A HUMANITARIAN LOOK AT COTE D'IVOIRE PAINTS A

UNCLAS ROME 004431

SIPDIS


AIDAC

FROM U.S. MISSION IN ROME

ABIDJAN FOR REFUGEE COORDINATOR
DAKAR FOR USAID
GENEVA FOR RMA AND NKYLOH
CONAKRY FOR POL; USAID FOR AADAMS, RBONCEY, DATTEBERRY
FREETOWN FOR POL; USAID FOR JKOENEN-GRANT
MONROVIA FOR USAID/DART
NAIROBI FOR OFDA/ARO
EUCOM FOR POLA/J3/J4/J5
BRUSSELS FOR USAID PLERNER
STATE FOR PRM, AF, IO
NSC FOR JDWORKEN
USAID FOR USAID/A, DCHA/AA, DCHA/FFP
USAID FOR DCHA/OTI, DCHA/DG, AFR/AA, AFR/WA
USAID FOR DCHA/OFDA BMCCONNELL, JBORNS, SKHANDAGLE

E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: EAID PREF IZ LI PHUM WFP
SUBJECT: A HUMANITARIAN LOOK AT COTE D'IVOIRE PAINTS A
PRECARIOUS PICTURE

--------------
SUMMARY
--------------


1. The food security and nutritional situation in the
northern and western areas of Cote d'Ivoire has been
adversely affected by the events of the past year. The
lack of civil administration, breakdown in health services,
and fighting in the west has had a serious negative impact
on the affected areas. Even if the peace process and
demobilization succeed, it will take several months for the
population to bounce back. Nicla refugee camp in Guiglo
now houses 4,140 Liberian refugees and a recent
registration exercise in Tabou department yielded a total
of 45,400 refugees. The U.N. estimates the total number of
internally displaced persons (IDPs) to be 500,000-600,000.
There are currently 420 severely malnourished children in
therapeutic feeding centers in the west and non-
governmental organizations (NGOs) attribute the nutritional
problems primarily to the lack of health services, with
access to food and clean water as the secondary cause. The
U.N. World Food Program (WFP) is providing food to
vulnerable populations through a variety of activities
suited for specific needs. Lack of NGO implementing
partners is a major stumbling block, however. The upcoming
Food and Agriculture Organization of the U.N. (FAO) and WFP
Food and Crop Assessment will help shed light on the
current national food security situation. WFP and FAO have
mounted a successful seeds and tools project targeting
internally displaced persons and their host communities.
See para 37 for recommendations. End Summary.

--------------
BACKGROUND
--------------


2. Special Assistant to Ambassador Tony Hall, Max Finberg,
and Senior Emergency Coordinator (SEC) R. Davis in the U.S.
Mission/Rome visited Cote d'Ivoire September 3-9. The team
traveled to the western areas of Guiglo and Tabou September
4-6, and the SEC followed on with meetings in Abidjan
through September 9, as Finberg departed Cote d'Ivoire
after the field travel. Shane Hough, from State/PRM, also
joined on the travel. The purpose of the trip was to gain
a better understanding of the food security situation in
the country and its nutritional impact on the population.
This report discusses these topics, and a second report
focuses on the plight of third country nationals in the
west.


3. Up country, the team met with refugees in Nicla refugee
camp located in Guiglo and refugees and residents in Prollo
and Tabou near the Liberian border, third country nationals
(TCNs) housed in Guiglo transit center, and local residents
and IDPs in a small town (Dahoua) northeast of Guiglo where
WFP and FAO are implementing a joint agricultural project. RBONCEY,
DATTEBERRY
FREETOWN FOR POL; USAID FOR JKOENEN-GRANT
MONROVIA FOR USAID/DART
NAIROBI FOR OFDA/ARO
EUCOM FOR POLA/J3/J4/J5
BRUSSELS FOR USAID PLERNER
STATE FOR PRM, AF, IO
NSC FOR JDWORKEN
USAID FOR USAID/A, DCHA/AA, DC


Meetings were held with the NGO community in the field and
in Abidjan, UNHCR, UNICEF, FAO, French Cooperation, World
Bank, the Interagency Humanitarian Coordination Committee
(IAHCC) Coordinator, French Licorne Force in Guiglo, and
the local administrations in Guiglo and Tabou.

