Report No. 42 of 1999 Date: 22 October 1999
This report includes: A) Indonesia - East Timor B) Sierra Leone C) Angola D) Somalia E) Security issues.
>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 22 October a) Abdurrahman Wahid elected president 20 October. Megawati Sukarnoputri takes vice-presidency 21 October and demonstrations of her supporters calm down. b) East Timor: since 19 October, return from West to East Timor continues; IOM/UNHCR repatriated some 7,300 to Baucau and Dili; WFP provides rice for returnees, and NGOs non-food items; WFP pre-positioned 30 tons of food aid in Maliana, 27 tons in Megir, and 15 tons in Manatuto, to assist returnees; some 2,900 spontaneous returns at Memo in Maliana area. c) Rainy season begins with heavy rains. d) On 22 October vessel arrived in Dili for temporary accommodation of some 90 humanitarian staff. e) In Atambua, West Timor, NGOs Posko Atambua, DELSOS and WVI distributed 184 tons of WFP rice to some 40,000 beneficiaries; YASSO and CRS distribute their rice.
B. SIERRA LEONE
1. Update - most information as of 21 October; updated 25 October a) Insufficient donor commitment to regional WFP PRRO 4604.07 results in low level of WFP food aid supplies in Sierra Leone; November-December pipeline improved by diverting food shipments from other operations; WFP continues to borrow from food-providing NGOs; EU announces donation of 6,000 tons of food aid to WFP operation in Sierra Leone. b) Only 35 percent of total requirement of USD 130 million (211,000 metric tons of food) resourced to date for the PRRO, a one year operation which began July. c) Insecurity in Makeni continues; WFP evacuates bishop and 14 NGO workers from Bumbuna near Makeni on 18 October by helicopter; distributions in are postponed due to fighting. d) On 25 October, UN Security Council authorizes a force of 6,000 peacekeepers to help implement peace agreement over six months. e) WFP is preparing a new emergency operation to provide food assistance for ex-combatants in demobilization process. f) US Secretary of State visits Sierra Leone on 18 October; US pledges USD 55 million to peace process in Sierra Leone.
C. ANGOLA
1. Update - information as of 21 October a) On 20 October, Angolan government announces seizure of Bailundo and Andulo and other towns in Malange, Huambo, Moxico and Kwanza Sul; WFP to evaluate security situation before resuming road transport. b) Malange: global malnutrition remains high, although it decreased from 31.8 percent in June to 21.5 percent and severe malnutrition from 15.2 percent in June to 10.9 percent. c) Uige: WFP assessment mission on 19 October visits WFP-sponsored collective kitchens run with WFP food; growing incidence of malnutrition observed among under-five population, especially among IDPs, due to tuberculosis, poor hygiene and diarrhoea; WFP is opening two new collective kitchens, with the collaboration of CUAMM and CARITAS. d) A shipment of 10,000 tons of maize and 2,180 tons of pulses delayed, and will cause shortage of maize in Luanda corridor in November; WFP looking for alternative solutions to fill food pipeline.
D. SOMALIA
1. Update - information as of 20 October a) WFP distributed some 2,200 tons of food in September, mostly to southern Somalia. b) UN Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs visits Baidoa in southern Somalia's Bay region on 13 October; in Kenya, he meets with the Minister of Foreign Affairs, to discuss cross border operations; Kenyan Government agrees to limited resumption of humanitarian convoys. c) Two WFP food aid monitors on 19 October came under fire in El Buur district, region of Galgaduud. d) As fighting escalates, food shortages increase in Gedo area, out of reach of aid organizations due to insecurity.
E. SECURITY ISSUES
1. Update a) WFP security awareness training is available for staff in 45 different countries; to date, training sessions attended by approximately 3,600 staff members; total of 58 WFP staff trained and deployed as WFP security awareness trainers. b) In a statement on 16 October WFP Executive Director Catherine Bertini called on governments and armed groups to guarantee security to aid workers.
PART II - DETAILS
A. INDONESIA - EAST TIMOR
1. UPDATE - information as of 22 October
1.1 On 20 October, following the first democratic elections in four decades, held in June, the Indonesian People's Consultative Assembly chose a new president, Abdurrahman Wahid. Megawati Sukarnoputri was elected vice-president the following day. Her supporters demonstrated in Jakarta and other parts of Indonesia after she lost in the initial vote for the presidency, but upon her election as vice-president the situation appears to have returned to normal.
