World Food Programme Emergency Report 2005 Issued Weekly by the United Nations World Food Programme Report No
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Emergency Report 2005-26 World Food Programme Emergency Report 2005 Issued Weekly by the United Nations World Food Programme Report No. 26 / 2005 - Date 24 June 2005 (A) Highlights (B) Middle East,Central Asia and Eastern Europe: (1) Afghanistan (2) Iran (3) Libyan Arab Jamahiriya (4) Pakistan (C) East & Central Africa: (1) Burundi (2) Congo, DR (3) Djibouti (4) Eritrea (5) Ethiopia (6) Kenya (7) Rwanda (8) Somalia (9) Sudan (10) Tanzania (11) Uganda (D) West Africa: (1) Cote d'Ivoire (2) Liberia (E) Southern Africa: (1) Angola (2) Lesotho (3) Malawi (4) Mozambique (5) Namibia (6) Swaziland (7) Zimbabwe (F) Asia: (1) Bangladesh (2) Indonesia (3) Korea (DPR) (4) Maldives (5) Myanmar (6) Sri Lanka (G) Latin America and Caribbean: (1) Bolivia (2) Colombia (3) Guatemala (4) Peru (A) Highlights (a) WFP is revising its programming allocations under Sudan Emergency Operation EMOP 10048.3 from June to December 2005, taking into account significantly increased needs in the East, the central belt and the South, during the hunger gap. (b) The humanitarian situation in northern Uganda remains worrying. Findings of a WFP Emergency Food Security Assessment carried out in internally displaced persons (IDPs) camps indicate that IDPs will continue to require relief assistance. (c) FAO/WFP Crop and Food Supply Assessment Missions visited Malawi, Mozambique, Zambia, Lesotho and Swaziland in April-May this year. FAO’s early production estimates indicate that the 2005 cereal harvests are sharply reduced by drought in Zambia, Malawi, and Zimbabwe. Reduction in total production is also forecast for Angola, Mozambique and Botswana compared to the outputs in 2004. In result an increase in number of people in need of food assistance between June 2005 and March 2006 is expected. (B) Middle East,Central Asia and Eastern Europe: (1) Afghanistan (2) Iran (3) Libyan Arab Jamahiriya (4) Pakistan (1) Afghanistan (a) The security situation has deteriorated in the south and southeastern parts of the country as attacks against coalition forces, government officials, aid workers and the electoral staff continue. There are concerns that the country will face more violence ahead of the landmark parliamentary elections in September 2005. (b) In Afghanistan’s northeastern province of Badakhshan, a hailstorm and heavy flooding on 16 June have so far killed an estimated 29 people, injured 40 and destroyed over 1,000 homes. WFP is providing emergency food aid to devastated communities and will distribute some 88 metric tons of food to nearly 9,000 people for one month. The aid follows a joint assessment of affected areas carried out over the weekend. Eight 1 Emergency Report 2005-26 districts have been identified as severely affected by the floods. These include Fayz Abad, Baharak, Jurm, Yomgan, Argo, Darayem, Teshkan and Darwaz. The teams reported widespread destruction across 65 affected villages. Thousands of livestock died, nearly 28,000 trees were wrecked and over 3,290 jirib (658 hectares) of land laid waste due to Thursday’s storm. With an estimated 92 km of road also destroyed, a WFP bulldozer is working to clear and rebuild roads washed away by heavy mud. WFP trucks are also collecting non-food items such as blankets, tarpaulins and tents from Fayz Abad airport and delivering them to flood-affected families. In Darwaz, one of the most remote districts in Afghanistan, WFP is taking part in a complicated operation with food distribution partner FOCUS to bring 20 tons of food to 400 families. The food will have to go via Iskashim in Tajikistan, as roads are blocked on the Afghan side of the border by prolonged snow. Other provinces –Kapisa, Kunar and Nangarhar- have also been affected by storms and flooding. Joint assessments are ongoing in affected the areas. (c) A Joint Operations Center (JOC) was established in early 2005, comprising both UN and Government representatives, to monitor the flood situation in the country. Coordination mechanisms in the country are reported to be functioning well as all information pertaining to the floods is being channeled through the JOC. Altogether during the last week, WFP assisted 305,400 beneficiaries. (2) Iran (a) The first round of Presidential elections took place on 17 June; the second round is is scheduled for 24 June 2005. Meanwhile, on 15 June 2005 a sound bomb exploded in Zahedan city, southeastern Iran. Similar incidents occured in Ahwaz city, southwestern Iran, and Tehran. (b) During the first 3 weeks of June, 37,658 refugees and 2,479 Afghans returning to their home country were assisted. Following the phasing down of food assistance to Afghan refugees in camps at the end of 2004, WFP food assistance was distributed to approximately 7,000 Iraqis in camps as well as to repatriating Afghans. Considering the availability of wheat flour and the existing needs of the Afghan refugees in camp, wheat flour