Report No. 46 of 1999 Date: 19 November 1999
This report includes: A) FR Yugoslavia and region B) Indonesia - East Timor C) Sri Lanka D) Angola E) Rwanda F) General - Food Aid Needs and Shortfalls.
>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. FR YUGOSLAVIA AND REGION
1. Update - information as of 19 November
a) Testimonial ceremony for WFP plane crash victims: On 17 November, families and friends of the 24 victims of the crash of the WFP plane in Kosovo attended WFP-hosted testimonial ceremony to honour the deceased in WFP headquarters in Rome. b) On 14 November WFP approves regional operation 6136.01 appealing for USD 122 million to provide 200,000 tons of emergency food to 1.6 million vulnerable persons in region; reduction to about 1 million beneficiaries planned by end of 2000; beneficiaries in Serbia, Montenegro, Kosovo, then FYR of Macedonia and Albania will be assisted. c) Text of EMOP 6136.01 available at <http://www.wfp.org> go to Field Operations then Balkan Operations. d) Go to <http://www.wfp.org/OP/Countries/balkans.htm> for additional information on WFP activities in region.
B. INDONESIA - EAST TIMOR
1. Update - information as of 18 November a) Over 900 tons of WFP-provided rice and BP-5 biscuits distributed to returnees at transit stations near border in East Timor, and 1,500 tons of rice to organized returns to Dili and Baucau. b) Some 4,700 tons of WFP rice distributed to 50 of 63 sub-districts, including some 13,000 returnees in Ambenon/Oekussi; apart from food aid, WFP phasing in food for work, seed protection and school feeding. c) During FAO-led seed campaign (to distribute 292 tons of maize seed to 58,400 families) WFP distributes rice as 'seed protection'; some 20,400 families received WFP rice (10 kg rice per person) and maize seed (5 kg per family) under this programme. d) New UNTAET administrator, Sergio Vieira de Mello, arrived in Dili on 16 November and met Mr. Gusmao of CNRT.
C. SRI LANKA
1. WFP operations - information as of 18 November a) New protracted relief and recovery operation (PRRO 6152) approved by WFP Executive Board on 20 October to provide 35,000 tons of food assistance for 100,520 displaced by conflict in Sri Lanka over two years at total cost of USD 20.7 million, WFP share being USD 13 million; children below five, and pregnant and nursing mothers to receive supplementary rations. b) Recent military advances by the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) resulted in sudden increases of displaced persons in north-west; UNHCR and WFP sent assessment teams to area; WFP monitoring situation, will extend relief to newly displaced if necessary.
D. ANGOLA
1. Update - most information as of 15 November a) General security situation improved; isolated incidents continue: WFP suspends airlift to Kuito, Bie, on 9 November due to shelling; mine accidents around Luena, Moxico, more frequent. b) Bie: MSF Belgium starts distribution of WFP food rations with dried fish to families of children attending supplementary feeding centres. c) Huila: WFP food distribution to resume to 7,000 persons in Quilengues after four-month suspension due to insecurity. d) Zaire: In Mbanza-Congo, NRC provided WFP food aid to 34,527 beneficiaries. e) On 5 November, Contingency Plan Task Force (UCAH, UNICEF, WHO, CONCERN, OXFAM, SCF/UK, WFP) held in Luanda to assist population living in areas formerly controlled by UNITA; WFP to be in charge of logistics support.
E. RWANDA
1. Update - information as of 17 November a) Drought in eastern Rwanda greater than initially expected, affecting six prefectures, according to recent joint assessment mission; in October WFP distributed 1,600 tons of food aid and additional 400 tons through food for work to drought affected; further distribution of 3,000 tons to 200,000 affected planned for November; priority areas are Umutara, Kibungo and Kigali Rural.
F. GENERAL - FOOD AID NEEDS AND SHORTFALLS
1. Update a) October 1999 version of "1999 Estimated Food Needs and Shortfalls for WFP assisted Emergency and Protracted Relief Operations, Development Projects, Special Operations" highlights food aid needs and shortfalls around the world, summarizes funding trends, and provides regional descriptions of selected relief operations. b) Full report available on WFP Web page at <http://www.wfp.org> go to Resources and Appeals, go to Yellow Pages.
