Report No. 40 of 1999 Date: 8 October 1999
This report includes: A) Indonesia - East Timor B) Central America - Floods C) Burundi D) Sierra Leone E) Angola.
>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 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. INDONESIA - EAST TIMOR
1. Update - information as of 8 October a) West Timor: WFP agrees with Government to feed 142,000 displaced persons in Atambua; WVI, CRS and five national NGOs to participate in distributions. b) East Timor: WFP/ICRC start joint distribution to 70,000 returnees in Dili - each family receives 50 kg-bag of rice; WFP also provides rice for first 98 returnees from Kupang to Dili on a UNHCR flight; in addition, returnees receive ICRC pulses and oil and UNHCR non-food items. A WFP convoy with food aid goes to Liquica, north-western East Timor. WFP airlifts rice, pulses, vegetable oil to Baucau. In a month, ICRC plans to cease food distribution in East Timor pending WFP and NGO preparedness. c) WFP to be given access to a UNAMET helicopter to airlift rice to less accessible areas in interior. d) On 5 October, UN Secretary General submits a proposal to UN Security Council of framework for UN Transitional Administration for East Timor (UNTAET).
B. CENTRAL AMERICA - FLOODS
1. Update - information as of 8 October a) Central America to face crop losses of USD 40 million due to recent heavy rainfall hitting previously Mitch-affected areas; 70 killed and 100,000 displaced by floods. b) WFP starts distribution of emergency assistance to 39,000 affected by heavy rainfall in Honduras, Nicaragua, Guatemala and El Salvador; access to rural areas a concern due to damaged secondary road network. c) WFP using existing stocks of ongoing PRRO 6089 recovery post-Hurricane Mitch operation, also considering additional use of its immediate response funds.
C. BURUNDI
1. Update - information as of 6 October a) On 2 October, WFP distributes 15-day rations to 2,000 persons from Bujumbura Rural regrouped by the military to Gikungu (Mt. Sion); WFP distributions to some 35,050 persons at Mubimbi, Kanyosha and two other locations in Bujumbura town scheduled shortly. b) Total number of regrouped persons currently estimated at 267,000 in 30 sites in Bujumbura Rural province; lack of access due to insecurity impedes assessments to some of the sites.
D. SIERRA LEONE
1. Update - information as of 6 October a) Foday Sankoh of RUF and Johnny Paul Koroma, former AFRC leader, return to Sierra Leone. b) WFP and UNHCR concerned at regional food pipeline; WFP currently operating at 35 percent of planned figures in Sierra Leone; further borrowing by WFP from food aid NGOs threatened as collective food aid agencies' resources dwindle; regional food pipeline insufficient for newly accessible areas. c) WFP-led inter-agency assessment mission to Kailahun area (with UNICEF, HACU, UNHCR, UNOMSIL, WVI and SLRA) completed on 2 October; UNHCR estimates some 3,000 of total population of 15,000 may be Sierra Leonean refugees from Lofa; Daru area particularly food-insecure. d) WFP distributed 55 tons of assorted food to 3,050 vulnerable persons along the Masiaka-Magbora road. e) WFP to operate helicopter for transport of humanitarian personnel until end February 2000, as new funding of almost USD 1 million recently confirmed.
E. ANGOLA
1. Update - information as of 4 October a) WFP increased beneficiaries from 866,861 in September to 1,120,050 in October, and tonnage from 13,000 to 14,170 tons, to assist new IDPs. b) Huambo: jointly with ICRC, WFP assisting 2,000 IDP families through food-for-work activities to help them build houses on land provided by Government; global malnutrition rate high - 17 percent. c) Huila: In Caconda, Kilengues, Kuvango and Kuvelan, WFP suspends activities due to intensive fighting; some 17,000 IDPs arrive in Vissaka and Chipopia near Matala following fighting in Kuvango - WFP provides them with 30-days rations. d) Malange: security situation particularly difficult south-east of the city; some 8,000 families resettled in Kulamuxico; under ongoing WFP food-for-work activities, a health centre and drinkable water fountains to be constructed. e) Moxico: WFP and MSF-B assisted 700 vulnerable persons in Supplementary Nutritional Centre of Luena Hospital.
