Emergency Operation Democratic Republic of Congo 10824.0 Title: Emergency Support to the population affected by insecurity in the Haut-Uélé District in Orientale Province of the DRC Duration: 6 months (May – November 2009) Number of beneficiaries: 154,000 WFP food tonnage: 12,573 mt WFP food cost: US$5,795,045 Total cost to WFP: US$27,775,400 EXECUTIVE SUMMARY Haut-Uélé district of the Orientale province in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) has been destabilized since the 1990s by a succession of armed groups including the Lords Resistance Army from Uganda. In September 2008, following the deployment of the Armed Forces of Democratic Republic of Congo into Haut-Uele district, the Lords Resistance Army has been intensifying attacks against the civilian population, looting towns and villages, burning down houses, abducting hundreds of children, raping and killing people. It is estimated that since September 2008, more than 500 children have been abducted, 800 civilians have been killed and an unknown number of women have been victims of sexual violence. As a result of the intensification of these attacks, the food security situation has dramatically deteriorated. More than 160,000 people have been forced to flee their homes. Crops were not harvested in December 2008, and farmers have not yet been able to prepare their fields for the next season due to fear of being attacked. Hosted by local communities, the displaced populations are putting added pressure on the already limited local food stocks. The prevailing insecurity has also caused a slowdown of trade in the region, which was already constrained by the poor road conditions and the rainy season. With limited trading and farming activities, the food security situation has deteriorated and is likely to deteriorate even further unless emergency food assistance is provided. In order to provide a coordinated humanitarian response, United Nations agencies and non- governmental organizations have increased their presence in the region and conducted rapid assessments in accessible areas. Under its current protracted relief and recovery operation (PRRO 10608.0), WFP has been delivering food to IDPs located in and around the town of Dungu by air from Entebbe in Uganda. WFP will continue to lead the logistics cluster and co-lead the food security cluster in collaboration with the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations. This emergency operation will primarily target the internally displaced people and host communities but will also provide support to moderately malnourished children, pregnant and lactating women as required. The emergency operation will also support Congolese refugees, who are likely to repatriate from South Sudan as the security situation stabilizes. The emergency operation objectives are to: 1) improve the food consumption among IDPs, returnees and host communities, 2) stabilize acute malnutrition in children between 6-59 months of age and pregnant and lactating women in targeted populations; and 3) support the return of IDPs and refugees through a 3-month resettlement food package. The emergency operation will address Strategic Objective 1 (save lives and protect livelihoods in emergencies) of WFP Strategic Plan (2008-2011) and Millennium Development Goal 1 (eradicate extreme poverty and hunger). The high landside transport, storage and handling (LTSH) costs are the result of a combination of factors including the long transit and transhipment routes of international purchases through Kenya and Uganda, the inaccessibility of Haut-Uele district addressed through the use of food airlifting/airdropping, as well as a complex security environment requiring risk consideration. 1 Given the robust military deployment in Haut-Uélé, the security situation is expected, in the medium term, to return to normal, allowing the displaced populations to return to their villages. The proposed emergency operation is therefore not expected to continue beyond October 2009. 2 1. SITUATION ANALYSIS AND SCENARIO (a) The overall context 1. Haut-Uélé is one of the five districts of the Orientale province in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC). With a population estimated at 2,586,000,1 Haut-Uélé district is located in the outermost north-east of the DRC and borders Sudan. The district has been destabilized since the 1990s by a succession of armed groups. The Lords Resistance Army (LRA) has been present in the Dungu territory since 2005, intermittently terrorizing the population, looting food stocks, burning down houses, injuring, raping, and killing civilians, and kidnapping children and adults. Initially based in Duru (95 kilometres north of Dungu town), the LRA subsequently expanded in South Sudan and the Central African Republic (CAR) while maintaining three bases in the Dungu territory. 