PART II - DETAILS
A. FR YUGOSLAVIA AND REGION
1. UPDATE - information as of 19 November
1.1 Testimonial ceremony for victims of WFP plane crash:
a) On 17 November, WFP hosted a testimonial ceremony to honour the 24 victims of the crash of the WFP plane in Kosovo on 12 November. Families and friends of the deceased joined WFP staff to pay their final tribute to these humanitarian workers who died on their mission of peace. UN Interim Administration Mission in Kosovo (UNMIK) is hosting a memorial service on 19 November in Pristina.
2. Regional operation:
2.1 On 14 November, the Executive Director of WFP approved Regional Operation 6136.01 - Emergency Food Assistance in the Balkan Region. WFP is appealing to donors for USD 122 million to cover the Region's food aid needs for the year 2000.
2.2 WFP food assistance will initially reach more than 1.6 million vulnerable persons, with a planned gradual reduction to just over 1 million beneficiaries by the end of the year.
2.3 Requirements are nearly 200,000 tons of food aid in addition to carry-over stocks already in the region (more than 55,000 tons) for programmes in the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia including Montenegro and the UN-administered province of Kosovo, the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia (FYRoM) and Albania.
2.4 The complete text of EMOP 6136.01 can be found on the WFP Web page at <http://www.wfp.org> click on Field Operations then Balkan Operations. WFP activities under EMOP 6136.01 are reflected in the United Nations Consolidated Appeal for South-eastern Europe, to be officially launched 23 November. The complete text of the CAP is available on <http://www.reliefweb.int>.
2.5 Other updated information on the WFP activities in Kosovo and the Balkans available at <http://www.wfp.org/OP/Countries/balkans.htm>.
B. INDONESIA - EAST TIMOR
1. UPDATE - information as of 18 November
1.1 Between 28 October and 18 November, some 52,060 persons returned to East Timor bringing the total of returnees to 76,820. This is 51 percent of the 150,000 persons the UN expects to return of the original 269,000 persons who reportedly fled to West Timor. Corridors through the south in Suai, the central highlands near Maliana, the north coast in Batugade, and the Ambenon/Oekussi enclave are open for spontaneous returns, or 32 percent of the total. The urban centres of Dili and Baucau continue to receive the majority of organized returns or 68 percent.
1.2 Over 900 tons of WFP-provided rice and BP-5 biscuits have been distributed to returnees at transit stations near the border, and 1,500 tons of rice to organized returns to Dili and Baucau where they are met with a returnee package of 5 kg rice per person.
1.3 The first WFP general distribution of rice to the affected East Timorese of 10 kg rice per person is nearly complete, with over 4,700 tons rice having been distributed to 50 of 63 sub-districts. This includes the estimated 13,000 persons who have returned to the enclave of Ambenon/Oekussi. As the immediate food aid needs are met by general distributions of rice, WFP is gradually introducing more food for work, seed protection (food aid distributed together with seeds, to ensure that seeds are used for planting and not for eating) and school feeding programmes. On-going food-for-work activities include restoration of irrigation canals in Fatumaka (Baucau), rehabilitation of market places (Dili, Baucau, and Maliana) and maintenance of roads (Dili and Suai).
1.4 An FAO-led seed campaign to distribute 292 tons of maize seed to 58,400 families before the onset of the rainy season has commenced. WFP participates in the co-ordination and transportation of maize seed and rice (for seed protection) overland and by helicopter to remote areas. In the first half of November, WFP in coordination with ICRC, Caritas and other partners, delivered maize seed and rice to the central highlands of Ermera and Bobonaro District on the border with West Timor and to Baucau in the east. A further delivery of seed and farming implements is scheduled for the southern district of Covalima. Some 20,400 families have received WFP rice (10 kg rice per person) and maize seed (5 kg per family) under the programme.
1.5 Efforts to ensure provision of food aid to the most vulnerable in East Timor continue. At the beginning of the crisis, initial geographic analysis of hard to access areas identified 160 villages in 53 sub-districts given road capacity, conditions and topography. WFP and implementing partners have delivered a one-month supply of rice to 39 of these sub-districts.
1.6 The new administrator of the UN Transitional Administration in East Timor, Sergio Vieira de Mello, arrived in Dili on 16 November. He met Jose Alexandre "Xanana" Gusmao, the leader of the National Council of Timorese Resistance (CNRT), who pleaded the East Timorese leadership would be involved in the UN transitional administration.