--------------
OVERVIEW
--------------


4. The humanitarian situation in western and northern Cote
d'Ivoire is unsettling. On the surface the peace process
is proceeding, but progress is slow in touching people's
lives in the western and northern sections of the country.
The U.N. estimates that 500,000-600,000 persons remain
displaced and there are over 50,000 refugees. In the north
(held by the New Forces for just over one year),neither
the civil administration nor the banks is functioning;
therefore, the health system is not operating. The lack of
health services alongside a continued decrease in
purchasing power has had damaging effects on the
nutritional situation of the general public, and has been
especially difficult for the children and elderly.


5. In the west, even though the circumstances are
different, the results are the same but more extreme. In
government-held areas of the west, almost all of the civil
administrators fled due to the fighting that took place
between October 2002 and May 2003. Slowly they are
returning, but there remain many villages where little to
no civil administration exists. And there are still areas
in the west that are considered very dangerous. Large
numbers of the work force from the coffee, cocoa, and palm
oil plantations, primarily composed of third country
nationals (TCNs),have been chased out. About 7,000 TCNs,
seventy percent of whom were Burkinabe, were repatriated to
Burkina Faso with the help of the International
Organization for Migration, but thousands also remain
displaced inside Cote d'Ivoire and prefer to stay, hoping
to return to their land in Cote d'Ivoire some day. Issues
surrounding their protection are also a concern. (See sep
tel.)


6. The lack of health services combined with the fact that
many people lived in the bush for weeks and weeks has
severely weakened the population in the west. Even though
WFP began providing general distributions to the towns it
could access in March, when greater access was gained in
late May and June, with the help of the deployment of the
French Licorne forces, the humanitarian community
discovered a population in great need of nutritional and
medical assistance. Therapeutic feeding centers were
quickly established in two locations in the west (Guiglo
and Man) that treated 520 severely malnourished children.
Three months later the number in the two centers has now
decreased by only 100 to a total of 420. The NGOs workingON IN ROME

ABIDJAN FOR REFUGEE COORDINATOR
DAKAR FOR USAID
GENEVA FOR RMA AND NKYLOH
CONAKRY FOR POL; USAID FOR AADAMS, RBONCEY, DATTEBERRY
FREETOWN FOR POL; USAID FOR JKOENEN-GRANT
MONROVIA FOR USAID/DART
NAIROBI FOR OFDA/ARO

in nutrition attribute the nutritional problems primarily
to the lack of health services, with access to food and
clean water as the secondary cause.


7. Added to this equation is a notable lack of
international NGOs, insufficient funding, and significant
numbers of turnover in staff. Most of the international
NGOs that are working in the west, which is a handful,
arrived between April and June. There are also a few local
NGOs, but they lack adequate capacity. The majority of the
funding comes from private funds, the European Commission,
and USAID/DCHA/Office of U.S. Foreign Disaster Assistance
(OFDA). (Note: In fiscal year 2003, USAID/OFDA provided
2.4 million USD to four NGOs working in health, nutrition,
and water/sanitation, and International Committee of the
Red Cross (ICRC) and UNICEF. End Note.) French
Cooperation said it is providing very little to
humanitarian assistance; the French contribution is the
French Licorne forces.


8. School teachers are being paid by the central
government, whether working or not, but because banks are
closed in the north, a teacher in the north is required to
go to the south to cash the check. Many are scared to go;
others fled to the south months ago, and now may be scared
to return to the north once the schools officially re-open.
In the meantime, some schools are functioning in the north,
with about two-thirds of the teaching force composed of
university students unable to attend classes since the
university in Yamoussoukro is also closed. To assist the
teachers, WFP has been providing a one-month ration for one
person to the teachers in the north. Schools in the south
and east are to open October 6. The ones in the north
began in January and will continue through October. They
will take a two-month break and restart in January.