PART II - DETAILS
A. INDONESIA - EAST TIMOR
1. UPDATE - information as of 8 October
1.1 West Timor: WFP has reached an agreement with the Indonesian Minister of Social Welfare and Poverty Alleviation and the Governor of West Timor to feed 142,000 displaced persons in Atambua, the district with the highest concentration of displaced population in West Timor. The distribution will be coordinated with seven implementing partners including WVI, CRS and five national non-governmental organizations (NGOs). WFP will provide rice and DESPOS (the Indonesian Ministry of Social Welfare) will provide Rupiah 1,500 per person/day. On 8 October, some 20 tons of high energy biscuits for distribution to children arrived in Kupang.
1.2 East Timor:
a) On 5-6 October, WFP and the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) successfully started a joint distribution of relief food to about 70,000 persons (14,000 families) in Dili. Each family is receiving 50 kg of rice. Twenty NGOs are assisting in the registration and distribution process taking place in local churches.
b) WFP staff in Dili reported on 8 October the arrival of the first 98 returnees from Kupang to Dili on a UNHCR flight. WFP is providing one 50 kg-bag of rice to each returnee family as part of a package comprising ICRC pulses and oil as well as UNHCR jerry-cans, blankets and plastic sheeting. The stadium, presently the location of the food distribution, will be used as a transit camp.
c) The WFP staff who had visited Liquica, north-western East Timor, returned to Dili on 5 October. Local officials estimate that more than 30,000 persons are scattered in the surrounding hillsides. Another convoy left for the area on 8 October with additional humanitarian supplies.
d) Reports indicate that the majority of the displaced previously located in Dare have now returned to Dili.
e) WFP staff who have visited Los Palos, Eastern East Timor, report that an estimated 2,500 displaced persons are scattered throughout the region. On 6 October, UNAMET started moving the displaced to their villages of origin.
f) On 6 October, WFP delivered 25 tons of rice to Baucau. This rice will be used in the first food distribution in that area. In addition, some 50 tons of pulses and 40 tons of vegetable oil were airlifted to Baucau. This is a portion of the additional pulses (350 tons) and oil (260 tons) purchased as a result of the budget revision of the emergency operation (EMOP 6175).
g) On 4 October, ICRC began airlifts of rice (17 tons) and medicinal supplies from Dili to Baucau. And a further 17 tons were scheduled for 6 October. Pending WFP and implementing partners preparedness, ICRC is planning to cease food distribution in East Timor after one month.
1.3 General
a) INTERFET has agreed to advise WFP when and where helicopter lifts of food can be made into the interior in East Timor. WFP will have access to the one of the three Puma helicopters presently in Dili used by UNAMET for aerial reconnaissance. That will enable WFP to airlift rice to less accessible areas in the interior.
b) On 5 October, the UN Secretary General submitted a written report to the UN Security Council in which he proposed a framework for a UN Transitional Administration for East Timor (UNTAET) that would operate for two or three years prior to independence.
B. CENTRAL AMERICA - FLOODS
1. UPDATE - information as of 8 October
1.1 WFP estimates that Central America is facing crop losses of USD 40 million as a result of recent unusually heavy rainfall. The rainfall hit the same area which was ravaged by Hurricane Mitch in November 1998 and is still recovering from its consequences. Almost a month of steady rains killed 70 and displaced some 100,000 persons.
1.2 WFP started a distribution of emergency assistance to 39,000 people affected by heavy rainfall in Honduras, Nicaragua, Guatemala and El Salvador, but the number of beneficiaries is expected to raise if the rains continue. A particular concern is a seriously damaged secondary road network which will make distributions to beneficiaries in rural areas very difficult.