1.7 On 18 November the WFP Senior Emergency Coordinator and the National Programme Facilitator attended, together with other humanitarian agencies, a meeting with Mr. Gusmao of the CNRT and discussed the ongoing and future humanitarian efforts in East Timor.
C. SRI LANKA
1. WFP OPERATIONS
1.1 New protracted relief and recovery operation:
a) A new WFP protracted relief and recovery operation (PRRO 6152), approved by the WFP Executive Board on 20 October, will assist 100,520 conflict-affected beneficiaries in Sri Lanka over a period of two years. The operation will start on 1 January 2000. This operation, worth USD 20.7 million, will provide some 35,000 tons of rice, pulses, sugar, CSB and iodized salt. The total WFP cost for this operation is USD 13 million, whilst the Government of Sri Lanka will participate with USD 7.7 million. WFP encourages donors to contribute.
b) The main goal of the PRRO is to provide relief food assistance to some 85,520 displaced persons worst affected by the conflict. They have been forced to flee their homes and are housed by the Government in approximately 270 welfare centres located in eight districts of the North and East provinces. Daily food rations consisting of WFP-provided rice, pulses, sugar and iodized salt, and Government-provided coconut oil (fortified with vitamin A under the project) will be distributed. In addition, children below five years of age, and pregnant and nursing mothers will receive a supplementary ration.
c) Some displaced persons have started returning and settling down and will require initial assistance to resume normal lives. Under this PRRO, WFP food assistance for some 15,000 beneficiaries in the year 2000 and 20,000 in 2001 will be an important complement to the Government programme. This recovery food assistance will mainly be used for the rehabilitation of drinking water and irrigation structures and other community-based self-help activities. It is envisaged that food-for-work recovery activities will not only target conflict-affected border villages but also returnees in the "uncleared" areas (i.e. not-Government controlled lands) in trying to re-build their lives.
1.2 The current phase of the PRO 5346.05 terminates on 31 December and includes a number of pilot recovery activities through food-for-work modality for resettling/relocating internally displaced persons (IDPs) and establishment of income-generating activities for women and provision of vocational training in welfare centres. Initial results of such activities have been favourable.
1.3 Security update:
a) Recent military advances by the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) in the north-west have resulted in sudden increases of displaced persons along the main northern road from Anuradhapura to Vavuniya. It is estimated that as many as 40,000 persons have left their homes. Both UNHCR and WFP have sent assessment teams to the area and UNHCR have moved their office from Vanuviya to Anuradhapura. Currently the most urgent need is shelter followed by sanitation and water. The onslaught of the north-eastern monsoon rains worsens the situation of the displaced. UNHCR, ICRC and OXFAM are currently distributing relief items. While food needs do not seem to be of high priority in this initial stage WFP is closely monitoring the situation.
b) In view of the renewed fighting, WFP will, if necessary, extend further relief assistance to the recently displaced. Due to ongoing military activities, the conflict zone is shifting and impeding the return of the displaced persons and implementation of WFP recovery activities which will now need to be re-planned accordingly.
D. ANGOLA
1. UPDATE - most information as of 15 November
1.1 General security situation: Recent political and military developments have resulted in improved security situation, but despite the general improvement, WFP was compelled to cancel its flights to and from Kuito in the province of Bie for one day on 9 November due to shelling of the city. The number of mine accidents continues to increase, particularly around the provincial capital Luena in Moxico province.
1.2 Bie: MSF Belgium has started distributing WFP-provided food rations containing dried fish to the families of children attending supplementary feeding centres. The impact of distribution is expected to be twofold: decrease malnutrition rates, as all the family will no longer share the rations intended for the malnourished children, and reduce the number of cases of pellagra.
1.3 Huila:
a) On 8 and 9 November, WFP visited three IDP camps: Chipopia and Vissaka, run by the Norwegian Refugee Council (NRC), and a camp situated 9 kilometres of Matala. Cases of malnutrition were identified, especially among newly arrived IDP children, MSF/S and Action Contre la Faim (ACF) have already opened a nutritional rehabilitation centre and is about to conduct a nutritional survey for both IDPs and residents. WFP is liaising with other UN agencies and non-governmental organizations (NGOs) to ensure that nutritional assessments are conducted in a coordinated manner.
b) As the security situation has improved over the past two weeks, WFP is resuming food distribution to 7,000 beneficiaries in the Municipality of Quilengues. Due to the lack of access, assistance to these beneficiaries had been suspended four months ago, which created serious concern among humanitarian agencies. CARITAS has agreed to carry out the distribution of WFP food as well as distribution of seeds to IDPs.
