IDENTIFYING FOOD NEEDS IN AFGHANISTAN: NOW

1. SUMMARY. U.S. MISSION/ROME OFFICERS MET ON FRIDAY,
DECEMBER 28 WITH THE U.N. WORLD FOOD PROGRAM (WFP)
ASSISTANT EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR (AED) AND DIRECTOR OF
OPERATIONS, MOHAMMED ZEJJARI. AS WINTER FOOD NEEDS IN
AFGHANISTAN ARE BEING MET BY WFP'S CURRENT OPERATION
(ALMOST 120,000 TONS DISPATCHED IN DECEMBER), ITS
FUTURE PROGRAMMING IS DISCUSSED. THE WFP AND THE U.N.
FOOD AND AGRICULTURAL ORGANIZATION (FAO) ARE WORKING
TOGETHER TO FORM A FOOD SECURITY ASSESSMENT UNIT FOR
AFGHANISTAN. U.S. MISSION REQUESTS WFP TO CONDUCT
SURVEYS IN A FEW DISTRICTS IN ORDER TO SPOT-CHECK THE
VAM FINDINGS. WFP'S AED REGISTERED USG CONCERNS AND
WILL FOLLOW-UP WITH HIS STAFF AFTER THE HOLIDAYS. END
SUMMARY.



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BACKGROUND


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UNCLASSIFIED

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2. AS REPORTED IN REF TEL, WFP'S VULNERABILITY AND
ANALYSIS MAPPING (VAM) UNIT FOR AFGHANISTAN IS IN THE
MIDST OF EXPANDING ITS OPERATION. WFP AND FAO HAVE
BEEN DISCUSSING WAYS IN WHICH TO CREATE A FOOD SECURITY
ASSESSMENT UNIT (FSAU) THAT WOULD COMBINE THE EXPERTISE
OF EACH AGENCY AND FOLD IN THE ELEMENTS OF THE VAM INTO
THE NEW UNIT. IN MID-NOVEMBER, FAO SENT TO ISLAMABAD
THE PERSON WHO HEADED THE FOOD SECURITY SURVEILLANCE
UNIT IN KOSOVO, FRANCESCO DEL RE. WFP/ISLAMABAD
PROVIDED HIM WITH A DESK IN ITS BUILDING, AND HE WORKED
VERY CLOSELY WITH THE HEAD OF THE VAM UNIT. AFTER TWO
WEEKS, HE COMPOSED A PROPOSAL THAT WAS SHARED WITH WFP
SOON AFTER HIS DEPARTURE. AS WAS DONE IN KOSOVO, THE
ACTIVITIES OF THE VAM AND NEW ACTIVITIES BROUGHT TO
BEAR BY FAO WOULD BE UNITED UNDER ONE ROOF, ONE
MANAGEMENT STRUCTURE, AND UNDER THE NAME OF THE FSAU.



3. IN THE MEANTIME, WFP HEADQUARTERS (HQ) WAS READYING
TO SEND ANOTHER PERSON TO HEAD THE VAM UNIT IN
ISLAMABAD AND HE ARRIVED AT POST ON DECEMBER 15. IN
ADDITION, A NEW WFP COUNTRY DIRECTOR FOR AFGHANISTAN
BEGAN MID-NOVEMBER. IN THE LAST FEW WEEKS, THE
FORMATION OF THE FSAU SEEMS TO HAVE SLOWED. AS OUR
GOVERNMENT IS INTERESTED IN LEARNING AND UNDERSTANDING
MANY FACETS OF AN AFGHAN'S LIFE AS IT RELATES TO
HIS/HER ABILITY TO FEED HIS/HER FAMILY, THE IMPORTANCE
OF COMBINING THE STRENGTHS OF BOTH AGENCIES AND WORKING
TOGETHER TO GATHER AND ANALYZE THE INFORMATION REMAINS
EXTREMELY IMPORTANT AS WE MOVE FROM THE EMERGENCY PHASE
TO REHABILITATION AND RECONSTRUCTION.
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4. U.S. MISSION/ROME OFFICERS LAVELLE AND DAVIS MET ON
FRIDAY, DECEMBER 28 WITH WFP'S ASSISTANT EXECUTIVE
DIRECTOR AND DIRECTOR OF OPERATIONS, MOHAMMED ZEJJARI,
TO REVIEW CONCERNS AS WE MOVE FORWARD TO THE NEXT PHASE
OF WFP'S OPERATION IN AFGHANISTAN.



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COMBINED EFFORTS


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5. MISSION OFFICER DAVIS OUTLINED THE PROGRESS MADE
BETWEEN WFP AND FAO IN ESTABLISHING THE FSAU AND
EXPLAINED THAT BOTH AGENCIES HAVE STRENGTHS TO BRING TO
SUCH A UNIT. SUCH STRENGTHS BECOME EVEN MORE ACUTE
WHEN THE FORCES ARE COMBINED. A PAUCITY OF DATA EXISTS
FOR AFGHANISTAN, AND WE NEED TO USE EVERY TOOL AT OUR
DISPOSAL IN GATHERING AND ANALYZING INFORMATION THAT
SERVES TO GUIDE THE USG AND OTHER DONORS, AS WELL AS
THE U.N., IN ITS PROGRAMMING.