1.3 Food distributed to the victims of the recent rains comes from the ongoing WFP protracted relief and recovery operation (PRRO 6089) for populations affected by Hurricane Mitch.
1.4 One of the most affected areas in Nicaragua, Rivas, had not been included in the ongoing PRRO activities. WFP is currently assessing the total number of affected people in this zone, and considering the use of immediate response account (IRA) funds or expanding the PRRO activities to that area.
1.5 In El Salvador, the most affected areas are Lempa River region (Usulutan and San Vicente) and the Ahuachapan Department. WFP and CARE assessment team visited the affected areas on 2 October. Food aid distributions were made from the stocks of the ongoing WFP operation (PRRO 6089) for post-Hurricane Mitch recovery. On 5 October WFP delivered children's food to the most affected Lempa river area. WFP estimates that some 4,500 affected by floods in El Salvador may be in need of food aid for one month, for which a total of some 50 tons is required.
1.6 In Honduras, WFP has been coordinating with the National Emergency Commission (COPECO) and SETCO and, on municipal level, with the Municipal Emergency Committees in order to assess the food aid needs of the affected populations.
C. BURUNDI
1. UPDATE - information as of 6 October
1.1 On 2 October, the first WFP food aid distribution took place to persons from Bujumbura Rural communes recently regrouped from their homes to some 30 collective sites by the Burundian military. Some 2,000 persons at Gikungu (also known as Mt. Sion) received a 15-day WFP food ration. This site is located in Bujumbura town, hosting population from Bujumbura Rural. Further WFP distributions to some 35,050 persons at the sites of Mubimbi, Kanyosha and two other locations in Bujumbura town have been scheduled. Beneficiary lists are expected to be received from sites where assessments found food was needed.
1.2 The number of regrouped persons is currently estimated at 267,000 in 30 sites in communes in Bujumbura Rural province. Due to insecurity and lack of access roads to some communes, it has not been possible to establish the exact number of people displaced. The Government has appealed to international humanitarian agencies for assistance to the regrouped population.
1.3 Recent assessments carried out at the accessible sites show that the living conditions vary from site to site. Some require urgent assistance for all the basic needs while others need only water. In some sites the population has permission to work in town or go to their fields under escort, while in some other even access to nutritional centres is not permitted. Plans are under way to issue identity cards to grant more freedom of movement to the regrouped population.
1.4 Non-essential food-for-work distributions have been put on hold pending food availability. Distribution of seed protection rations continues in Bubanza and Kayanza provinces considered to be high priority sites for the seed protection programme. The distribution of seed rations in Makamba had to be postponed due to insecurity.
D. SIERRA LEONE
1. UPDATE - information as of 6 October
1.1 The leader of the Revolutionary United Front, Foday Sankoh, and the former AFRC leader Johnny Paul Koroma, returned to Freetown on 3 October. They are expected to ensure that their followers abide by the peace accord of 7 July which was signed after eight years of civil war.
1.2 On 2 October, UNHCR and WFP discussed issues of common interest, including the poor regional food pipeline, which has had a particularly negative impact on operations in Sierra Leone. WFP is operating at 35 percent of the planned figures and has been able to continue its operations at this minimal level on the basis of borrowing from NGOs providing food aid. However, collective food aid agencies' resources may soon be insufficient to meet emergency needs in newly accessible areas, and WFP in particular is unable to make new food aid commitments due to lack of food in the pipeline.
1.3 A WFP-led inter-agency food needs and roads assessment mission to Kailahun area, with participation of UNICEF, HACU, UNHCR, UNOMSIL, WVI and SLRA, was completed on 2 October. The mission team visited Segbwema, Daru, Pendembu, Kailahun and Buedu. The total population in the visited towns is about 15,000 inhabitants. According to UNHCR estimates, some 3,000 of them may be Sierra Leonean refugees who fled Lofa county in Liberia due to renewed insecurity. WFP has been discussing with WVI possible assistance to Daru area which the mission team considered the most in need for food aid.