2. In order to contain the LRA combatants, the Armed Forces of Democratic Republic of Congo (FARDC), supported by the United Nations Mission in the Democratic Republic of Congo (MONUC), were deployed into Haut-Uélé district in September 2008. Subsequently, the LRA has intensified its attacks against the civilian population in several towns and villages, including Dungu. On 14 December 2008, following the LRA refusal to sign a proposed Peace Agreement with the Government of Uganda, a joint military intervention was launched by FARDC together with Ugandan and South Sudanese military forces throughout the Haut-Uélé district. In retaliation, LRA combatants, scattered in small groups, simultaneously attacked the town of Faradje and several other villages, including Duru, Gurba, Doruma on 25-26 December 2008. Although these attacks have reduced in frequency since January 2009, violence continues in Haut-Uélé district and has spilled- over into the neighbouring district of Bas-Uélé. 3. These attacks have had devastating consequences for the civilian population. It is estimated that since September 2008 more than 500 children have been abducted, 800 civilians have been killed, an unknown number of women have been victims of sexual violence and over 162,000 persons have been displaced from their homes.2 Displaced population figures include non-accompanied children, some of whom have been associated with armed forces. The overall majority of the displaced people are staying with host families in the Dungu territory, bordering with south Sudan, in the surrounding areas of the towns of Dungu, Faradje, Doruma and Ngilima. Fewer people have moved to Isiro or Aru in Ituri district. Others have crossed the border with Sudan. (b) The food security and nutrition situation 4. Prior to this intensification of the violence in Haut-Uélé district, a Comprehensive Food Security and Vulnerability Assessment (CFSVA)3, undertaken by WFP between July 2007 and February 2008, indicated that 6.1 percent of the population was severely food-insecure and 43 percent were moderately food-insecure. Given the isolation and poor 1OCHA, Plan d’Action Humanitaire - 2009, République Démocratique du Congo, 2009. Available at http://www.humanitarianappeal.net. 2 OCHA Mapping of IDPs and refugees based on compilation of reports from various agencies, including the United Children’s Fund, the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR),CARITAS, the United Nations Mission in the Democratic Republic of Congo (MONUC), Human Right Watch. 3 WFP, Analyse globale de la sécurité alimentaire et de la vulnérabilité (CFSVA). July 2008 3 communications in Haut-Uélé, the local population mostly relies on locally produced food commodities, mainly rice, cassava and peanuts. However, as a result of the prevailing insecurity, communities were unable to harvest their rice fields in November/December 2008 and, for fear of being attacked, have not yet started preparing their fields for the next planting season in May 2009. While cassava can be grown year round, it takes at least 4 months for early crops to be viable. Displaced populations who have been taken in by host families are putting pressure on already limited food stocks. 5. In February 2009, WFP and its NGO partners undertook a rapid food security assessment, which, due to insecurity, was limited to Dungu town and surrounding areas. The findings showed that the food security situation is precarious and likely to deteriorate. Since most fertile fields are inaccessible for planting and harvesting, the cereal production is reported to be below normal and the quantities of rice available in the markets are limited. Staple foods, such as rice, have doubled in price, and have become inaccessible for most households. As a result, large segments of the population were forced to adjust their diet, replacing rice with cassava roots and leaves, as well as maize, and reducing the number of meals consumed per day to one. 6. The LRA attacks have also resulted in a slowdown of trade in the region. Commercial trucks were already constrained by the rainy season, as roads linking Dungu with other towns of DRC become impassable from March to October, due to heavy rains, lack of maintenance and a proper road surface. As a result of insecurity, trade with Uganda and South Sudan, on which the town of Dungu is normally dependent, has now come to a complete stop. 7. The existing basic health, water and sanitation facilities are over-stretched as a result of the presence of IDPs. Clinics are functioning thanks to the support of medical NGOs. However, all schools are closed in the region, as they became a target for LRA in search of children to abduct. Access to potable water is scarce and has become inadequate with the presence of IDPs. Several NGO partners are planning to initiate water and sanitation activities. 8. Historically, the Haut-Uélé region has not had significant levels of acute malnutrition. The international NGO Cooperazione Internazionale (COOPI; International Cooperation) found levels of malnutrition in the district below the emergency threshold and recommended launching community sensitization programmes.4 The July 2008 CFSVA5 indicates an overall global acute malnutrition (GAM) rate of 7.4 percent for the whole of province Orientale.