Introduction
In regions wracked by violence or submerged by floods, the first emergency is how to deliver enough food as quickly and efficiently as possible. Here are some of the crises counted among WFP's "global hotspots".
Afghanistan
Insecurity continues to impact humanitarian access throughout the country. Half the country is now considered a "High Abduction Risk Area" and thus subject to additional mitigating measures.
A major military operation in Badghis province resulted in the displacement of 500 families from Bala Morghab district to Hirat province. A joint survey has revealed that there is no immediate need for food assistance.
A military operation in Pachir wa Agam and Khogyani districts of Nangahar province in the east has displaced more than 600 families. An initial assessment indicated that 350 families are in need of food assistance. Emergency rations will be distributed in the coming weeks.
Returning refugees
The influx of returning refugees from Pakistan has continued. So far more than 5,300 families have returned from Kacha Camp, while 15,000 have returned from Julozai camp, with a further 13,000 expected in the coming 10 days.
UNHCR has requested the Government of Pakistan to postpone the complete closure of Julozai as more than 60,000 people in the camp would be obliged to re-enter Afghanistan.
This is of particular concern owing to the approaching winter and difficulties involved in quickly resettling the returnees. The number of Afghan deportees who have returned from Iran since 21 April now exceed 186,000 people, including 32,000 as family members.
Prepositioning of food for winter has started in some parts of the country. A total of 20,000 mt will be dispatched to areas where roads become inaccessible during winter. So far 2,900 mt has been dispatched to these areas.
Congo DR
The collection of data under the Comprehensive Food Survey and Vulnerability Analysis (CFSVA) has been completed. Two hundred and sixteen villages were surveyed in Ituri district and the provinces of Equateur, North Kivu, South Kivu, Maniema and Katanga.
Distribution of half rations in North Kivu is being met with resentment by some beneficiaries despite the sensitisation campaign led by WFP and its cooperating partners.
Almost 25,000 displaced persons boycotted the food distribution last week in North Kivu. Prospects for a better pipeline are not foreseen before November 2007.
Clashes
Confrontations between the various armed forces (loyal and dissident governmental troops, foreign and Congolese militias) are also likely to continue.
In South Kivu province, the repatriation flow of Congolese refugees in Tanzania has increased from 500 to 2,000 individuals per week. Consequently, the reviewed provision of three months resettlement packages to the returnees has been rapidly depleting WFP food stocks in Uvira.
To meet the needs of the returnees, WFP ceased providing assistance to members of malnourished children's families on therapeutic and supplementary feeding programmes in Uvira.
The transport of WFP food by rail in Katanga province is still being hampered by the lack of rail capacity. It took four months to move 45 metric tonnes of maize meal over 575 km.
Ethiopia
The number of people affected by floods continues to increase. As of this week, 128,000 people in five regions (Amhara, Afar, Gambella, Southern Nations and Nationalities People's Region and Tigray) are affected by floods, including 39,000 displaced.
To date, the Disaster Prevention and Preparedness Agency (DPPA) has dispatched 1,194 mt of food for over 65,000 flood affected people.
A joint UN monitoring mission planned to leave for Jijiga on 30 August to assess the humanitarian situation in Somali region and the impact on the livelihood of the population.
The mission will finalise the planning and preparations for the field visits, due to start on 3 September, security permitting. Participants include international and national staff of OCHA, WHO, UNICEF, FAO, UNDSS and OHCHR.
Incidence of acute watery diarrhoea (AWD) in Western Tigray is increasing and causing concern. In Kafta Humera woreda (equivalent to districts) the number of cases increased from 200 to 2,000 in just two weeks.
Tweny-one people have so far died of the disease. Four other woredas are also affected. Some 250 mt of relief food has been dispatched by DPPA to the affected people in Tigray region.
Kenya
With the arrival of 785 new Somali refugees in Kenya's Dadaab refugee camp this week, the number of spontaneous arrivals since the border closure in early January now stands at 10,257.