9. It is the team's conclusion that the humanitarian
situation in Cote d'Ivoire is at a crossroads. If the
peace process progresses positively and demobilization
begins, the humanitarian situation will improve. However,
if the peace process stalls or demobilization does not
occur within the coming months, then the food security
situation and health of the general population in the
affected areas will continue to decline and could become
quite critical. Under the best case scenario, it should be
noted that needs already identified will continue to
require assistance for the next six to ten months, at a
minimum, to help people get back on their feet. The
humanitarian situation in Cote d'Ivoire merits close
monitoring.

--------------
NICLA REFUGEE CAMP
--------------


10. There are currently 4,140 refugees in Nicla refugeeF 11 ROME 004431

AIDAC

FROM U.S. MISSION IN ROME

ABIDJAN FOR REFUGEE COORDINATOR
DAKAR FOR USAID
GENEVA FOR RMA AND NKYLOH
CONAKRY FOR POL; USAID FOR AADAMS, RBONCEY, DATTEBERRY
FREETOWN FOR POL; USAID FOR JKOENEN-GRANT
MONROVIA FOR USAID/DART
NAIROBI FOR OFDA/ARO
EUCOM FOR POLA/J3/J4/J5
BRUSSELS FOR USAID PLERNER
STATE FOR PRM, AF, IO
NSC FOR JDWORKEN
USAID FOR USAID/A, DCHA/AA, DCHA/FFP
USAID FOR DCHA/OTI, DCHA/DG, AFR/AA, AFR/WA
USAID FOR DCHA/OF


camp, a camp that has been in existence for over ten years.
More than 2,000 new refugees arrived in Nicla between June
and August. The camp inhabitants are Liberians that have
resided in Nicla anywhere between a few weeks to over ten
years. WFP provides a general food distribution in the
camp and has changed from giving a monthly ration to
providing a ration every two weeks because the camp has
been experiencing a significant combination of new arrivals
and departures, as many of these refugees are interviewing
for the U.S. resettlement program. At the same time,
Liberians continue to arrive, albeit at a much slower pace
in the last four weeks since Charles Taylor left Liberia.
478 arrivals came between August 4-19 and 266 between
August 20 and September 1. The recent entries were said to
have come with very little.


11. The refugees said they were allowed to go to town and
that they used to have land in the vicinity of the camp on
which to cultivate. Since troubles began in Cote d'Ivoire
last September however, the refugees said the local
authorities stopped allowing the refugees to farm.


12. The team witnessed a food distribution taking place
under the management of Caritas, WFP's implementing
partner, one of only two NGOs (both local) working in the
camp. The daily ration provided for two weeks was composed
of 250 grams (gm) rice, 200 gm maize meal, 30 gm vegetable
oil, and 5 gm salt. Beans and corn-soy blend (CSB) were
missing from the ration because of WFP's pipeline break.
The distribution seemed to be well organized and was
overseen by members of the Cote d'Ivoire armed forces
(FANCI). Absent, however, was food basket monitoring which
should be done when beneficiaries exit the distribution
site, and post-distribution monitoring (PDM),which should
occur two weeks after the distribution. Just recently,
WFP's food monitors began PDM, but WFP/CI does not have
adequate staff to do a thorough job of PDM. An NGO should
have the task.


13. In addition, the prefet of Guiglo stated that there
were 12,000 IDPs in his department--not living in camps.

--------------
TABOU AREA
--------------


14. Fighting in the extreme southwest began in January
2003 but remained about 80 km north of Tabou town, which is
located on the ocean and about 30 km from the Liberian
border. Tabou department is composed of 132 villages with
a population of approximately 137,000 (excluding refugees).
The area around Tabou traditionally had few services. For
example, there is only one hour of water every two days in
Tabou town. The French Licorne forces had maintained a
base in Tabou since January, but closed it and moved to San
Pedro, 100 kms. east along the coast, in late August, asR POL; USAID FOR
AADAMS, RBONCEY, DATTEBERRY
FREETOWN FOR POL; USAID FOR JKOENEN-GRANT
MONROVIA FOR USAID/DART
NAIROBI FOR OFDA/ARO
EUCOM FOR POLA/J3/J4/J5
BRUSSELS FOR USAID PLERNER
STATE FOR PRM, AF, IO
NSC FOR JDWORKEN
USAID


they said the security situation had greatly improved. The
area between Tai and Grabo, 60 kms. north of Tabou, became
accessible only in the last month.