1.4 On 30 September, WFP distributed a total of 55 tons of assorted food aid commodities to approximately 3,050 vulnerable persons along the Masiaka-Magbora axis. During the distribution several bags of bulgur, peas and a small quantity of vegetable oil were looted by a group of armed men.
1.5 WFP will continue its helicopter operations to transport humanitarian personnel until end of February 2000, as the new funding of almost USD 1 million necessary for the continuation has been recently confirmed.
E. ANGOLA
1. UPDATE - information as of 4 October
1.1 WFP has increased the number of targeted beneficiaries from 866,861 in September to 1,120,050 in October and the tonnage from approximately 13,000 to 14,170 tons. The most important increase in beneficiaries and tonnage is planned for the provinces of Malange, Bie and Huambo which received a significant influx of new internally displaced persons (IDPs) in September.
1.2 Huambo:
a) In collaboration with ICRC, WFP is assisting 2,000 IDP families through food-for-work activities to help them build houses on land provided by the Government. WFP and ICRC are reinforcing their cooperation in the province in order to respond to the development of the security situation.
b) The malnutrition rate among both IDPs and residents is high, with about 17 percent of global malnutrition registered in September. It has been noted that over 50 percent of the children attending supplementary feeding centres are resident children. Save the Children UK has started to register people in need for food aid. General distribution based on this registration is planned to start after 16 October. Until then, WFP is distributing family rations to the families of malnourished resident children.
1.3 Huila:
a) In the municipalities of Caconda, Kilengues, Kuvango and Kuvelan, WFP had to temporarily suspend its ongoing projects due to intensive fighting which prevented access to those areas.
b) Some 17,000 IDPs who arrived in Vissaka and Chipopia (37 kilometres of Matala) at the end of September as a result of continuous fighting in Kuvango have already received WFP food assistance for 30 days. A WFP assessment mission has confirmed that they have no access to any source of food and, consequently, WFP has requested the Norwegian Refugee Council (NRC), in charge of distributions in that area, to insert them on their distribution lists. The provincial government announced a plan to reinstall them on productive land. WFP will support this initiative.
1.4 Namibe: Approximately one half of the total of 16,400 beneficiaries targeted for October are returnees who are being assisted in their resettlement with WFP food commodities until their first harvest in March/April 2000.
1.5 Malange:
a) The security situation continues to be extremely tense in the whole Province, especially in the south-east part of the city of Malange. A number of incidents caused by landmines have been reported.
b) Eight thousand families have been resettled in Kulamuxico, the main agricultural rehabilitation area of the Province. Half rations continue to be distributed until the total number of beneficiaries is defined more precisely. The ongoing WFP food-for-work projects include the construction of a health centre and drinkable water fountains. NGOs have started the distribution of arable land and tools, but the supply of seeds remains inadequate as compared to the needs.
c) WFP continues to reinforce its collaboration with a number of NGOs, especially CONCERN Worldwide which is implementing nutritional rehabilitation programmes in Malange.
1.6 Kwanza Sul: On 6 October, a tripartite OCHA/WFP/MOLIVS-MOVIMONDO technical mission visited two sites hosting 1,000 IDP families in Waco-Kungo Municipality. The IDPs have been accommodated in houses built by the Government and have been allocated agricultural land. MOLIVS-MOVIMONDO (an Italian NGO) will provide them with tools and seeds.
1.7 Moxico: This week, a mission composed of MINARS, SCF, WFP registered the arrival of 254 new IDPs (97 families) in Luena. Save the Children Fund (SCF/US) distributed a total of 165 tons of commodities to approximately 11,860 IDPs (2,660 families) in the sites of Sinai Velho and Camuzanguissa. WFP and MSF-B assisted 700 vulnerable persons in the Supplementary Nutritional Centre of the Luena Hospital. In all, 173 tons were distributed to 12,560 beneficiaries in the Province.
Note: all tonnage figures in report above refer to metric tons
(End WFP Emergency Report No. 40 of 1999 - October 8, 1999)
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