1.2 East Timor:
a) The return of displaced East Timorese from West Timor back to East Timor started on 19 October and has continued steadily since. To 22 October, IOM/UNHCR have repatriated by vessel and aircraft some 7,300 persons from various places in Indonesia to Baucau and Dili. Returning residents receive a returnee package consisting of WFP-provided rice and non-food items from non-governmental organizations (NGOs).
b) Approximately 2,900 unescorted returnees have also crossed the border from West to East Timor, at Memo crossing in the Maliana area. WFP has pre-positioned rice, vegetable oil and high-protein biscuits and started the distribution of 2 kg of rice per person with INTERFET assistance. Currently, WFP has 30 tons of rice, oil and high-protein biscuits available in Maliana.
c) Returnees have begun to trickle over the border at the transit centre in Megir, 10 km from Batugade along the north coast. WFP has a total of 27 tons of rice, oil and high-protein biscuits pre-positioned in Megir.
d) In Manatuto area, displaced persons continue to return to their villages. As of 21 October, CARE/WFP distributed 10 tons of rice in a general distribution to 4,000 persons. A further 15 tons of WFP rice arrived in Manatuto on 22 October, enough to feed 10,000 persons.
e) WFP continues to pre-position relief food to be able to assist up to 150,000 returnees. WFP-provided ready-to-eat meals and non-food items are stocked in the transit centres in Maliana, Megir and Suai.
f) Safe drinking water is becoming a concern. Oxfam and UNAMET have arranged for the airlift by helicopter of water bladders into the areas receiving returnees, to store treated water.
g) Heavy rains have marked the beginning of the rainy season that is expected to last for the next few months. Rains will add to the hardship of those displaced persons living in makeshift shelters or in the hills. The onset of the rainy season will also make humanitarian activities in East Timor more difficult.
h) The 'Polar Bird' vessel arrived in Dili on 22 October. The 91-berth vessel will accommodate UN and other international humanitarian staff. Within 6-8 weeks organizations are expected to have secured their own on-shore accommodation and the use of this vessel will then no longer be required. The availability of a NGO-chartered passenger vessel with 45 berths that is currently in Flores has been discussed as an addition to existing sleeping accommodation.
1.3 In West Timor, three NGOs (Posko Atambua, DELSOS and WVI) have distributed 184 tons of WFP rice to some 40,000 beneficiaries in Atambua. In addition, other NGOs, including YASSO and CRS, distribute their own rice.
B. SIERRA LEONE
1. UPDATE - most information as of 21 October; includes information from 25 October
1.1 Insufficient donor commitment to the WFP regional protracted relief and recovery operation (PRRO 4604.07) has caused low WFP food aid supplies in-country. WFP has improved the pipeline for November and December by diverting food shipments from other operations to Freetown. However, WFP continues to rely on borrowings from food-providing NGOs to assist in meeting emergency needs in WFP operational areas. This week the EU announced a major commitment of 6,000 tons of food aid for Sierra Leone, including 500 tons of sugar, 2,500 tons of pulses and 3,000 tons of CSB.
1.2 To date, the ongoing regional PRRO which started in July has received 35 percent of its total requirement of USD 130 million (211,000 metric tons of food), to assist some 2.1 million beneficiaries in Liberia, Sierra Leone, Guinea, Ivory Coast and Ghana over one year.
1.3 Under the UN Consolidated Appeal for Sierra Leone, WFP requirement for year 2000 amounts to approximately 55,000 tons.
1.4 Humanitarian operations in Makeni town continue to be affected by fighting which started between the RUF and AFRC/SLA on 15 October. WFP was able to evacuate the Bishop of Makeni and fourteen NGO workers from the town of Bumbuna, near Makeni on 18 October using the WFP helicopter. The fighting has caused the further delay of planned distributions in Magburaka, Matatoka, and points further north and east.
1.5 On 25 October WFP welcomed the UN Security Council's decision to send a 6,000-strong peacekeeping force to Sierra Leone to help safeguard the peace agreement. The peacekeepers, deployed for an initial period of six months, will establish a presence at key locations across the country to help disarm and demobilize the combatants. The peacekeepers will also make possible an expansion of the disarmament and demobilization programme that was officially launched on 20 October in Freetown.
1.6 WFP is preparing a new emergency operation to provide food assistance for the demobilization process, upon a Government request received in September. The primary objectives of the programme are the consolidation of security and the socio-economic reintegration of ex-combatants.
1.7 The US Secretary of State Madeleine Albright made a one-day working visit to Sierra Leone on Monday, 18 October. The United States pledged USD 55 million to the peace process in Sierra Leone, as well as USD 1 million to the Precious Mineral Commission (to help curb diamond smuggling). Secretary Albright also indicated that the United States would be willing to cancel USD 65 million of Sierra Leone's external debt.