15. WFP opened a sub-office in Tabou in May as the influx
of refugees from Liberia began to grow. UNHCR conducted a
registration exercise August 30-September 1 which resulted
in a count of 45,402 refugees, and all agree that the
figure is pretty reliable. The vast majority of the
refugees live with hosting families, with only about 4,000
living in the transit center in Tabou town. The refugees
in the transit center receive three hot meals a day rather
than dry rations. WFP wants to maintain this practice to
reinforce the temporary nature of the camp.


16. In early July, the International Rescue Committee
(IRC) arrived in the area and began assisting with mobile
medical clinics and water/sanitation in surrounding
villages. Oxfam just began working in the area, also doing
health and water/sanitation in villages hosting refugees.
There is currently no NGO in this area focused on
nutrition.


17. Caritas serves as WFP's implementing partner for food
distributions in Tabou department. Caritas has conducted
two general distributions (one in June and second in late
July) to the refugees in the Tabou area, but WFP is likely
to change to only targeted distributions to the most
vulnerable in the future via supplementary feeding and
school feeding for the host populations, IDPs, and refugees
alike, which the team supports. WFP has also recently
formed a registration and distribution team that is
composed of six individuals and has also recruited two food
aid monitors locally.


18. Oxfam conducted a food security assessment of the
Tabou area in June, but could not access the area between
Grabo and Tai, 120 kms. to the north, at the time. The
mission found no emergency situation, but noted constraints
in the household due to lack of cash and access to land to
grow food. Oxfam is fielding another food security mission
to Tabou in October.


19. Populations in Tabou department have doubled, and in
some cases, tripled in size. Even though the locals and
the refugees are getting along well thus far, there is
concern about overstretching the communities to share very
limited supplies of food and water and health and
sanitation services. Thus the work of the NGOs in these
areas is important to addressing potential tensions.


20. Very near Tabou is the PALMCI company producing palm
oil. PALMCI had employed many TCNs, but now finds itself
lacking much of its workforce. UNHCR had met with PALMCI
just before the team's visit and reported that PALMCI was
very willing to temporarily hire the refugees as it had 900N FOR REFUGEE
COORDINATOR
DAKAR FOR USAID
GENEVA FOR RMA AND NKYLOH
CONAKRY FOR POL; USAID FOR AADAMS, RBONCEY, DATTEBERRY
FREETOWN FOR POL; USAID FOR JKOENEN-GRANT
MONROVIA FOR USAID/DART
NAIROBI FOR OFDA/ARO
EUCOM FOR POLA/J3/J4


jobs to fill.

--------------
WET FEEDING FOR CHILREN
--------------


21. In addition to providing wet meals to the children in
the Nicla transit camp (reported in sep tel),Solidarites
is also providing wet meals five days a week to children
five years and younger and mothers in Toulepleu (4,500),
Duekoue (355),and Daloa (1,060). The meals are provided
in the early morning and at noon. In between the meals,
the children stay at the feeding point and play games. In
Toulepleu, Solidarites is feeding all children in the
village, including IDP, refugee, and host family children.
With four feeding centers in Toulepleu, Solidarites began
with feeding 3,500 children, but quickly realized there
were many more in need. It is now at 4,500 and stated it
would probably increase to 5,000 if WFP had sufficient food
stocks to support the program. Soldiarites's funding stops
at the end of September, but it hopes that it can continue
its wet feeding to the children at least through October,
as IDPs are returning to the villages around Toulepleu.
(Comment: Solidarites is providing a valuable service
within this western area of Cote d'Ivoire. If they stop
their current projects, the negative impact on the children
could be quite acute. End Comment.)

--------------
MALNUTRITION
--------------


22. In June, as humanitarian organizations began to have
access to areas in the west, it was apparent that special
nutritional interventions were critical. Medecins Sans
Frontieres (MSF) France opened a therapeutic feeding center
(TFC) in Guiglo and MSF/Belgium opened a TFC in Man
targeting severely malnourished children five years and
younger (less than 70 percent weight for height).
Initially, there were about 200 children in the Guiglo TFC
and 320 in Man. The caseload in Guiglo's TFC has now
lowered to 130 patients, but the center in Man has
maintained an average of 300 patients, ranging from 260 to
320 patients at any one time. On September 8, there were
289 children in the Man TFC. MSF/France reports that it
continues to receive patients that have been hiding in the
bush and that the majority of malnourishment is in the form
of kwashiorkor, reflecting a lack of protein in the diet.


