 13 August. The aid workers included four British nationals, three of whom work with the non-governmental organization (NGO) Merlin and one with the US-based International Rescue Committee, and an Italian and a Norwegian, both of whom work with Medecins Sans Frontieres. Seventy-three Liberians who were also captured by the rebels, and who were freed at the same time as the aid workers, are currently being assisted to return to Monrovia.
C. EAST AFRICA - TANZANIA AND BURUNDI
1. TANZANIA - information as of 11 August
1.1 Refugee operations
a) WFP food availability under the Great Lakes regional operation has gradually improved and for the next distribution cycle full rations will be distributed to the 406,490 refugees in camps in Tanzania. In recent months the refugees were only receiving half rations and some tension was being felt in the camps.
b) A total of 2,295 refugees crossed into Tanzania between 26 July and 8 August, but the influx of both Congolese and Burundian refugees has been decreasing, with 614 Congolese and 1,405 Burundians received in Kigoma district. Ngara district received 232 Burundians and 44 Rwandese refugees. UNHCR has suspended the facilitated voluntary repatriation of Burundian refugees from Ngara following reports of an unstable security situation in Burundi.
1.2 Drought operations - budget revision
a) A recent budget revision of the ongoing WFP emergency operation (EMOP 6112) in drought-affected areas of Tanzania puts the total number of beneficiaries at 1.14 million and the total cost of the operation at USD 8.3 million. The operation, which started in March, and originally planned to end on 31 May, will continue until the end of December.
b) Assessments carried out by WFP, the Government and donors in July and August have concluded that an emergency situation continues to exist in the regions of Dodoma, Mara, Shinyanga, Singida, Tabora, Tanga and southern Mwanza, all of which have now suffered three consecutive bad harvests. In Shinyanga and parts of southern Mwanza there has been both a very poor crop performance and a collapse of cotton production, which is the main cash crop.
c) By the end of the first phase of operations in July, a total of approximately 925,000 people had received food. Of the 16,760 tons of maize which have been resourced under this EMOP so far, 14,140 tons have been distributed. The available 2,620 tons not yet distributed will barely be sufficient to meet requirements from September to December in Shinyanga and southern Mwanza alone.
d) WFP urgently needs an additional 2,790 tons of food commodities for distribution in areas where there is a continuing food emergency.
2. BURUNDI
2.1 On 10 August, heavy fighting in the suburbs of Bujumbura could be heard throughout the city and the local press reported that 75 people were killed in clashes during the first days of August. Although some of the major roads in Burundi were blocked at times, WFP was able to continue all planned operations in keeping with the recommendations of the UN Security Cell.
2.2 WFP has resumed food despatches to food-for-work projects, which had been suspended due to food pipeline shortages. A total of 587 metric tons of food was despatched for 69 projects benefiting a total of 17,433 participants (14,461 women and 3,972 men) in Bujumbura town and seven provinces. Each participant receives a food ration for a family of five, hence the total number of beneficiaries under food-for-work programmes is 87,165 persons.
D. DEMOCRATIC PEOPLE'S REPUBLIC OF KOREA
1. UPDATE - information as of 12 August
1.1 The WFP Executive Director made her third visit to DPR Korea from 5 to 9 August, to review the progress of the WFP relief food operations in the country. The Executive Director stressed the importance of continued international food assistance to DPR Korea and appealed to donors to make further contributions. Since WFP started its programme in late 1995, it has brought over 1.5 million tons of food aid into the country.
1.2 Following her visit, the Executive Director stated that there are many more healthy children in DPR Korea now than there were two years ago, although there are still rates of malnutrition and undernutrition that are unacceptable. She emphasized that that the nutritional status is improving because WFP is providing assistance in 162 of the 211 counties for children in orphanages, in nurseries and kindergartens and in schools.
1.3 WFP is currently expanding its work by developing a local capacity for the manufacture of blended foods to supply weaning food for infants. In addition, WFP has rebuilt a factory to be able to manufacture high-protein biscuits, to be distributed to young children in nurseries and kindergartens as well as to children in schools. WFP will also be expanding its capacity for making fortified noodles, particularly to be directed toward pregnant women and breast-feeding women.
1.4 There are currently 46 international WFP staff members in DPR Korea, in the Pyongyang office and five sub-offices throughout the country, to monitor the distribution of WFP food aid.
1.5 WFP is seeking USD 250 million for its latest emergency operation for DPR Korea, a twelve-month aid programme which began in July, of which it has already raised USD 115 million.
E. AFGHANISTAN
1. UPDATE - information as of 12 August
1.1 According to latest reports, fighting north of Kabul is increasing in intensity as the Taliban launched a counter-offensive in the Shomali Plains, an area comprising parts of northern Kabul, and the provinces of Parwan and Kapisa.
1.2 The current situation with regards to the estimated 100,000 IDPs on the move last week remains somewhat unclear. Those people originally displaced by the initial Taliban offensive may have begun to return to their homes in the Shomali Plains, following last week's counter-offensive by the Northern Alliance. However, in light of this week's renewed fighting in the area, people may return in the direction of the Panjsher Valley and begin the arduous ascent through mountainous terrain towards the north-eastern province of Badakshan, which is expected to be their final destination. As many as 10,000 IDPs are reported to have arrived in the northern Afghan cities of Kunduz and Pul-e-Khumri and to be in need of assistance. The IDP situation is being carefully monitored by the UN agencies and NGOs.
1.3 WFP is preparing its response to a potential emergency by moving its food commodities currently stored in Osh, Kyrgyzstan and Ishkashim, Afghanistan towards Badakshan.
1.4 Among those who were forced to leave their homes in the Shomali Plains and who headed towards Kabul and the eastern city of Jalalabad, most now appear to be located in Kabul, including part of a group which initially was in a camp outside of Jalalabad. Approximately 3,300 people displaced from the Shomali Plains, mainly women and children, have taken up residence in the ex-Soviet Embassy compound in Kabul.
1.5 Families arrived at the ex-Soviet compound with few assets and in poor health. WFP began a daily distribution of 150 g of CSB, 20 g edible oil and 20 g sugar per person to the women and children in the compound on 8 August. The operation was originally slated to cover a five-day period but has been extended for up to 15 more days. Local authorities in Kabul have begun the distribution of nan, Afghan bread, to families housed in the compound. Health conditions in the compound are deteriorating due to the lack of latrines and clean water.
1.6 Some families have located their relatives in Kabul and are now housed by them in the city. More IDPs are expected to arrive in Kabul in the coming days due to the increased fighting north of the city. It is expected that at least some of these people may need to be housed in the ex-Soviet compound and will require assistance.
Note: all tonnage figures in report above refer to metric tons
(End WFP Emergency Report No. 32 of 1999 - August 13, 1999)
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