UNCLASSIFIED

UNCLASSIFIED PTQ9854

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ACTION EUR-00

INFO LOG-00 NP-00 AGRE-00 AID-00 AMAD-00 CIAE-00 WHA-00
SRPP-00 EB-00 UTED-00 TEDE-00 INR-00 IO-00 NEA-00
NSAE-00 OES-01 OIC-02 TEST-00 SA-00 FMP-00 PRM-00
SAS-00 /003W


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524B3F 020623Z /38
R 020528Z JAN 02
FM AMEMBASSY ROME
TO AMEMBASSY ISLAMABAD
AMCONSUL KARACHI
AMCONSUL PESHAWAR
AMEMBASSY NEW DELHI
AMEMBASSY ANKARA
AMEMBASSY ALMATY
AMEMBASSY ASHGABAT
AMEMBASSY DUSHANBE
AMEMBASSY TASHKENT
INFO SECSTATE WASHDC 1457
USEU BRUSSELS 2490
USMISSION GENEVA

AMEMBASSY PARIS
USMISSION USUN NEW YORK

UNCLAS SECTION 02 OF 02 ROME 000001

SIPDIS

FROM U.S. MISSION IN ROME

UNCLASSIFIED

PAGE 02 ROME 00001 02 OF 02 020616Z
ISLAMABAD FOR DART
TASHKENT FOR DART
ASHGABAT FOR DART
GENEVA FOR RMA NANCE KYLOH
USUN FOR LSHESTACK
USEU FOR KFULLER AND KDEBLAU

E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: EAID EAGR AORC PREF EAGR AORC PREF EU WFPO UN EU EAID WFPO UN AFGHANISTAN
SUBJECT: IDENTIFYING FOOD NEEDS IN AFGHANISTAN: NOW
AND IN THE FUTURE



6. MISSION OFFICERS CONGRATULATED WFP ON ITS
TREMENDOUS ACHIEVEMENT IN MOVING LARGE QUANTITIES OF
FOOD INTO AFGHANISTAN, BUT CAUTIONED THAT ONCE WE
EMERGE FROM MEETING THE WINTER NEEDS, USAID WILL BE
LOOKING CLOSELY AT WFP'S DECISIONS ON HOW FUTURE FOOD
NEEDS ARE DETERMINED AND HOW FOOD IS PROGRAMMED. THE
OFFICERS POINTED OUT THAT IT WOULD BE IN WFP'S
INTERESTS TO HAVE ANOTHER AGENCY INVOLVED IN THE
DETERMINATION OF NEEDS.



7. NOTE. U.S. MISSION OFFICER DAVIS IS ALSO IN
CONTINUED DIALOGUE WITH FAO'S SPECIAL RELIEF OPERATIONS
SERVICE (TCOR) TO ENSURE THAT FAO/TCOR IS READY TO
PROVIDE APPROPRIATE STAFFING TO THE UNIT, AS SOON AS A
WORKING ARRANGEMENT IS ACCEPTED BY BOTH PARTIES. END
NOTE.



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SPOT-CHECKING THE VAM RESULTS
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8. WITH THIS IN MIND, THE MISSION OFFICERS STRONGLY
ENCOURAGED WFP TO CONDUCT "SPOT-CHECKS" IN A FEW
DISTRICTS OF AFGHANISTAN THAT ARE CURRENTLY ACCESSIBLE.
SUCH SPOT-CHECKS WOULD WORK TO CONFIRM THE VAM RESULTS
THAT ARE GUIDING WFP'S DISTRIBUTIONS. DONORS WOULD
WELCOME SUCH CONFIRMATION, SINCE THERE HAS BEEN SOME
CONTROVERSY ABOUT THE RESULTS. SOME THINK THE NEEDS
ARE ACTUALLY HIGHER, AND OTHERS THINK THE NEEDS ARE
LOWER THAN WHAT VAM HAS DETERMINED.



9. ZEJJARI SEEMED TO UNDERSTAND THE IMPORTANCE OF
TAKING THIS ACTION AS SOON AS POSSIBLE. THE
USAID/DISASTER ASSISTANCE RESPONSE TEAM (DART) HAS ALSO
RECENTLY DISCUSSED THIS MATTER WITH VARIOUS WFP STAFF
IN ISLAMABAD.



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NUTRITIONAL ASSESSMENT


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10. AS STATED IN REFTEL, ONE OF THE FIRST PLANNED
TASKS OF THE VAM FOR THE NEW YEAR WAS TO CONDUCT A
NUTRITIONAL ASSESSMENT OF THE WEST (HARDEST-HIT BY
DROUGHT), FOLLOWED BY A NUTRITIONAL ASSESSMENT OF THE
ENTIRE COUNTRY. SUCH A STUDY COULD ALSO SERVE TO RE-
CONFIRM NEEDS OUTLINED BY THE VAM RESULTS. EVEN THOUGH
WFP HAD IDENTIFIED A NUTRITIONIST FOR THE WORK, THE
AGREEMENT FELL THROUGH, AND WFP IS NOW RECRUITING AGAIN
FOR THE POSITION. MISSION OFFICERS SUGGESTED ASKING
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PAGE 04 ROME 00001 02 OF 02 020616Z
FAO FOR A NUTRITIONIST.



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COMMENT


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11. ZEJJARI LISTENED CLOSELY TO U.S. MISSION'S
CONCERNS, BUT MADE FEW COMMENTS OR COMMITMENTS. HE
DID, HOWEVER, CLEARLY REGISTER OUR COMMENTS ABOUT WFP'S
NEED TO JUSTIFY ITS FUTURE PROGRAMMING. HIS SPECIAL
ASSISTANT TOOK DETAILED NOTES OF OUR CONVERSATION, AND
HE PROMISED TO FOLLOW-UP WITH THE APPROPRIATE STAFF
UPON THEIR RETURN FROM THE HOLIDAYS. U.S. MISSION WILL
FOLLOW THESE DEVELOPMENTS CLOSELY.



12. MINIMIZE CONSIDERED. HEILEMAN

UNCLASSIFIED

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2002ROME00001 - Classification: UNCLASSIFIED