23. MSF/Holland is working in the Danane area with ten
internationals living in Danane. It operates mobile
clinics, works in the Danane hospital, and sees 200-300
patients a day. It refers cases of severe malnutrition to
MSF/B's TFC in Man. MSF/B is considering also opening a
TFC in Korhogo.SAID FOR AADAMS, RBONCEY, DATTEBERRY
FREETOWN FOR POL; USAID FOR JKOENEN-GRANT
MONROVIA FOR USAID/DART
NAIROBI FOR OFDA/ARO
EUCOM FOR POLA/J3/J4/J5
BRUSSELS FOR USAID PLERNER
STATE FOR PRM, AF, IO
NSC FOR JDWORKEN
USAID FOR USAI



24. Action Contre La Faim (ACF),which began working in
Bouake last October, operates ten supplementary feeding
centers (for moderately malnourished children): five in
government-controlled areas and five in rebel-held
territories. Their centers in Duekoue, Man, and Guiglo
complement the TFCs run by MSF.


25. Remembering Burundi in 1997, when many, many adults
hid in the forest for months and emerged in an extremely
fragile condition, the SEC asked MSF if it had seen
severely malnourished adults. The answer was affirmative.
Adults are often not treated for malnourishment as the
focus is usually on children, unless the numbers become
overwhelming as they did in Burundi. The fact that there
are severely malnourished adults in a country such as Cote
d'Ivoire is a worrying sign.

--------------
LACK OF HEALTH SERVICES
--------------


26. The area north of Guiglo to Man, west to Danane and
south to Toulepleu forms a square of territory that is
quite delicate. The MSFs and Merlin are operating mobile
clinics to treat health problems and identify malnutrition,
but they report it is not enough. Besides ICRC, the MSFs,
Solidarites, and Merlin are the only NGOs working in this
area, as the security situation remains tenuous. Guiglo is
a government-held area but going north to Man or west to
Danane crosses into New Forces-held terrain. MSF reported
that some IDPs are returning to the area, but they have
lost most of their assets and their purchasing power is
very low.


27. As reported in para 6 above, the MSFs report that the
primary culprit behind the malnutrition levels is
morbidity, related to the current lack of health services
in the west and north. Services in the west were suspended
because of insecurity and all civil administration in the
north came to a standstill after September19 last year.
Services in the north have never reumed, and the west
remains too insecure for mosthealth workers.

--------------
FOOD SECURITY
--------------


28. Cote d'Ivoire is a largecountry with a variety of
cash crops. It is theleading cocoa producer in the world,
holding 43 prcent of the world market. It is also a major
cffee producer and in the south, large plantations f oil
palms, rubber trees, banana and pineapple xist. In the
eastern zone between rain forest ad savanna, cashew
plantations are gradually replaing the declining the cocoa
plantations. The north produces about two-thirds of the
sugar needs of the country, and cotton is the north's most
AIDAC

FROM U.S. MISSION IN ROME

ABIDJAN FOR REFUGEE COORDINATOR
DAKAR FOR USAID
GENEVA FOR RMA AND NKYLOH
CONAKRY FOR POL; USAID FOR AADAMS, RBONCEY, DATTEBERRY
FREETOWN FOR POL; USAID FOR JKOENEN-GRANT
MONROVIA FOR USAID/DART
NAIROBI FOR OFDA/ARO
EUCOM FOR POLA/J3/J4/J5
BRUSSELS FOR USAID PLERNER
STATE FOR PRM, AF, IO
NSC FOR JDWORKEN
USAID FOR USAID/A, DCHA/AA, DCHA/FFP
USAID FOR DCHA/OTI, DCHA/DG, AFR/AA, AFR/WA
USAID FOR DCHA/OFDA BMCCONNELL, JBORN


important cash crop (500 000 tons were expected for 2003).
(Source: FAO Emergency Needs Assessment, February 2003.)