C. ANGOLA
1. UPDATE - information as of 21 October
1.1 On 20 October, the Angolan government declared that its forces had seized Bailundo and Andulo and several other towns in the central highlands of the country, in the provinces of Malange, Huambo, Moxico and Kwanza Sul. As a consequence, negotiations between the warring parties may be further complicated and WFP will be evaluating the security situation before resuming road transport.
1.2 Although the security situation has improved over the past week, incidents continue to be reported: on 16 October, two civilians were killed in mine accidents in Kuito; on the same day, a commercial truck was ambushed and burned in Kwanza Norte, north of N'dalatando, on the road to Lucala. Four people were killed and 9 injured in the accident.
1.3 Malange: According to the results of the nutritional survey carried out in September by the Ministry of Health (MINSA), the global malnutrition has decreased from 31.8 percent in June to approximately 21.5 percent and severe malnutrition from 15.2 percent in June to 10.9 percent. As the current rates are still high, WFP is making every effort to ensure that systematic criteria are applied for the identification of beneficiaries and that all those who do not have access to food are included in its assistance programmes.
1.4 Uige: A WFP assessment mission went to Uige on 19 October to identify weaknesses and gaps in WFP food assistance. They visited several collective kitchens run with WFP food. Those kitchens were set up with a view to reducing the high malnutrition rate observed among the under-five population, especially displaced children. The rising incidence of malnutrition observed among the under-five population, especially among the internally displaced population, is mostly attributable to tuberculosis, poor hygiene and diarrhoea. WFP is opening two new collective kitchens, with the collaboration of CUAMM and CARITAS, in two IDP camps to give supplementary feeding to children. However, the problem of infant malnutrition can be solved only if health issues are addressed. WFP has requested that a nutritionist assist its implementing partners in identifying more precisely malnutrition criteria, as it has been noted that the number of children attending the collective kitchens of Uige and Negage is three times higher than expected. Only the most vulnerable should be targeted.
1.5 WFP Luanda has been informed that M/V Tarpon Santiago, expected in Luanda on 30 October with 10,000 tons of maize and 2,180 tons of pulses, will be delayed. This will create a shortfall of maize in the Luanda corridor in November and alternative solutions are being sought to avert this projected break in the food pipeline.
D. SOMALIA
1. UPDATE - information as of 20 October
1.1 WFP distributed close to 2,200 tons of food during the month of September, mostly to southern Somalia. This brings the total distributed from January to September 1999 to 16,870 metric tons.
1.2 The UN Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs, Mr. Sergio Vieira de Mello, visited Baidoa in southern Somalia's Bay region on 13 October as part of an 8-day visit to countries in the region. He was on a fact-finding mission to the Bay region.
1.3 In Kenya, he met with the Kenyan Minister of Foreign Affairs to discuss cross border operations between Kenya and Somalia and was assured that air travel for aid personnel and access for humanitarian flights would be treated positively. In addition, the Kenyan Government agreed to the "limited resumption of humanitarian convoys".
1.4 Two WFP food aid monitors on 19 October came under fire as they were overseeing the distribution of WFP food in El Buur district in Somalia's central region of Galgaduud. The two Somali nationals, who were overseeing the first food distribution in the region since 1990, came under attack by unidentified gunmen but luckily escaped unhurt.
1.5 Clan faction violence continues to escalate and food shortages are looming once again, especially in the Gedo area, which remains difficult to reach by aid agencies because of security problems. The food-security outlook continues to deteriorate as aid deliveries have been hampered by continuing violence.
E. SECURITY ISSUES
1. UPDATE
1.1 WFP security awareness training
a) The recent incidents in Somalia, following the killing a WFP and a UNICEF staff members in Burundi, have caused deep concern within WFP for the safety of its staff and for the suffering of the beneficiaries who remain out of reach due to violence which prevents humanitarian efforts.
b) In the recent months, WFP has organized security awareness training for its staff both in the headquarters and in the field. To date, approximately 3,600 staff members in 45 different countries have attended the basic two-day WFP security awareness training. A total of 58 WFP staff have been trained and deployed as WFP security awareness trainers. The training continues and it is expected to be attended by a further 2,500 WFP staff members.
c) On the annual UN World Food Day on 16 October the WFP Executive Director Catherine Bertini called on governments and armed groups in warring countries to guarantee security to end the tragic and unacceptable deaths of aid workers.
1.2 A total of 13 civilians have died on duty with the UN in 1999.
Note: all tonnage figures in report above refer to metric tons
(End WFP Emergency Report No. 42 of 1999 - October 22, 1999)
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