Over the course of the year, despite the closure of the Kenya/Somali border, Dadaab has been receiving on average more than 1,200 refugees each month from neighbouring war-torn Somalia.
As a result of strong donor support in early 2007, Kenya's Protracted Relief and Recovery Operation (PRRO) has adequate food supplies in Dadaab to cover the additional requirements, as well as the ten percent contingency built into the current operation and an influx foreseen in the new project (10258.2) starting in October.
The ongoing Emergency Operation (EMOP) 10374.0 for the populations affected by drought and floods has been extended until the end of January 2008. The results of the long rains assessment, expected to be published shortly, will establish the districts and the numbers of beneficiaries targeted. That will be the basis for the September distribution plan. All commodities are available in the pipeline.
August food distributions were completed in the reporting week in all 14 EMOP districts (both general food distribution (GFD) and food-for-assets (FFA)).
Occupied Palestinian territory
Access between the West Bank and Israel continues to be a major issue of concern for WFP and other humanitarian organisations, as the West Bank barrier is expected to be completed later this year.
The new measures planned by the Israeli authority (i.e. allow only three points of entry into the West Bank) will significantly hamper movement of humanitarian supplies into the West Bank (higher delivery cost and congestion) and will have a negative effect on UN national staff movement. The PRRO 10387.1 started on 1 September.
To meet the food needs of the most vulnerable non-refugees, the new PRRO has three fundamental components: (i) protracted and emergency relief, (ii) recovery through support for productive activities and skills development and (iii) enhanced knowledge, partnerships and advocacy.
Recovery and self-reliance
Of the 665,000 targeted beneficiaries, including 90,000 school children, 43 percent will be assisted through relief interventions and 57 percent through recovery activities.
Full rations will be provided for people entirely dependent on assistance; reduced rations will go to beneficiaries with limited resources.
The PRRO will emphasise self-reliance through productive activities: food for work and food for training will concentrate on creating conditions for increased productivity and generating employment; food for education will contribute to skills development.
Somalia
Due to ongoing insecurity at distribution sites, WFP was not able to resume the general food distribution to IDPs in Mogadishu.
In light of reports of deterioration in the nutrition situation of the IDPs, WFP is working out the modalities to establish a pilot wet feeding programme across Mogadishu with the local NGO SAACID.
WFP expects that by the end of September about ten kitchens will be opened to feed some 50,000 people.
Sudan
Localised nutrition surveys carried out by NGOs across the three Darfur states in June/July have shown some GAM rates exceeding the 15 percent emergency threshold.
Possible reasons include health/sanitation issues, prevalence of diseases such as watery diarrhoea, malaria and respiratory infections, lack of NGO presence or capacity on the ground for supplementary/therapeutic feeding programmes as well as seasonal trends during the hungry/rainy months.
While these survey results indicate a potential decline in the nutrition situation in pockets of Darfur, it is difficult to extrapolate these results to the overall malnutrition level for whole of Darfur.
These results highlight the need to examine contributing factors to malnutrition, such as lack of clean water, sanitation and seasonal disease prevalence.
Security
Potential pipeline breaks in Darfur, following weeks of transport delays as a result of Government imposing military escorts on all trucks travelling into Darfur, has been resolved with the Government agreeing to waive the regulation on trucks carrying WFP food.
Deteriorating security conditions led the Government of Sudan to impose armed escorts and conduct mandatory searches on all vehicles travelling along En Nuhud road to Darfur.
Heavy downpour of rain on 31-August has caused renewed displacements in Kosti, eastern Sudan. A joint rapid assessment by the Government, WFP and partners confirmed seven deaths, and more than 5,000 homes have been destroyed, leaving thousands of families homeless.
The Humanitarian Aid Commission has requested the UN and relief agencies for urgent assistance to the affected households.
Contact us
Brenda Barton
WFP/Rome
Tel: +39-06-65132602
Mobile: +39-347-258221
(ISDN line available)