29. With this as a backdrop, it is difficult to grasp the
fact that there could be food security problems and severe
malnourishment in Cote d'Ivoire. As stated above, the
displacement caused by the fighting from October to May
coupled with the breakdown in social services has led to a
decline in basic food production, in purchasing power, and
in the general health of the population in the affected
zones. Some food security assessments have been performed
by NGOs, but analysis is lacking and there is no U.N.
agency serving as an overall coordinator for fielding the
assessments or the methodology employed.


30. In May, WFP established a food security working group
headed by a staff member dedicated to tracking the food
security situation. WFP has sent a proposal to various
donors for the establishment of a Risk and Food Security
Monitoring System (355,000 USD for one year),but thus far
has received no funds. The unit would collect and provide
information on the economic, social, health, and political
factors affecting food security in coordination with the
government, U.N. agencies, and NGOs. In addition, the unit
would coordinate data collection and analysis which would
serve as a guide for interventions. Such work is vital for
the continued monitoring and understanding of the food
security situation in Cote d'Ivoire. Also, an FAO and WFP
Crop and Food Assessment will be conducted at the end of
October which will greatly help in gaining an overall
understanding of the situation, as we currently have no
national picture.

--------------
FAO AND WFP WORKING TOGETHER
--------------


31. The team was very pleased to see a joint FAO/WFP
project being implemented in several areas of the north and
west. WFP included in its Emergency Operation (EMOP) a
budget for agriculture tools, fertilizer, and pesticides,
and FAO purchased the seeds. In addition, WFP provides a
cereal ration to serve as seed protection for the family.
Seeds and tools were provided in April/May to 5,381
households in the departments of Korhogo, Sakassou,
Yamoussoukro, Tiebissou, and Bouake. And now in September,
9,500 households are being assisted in the departments of
Tabou, Duekoue, Guiglo, Toulepleu, Man, Danane, Zouan-
Hounien, and Bin Houye. These are areas where there are
high concentrations of IDPs, and the project targets host
families and IDPs. FAO wanted to provide even more seeds,
as the demand for them has grown as people return home, but
did not have sufficient quantities to meet the growing
demand. WFP and FAO are planning another distribution in
the north for February. The team met with beneficiaries of
the agricultural inputs in the town of Dahoua, a fewS. MISSION IN ROME

ABIDJAN FOR REFUGEE COORDINATOR
DAKAR FOR USAID
GENEVA FOR RMA AND NKYLOH
CONAKRY FOR POL; USAID FOR AADAMS, RBONCEY, DATTEBERRY
FREETOWN FOR POL; USAID FOR JKOENEN-GRANT
MONROVIA FOR USAID/DART
NAIROBI FOR OFDA/ARO
EUCOM FOR POLA/J3/J4/J5
BRUSSELS FOR USAID PLERNER
STATE FOR PRM, AF, IO
NSC FOR JDWORKEN

USAID FOR USAID/A, DCHA/AA, DCHA/FFP
USAID FOR DCHA/OTI, DCHA/DG, AFR/AA, AFR/WA
USAID FOR DCHA/OFDA BMCCONNELL, JBORNS, SKHANDAGLE

kilometers northeast of Guiglo. Dahoua had a population of
1,326 and has taken in 586 IDPs. The residents and IDPs
were clearing land for rice production and were very
grateful about the assistance being provided.

--------------
WFP OPERATIONS
--------------


32. Late last October, WFP replaced its Cote d'Ivoire
country director who was overseeing WFP's development
programs with one of its best emergency managers, Gemmo
Lodesani. As the war unfolded, first in the north and then
in the west, WFP moved as quickly as access allowed to
respond to the growing needs. WFP opened seven sub-
offices, in addition to the sub-office that already existed
in the east in Bondoukou. Each sub-office is responding to
the needs in a variety of ways which include general
distributions, supplementary feeding, emergency school
feeding, wet meals to children, food-for-work, and seed
protection. Given the lack of implementing partners (IPs)
and problems with securing funding, WFP is to be
congratulated for its significant efforts in addressing the
burgeoning needs in the country over the last year.