1.4 Uige: Increasing insecurity is reported in the Cangola Municipality, which forced population displacements towards Negage and its surroundings. The Danish Refugee Council registered 1,401 new IDPs from Mucaba, of whom 816 already received WFP food assistance.
1.5 Zaire: In Mbanza-Congo, over the past eight months, the Norwegian Refugee Council (NRC) has provided WFP food aid to 34,527 persons who returned to the city from inside the province and from the Democratic Republic of Congo. To reinforce the nutritional status of the IDP/returnee population, WFP is trying to find partners to open collective kitchens in several "bairros".
1.6 On 5 November, a meeting of the Contingency Plan Task Force composed of UCAH, UNICEF, WHO, CONCERN, OXFAM, SCF/UK, WFP was held in Luanda. The objective of the Task Force is to assist the population living in areas until recently controlled by UNITA as soon as the security situation allows. WFP will be in charge of logistics support.
E. RWANDA
1. UPDATE - information as of 18 November
1.1 A recent joint crop assessment mission indicates that the scale of the drought in eastern Rwanda could be greater than initially estimated, possibly affecting six prefectures of the country. During an initial assessment carried out in August, 20,000 families in Gikongoro, Umutara and Kibungo had been targeted for food assistance, after insufficient and erratic rainfall and crop diseases affected staple crop production.
1.2 During October, WFP distributed 1,600 tons of food to these drought-affected families. An additional 400 tons was allocated for food-for-work projects in each prefecture to provide those who could work with a means to regenerating economic activity.
1.3 In order to respond to the immediate needs in the areas most affected by poor harvests and crop failure, WFP plans to immediately provide 3,000 tons of food to 200,000 persons. Each family ration will consist of 50 kg of cereals and 25 kg of pulses. The areas of immediate priority are Umutara, Kibungo and Kigali Rural. Further evaluations and the evolution of the situation will dictate the need for additional food assistance.
1.4 In order to reinforce assistance to malnourished persons in drought-affected and marginal areas, WFP will double the supplementary feeding ration in all nutrition centres in the impacted areas. This procedure has been used in the past and it has shown to have a positive impact. Further food and crop assessments and nutritional surveys will be undertaken in early 2000.
F. GENERAL - FOOD AID REQUIREMENTS AND SHORTFALLS
1. UPDATE -WFP ON THE WEB
1.1 WFP has recently issued an updated version of the 1999 Estimated Food Needs and Shortfalls for WFP-assisted Emergency Operations, Protracted Relief and Recovery Operations, Development Projects, Special Operations as of October 20 ("Yellow Pages") - a report which highlights food aid needs and shortfalls around the world, summarizes funding trends, and provides regional descriptions of selected relief operations.
1.2 Some of the highlighted issues are the following:
a) Global food aid needs remain as high as ever, but the level of contributions is decreasing - USD 250 million less than at the same time last year.
b) Through the end of October, donors contributed over USD 1.15 billion to WFP operations and projects around the world, with which WFP has mobilized 2.9 million tons of food aid.
c) Requirements for protracted relief and recovery operations (PRROs) have increased by 40 percent compared to last year.
1.3 In the Report, WFP has highlighted the following relief operations, which are facing immediate shortfalls:
Angola (EMOP 6138 to be replaced by PRRO 6159 on 1 January 2000): shortfalls of cereals and pulses.
DPR Korea 5959.01: shortfalls of pulses, CSB and sugar.
West Africa Coastal PRRO 4604.07: shortfalls of cereals, pulses, vegetable oil, and CSB.
Somalia PRRO 6073: shortfalls of cereals, vegetable oil and pulses.
D.R. Congo EMOP 6110 (assistance to war-affected persons): shortfalls of cereals, vegetable oil and pulses.
Uganda EMOP 5816.02 (displaced persons in North Uganda): shortfalls of cereals.
1.4 The latest version of the Yellow Pages is available on the WFP home page at <www.wfp.org >, go to Resources and Appeals, go to Yellow Pages.
Note: all tonnage figures in report above refer to metric tons
(End WFP Emergency Report No. 46 of 1999 - November 19, 1999)
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