may be distributed for a longer period of time in line with Government and UNHCR’s agreement. (c) The total number of Afghan refugees that returned since 9 April 2002 amounts to 1,186,860 of which 795,508 were UNHCR assisted and 391,352 spontaneous. Between 1 - 5 June, UNHCR assisted 2,401 returnees while 6,338 repatriated spontaneously. No camp refugees repatriated during the reporting period. Between 1 - 15 June, 78 Iraqi refugees residing in camps repatriated with UNHCR assistance. There was no spontaneous repatriation during the last week. (d) The PRRO 10213.0 - Food Assistance and Support to the Education of Afghan and Iraqi Refuges in the Islamic Republic of Iran - is fully resourced up to the termination date of 30 September 2005. (3) Libyan Arab Jamahiriya (a) WFP continues to supply food aid to Sudanese refugees in Chad and the war affected populations in Darfur via the Libya corridor. The corridor provides a flexible surface transport and air bridge capability. Commodities are received at the port of Benghazi and trucked on hardtop roads up to WFP’s logistics hub in Khufra, an oasis town in Libya’s southeastern desert. At Khufra, commodities are either trans-shipped onto desert trucks to make the cross Sahara journey to Chad, supplying refugee camps in eastern Chad and also West Darfur, or are transferred to an IL76 to be airlifted to North and South Darfur. The corridor enables WFP to diversify access routes to the affected 2 Emergency Report 2005-26 populations in response to peaks in demand and also to decongest established transport routes should they become blocked. (b) Since the completion of the corridors’ first bulk wheat vessel on 16 April 2005, WFP has dispatched 5,366 tons of bagged wheat by surface means to Chad. The latest convoy carrying 1,000 tons is due to depart Khufra for Chad on 24 June. The airlift operation began with one IL-76 aircraft on 7 May 2005 and a second aircraft started on 13 June. Until 22 June, 3,951 tons has been dispatched by air to Darfur. (c) Current resourcing levels for the Special Operation 10417.0 stand at 5%. (4) Pakistan (a) Assistance to Girls' Primary Education continues facing a serious pipeline break, expected to continue until the end of the year, unless more resources are confirmed. As a result, 113,000 primary school girls in 951 schools did not receive oil in Azad Jammu & Kashmir (AJK) and Punjab provinces in May. Creating Assets for Rural Women activities will also run out of resources by September, implying that 60,000 beneficiaries of Food for Work (FFW) and Food for Training (FFT) would be without assistance. (b) A five-member team, consisting of representatives from the Ministry of Education and WFP, visited Rome and Malawi for a one-week orientation of the ARGOS monitoring devices. ARGOS, satellite-based communication equipment, will be installed on a pilot basis in 10 WFP assisted schools in Punjab province. An RBM workshop for WFP and cooperating partners was held on 21 - 22 June and was followed by an "Education Impact Assessment Study Results Sharing Workshop" on 23 June. (c) The impact assessment study conducted for the activity for Promoting Safe Motherhood is nearly finalized and will be shared with partners in July. A one-day performance to raise awareness at community level on good feeding and health practices for mothers and infants was conducted in Sindh province. (C) East & Central Africa: (1) Burundi (2) Congo, DR (3) Djibouti (4) Eritrea (5) Ethiopia (6) Kenya (7) Rwanda (8) Somalia (9) Sudan (10) Tanzania (11) Uganda (1) Burundi (a) The key security concerns include sporadic gunfire between the national army and the Front for National Libération (FNL) rebels continued in Bubanza and Bujumbura Rural. Incursions by fighters of the FNL rebel group were reported in the southern province of Bururi through Lake Tanganyika. In addition, there has been an upsurge in banditry and political tension between rival parties. (b) Following military confrontations and isolated attacks sporadically carried out in Bubanza province causing displacements, WFP teams conducted a rapid assessment to evaluate the needs of the estimated 4,500 displaced households. The assessment indicated that there are immediate needs for shelter and non-food items (NFIs) (cooking utensils). WFP continues to monitor the situation. (c) The most recent report from the National Commission for Demobilisation and Reintegration of ex-combatants (NCDDR) indicated that 13,127 former combatants have been demobilised as of 12 June. The number does not include those from the former national army. WFP provides food assistance to ex-combatants in demobilisation centres and continues to support former child soldiers in partnership with UNICEF. (d) Last week, WFP distributed some 1,300 tons of food to over 150,600 beneficiaries in Burundi. (e) The data collection of the Crop and Food Supply Assessment Mission (CFSAM) 3 Emergency Report 2005-26 conducted jointly by FAO/WFP/UNICEF and the Government of Burundi was completed and analysis is underway.