33. The lack of IPs for WFP remains a critical gap and is
directly related to the overall lack of international NGOs
in the country. There are a few local NGOs, but they lack
adequate capacity. The lack of IPs impacts not only the
quality of WFP programs, themselves, but also the post-
distribution monitoring of the programs. Where there are
no IPs, WFP staff are performing the tasks, but WFP does
not have sufficient numbers of staff to implement these
programs properly. WFP needs a strong NGO partner for its
programs in the north and the west. Below is listed where
WFP has or does not have IPs for its programs. The list
very well highlights the small number of active NGOs.

Abidjan: Caritas and GTZ (distribution to refugees)

Guiglo: Caritas and Solidarites for general distributions
and wet feeding. MSF/F, ACF, and Merlin for special
feeding programs.

Man: WFP is doing all its own general distributions.
MSF/F, MSF/H, ICRC, and ACF for special feeding programs.

Tabou: Caritas for general distributions. ACF for special
feeding programs.

Daloa: Solidarites

Yamoussoukro: WFP does not have an NGO partner here;
rather its implementing partners are national associations
(ASAPSU, Soeurs Providence and Centre Remar). IRC and
Caritas are present however.M U.S. MISSION IN ROME

ABIDJAN FOR REFUGEE COORDINATOR
DAKAR FOR USAID
GENEVA FOR RMA AND NKYLOH
CONAKRY FOR POL; USAID FOR AADAMS, RBONCEY, DATTEBERRY
FREETOWN FOR POL; USAID FOR JKOENEN-GRANT
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EUCOM FOR POLA/J3/J4/J5
BRUSSELS FOR USAID PLERNER
STATE FOR PRM, AF, IO
NSC FOR JDWORKEN
USAID FOR USAID/A, DCHA/AA, DCHA/FFP
USAID FOR DCHA/OTI, DCHA/DG, AFR/AA, AFR/WA
USAID FOR DCHA/OFDA BMCCONNELL, JBORNS, SKHANDAGL


Bouake: CARE until the end of Sept 03. Also ACF for
special feeding programs.

Korhogo: Africare just arrived. MSF/F for special feeding
programs.

--------------
WFP FOOD PIPELINE
--------------


34. For the last several weeks, WFP has been experiencing
pipeline problems which will continue into October. Even
though WFP has received significant pledges from
USAID/DCHA/Office of Food for Peace (FFP) (6.2 million USD)
and the European Union (5.8 million USD),the U.S.
commodities will not begin arriving until late September
and October. WFP is unsure of the arrival dates of the EU
commodities. To cover the breaks, WFP made local
purchases, most of which were purchased inside Cote
d'Ivoire.


35. Looking to 2004, WFP has begun preparing its next EMOP
that would begin in January. A joint mission is being
prepared with UNHCR and donors for mid-October that will
serve as a platform for discussion for the kinds of
activities to be included in the 2004 EMOP. WFP then hopes
to issue the EMOP in late November so that donor
contributions could be pledged immediately to allow for
shipments to begin arriving in March 2004. The current
pipeline reflects a need for pulses in April as the most
urgent requirement.

--------------
PARTING SHOT - A RAY OF HOPE
--------------


36. While in Dahoua, the team met with the townspeople and
the IDPs. The team thanked the village chief for taking in
such a large number of IDPs and being so hospitable (IDPs
increased the size of the village by 45 percent). The
chief responded by saying that he had been a teacher in the
village and many of the townspeople had been his students.
He said he had taught them as students to welcome
strangers, and Dahoua had become a village where others
knew they were welcome.

--------------
RECOMMENDATIONS
--------------


37. The team makes the following recommendations:

- FAO should work with the local authorities to provide
land once again to the Nicla refugee camp inhabitants if
they remain in the camp for the next planting season.R
DAKAR FOR USAID
GENEVA FOR RMA AND NKYLOH
CONAKRY FOR POL; USAID FOR AADAMS, RBONCEY, DATTEBERRY
FREETOWN FOR POL; USAID FOR JKOENEN-GRANT
MONROVIA FOR USAID/DART
NAIROBI FOR OFDA/ARO
EUCOM FOR POLA/J3/J4/J5
BRUSSELS FOR USAID


- WFP should implement post-distribution monitoring in the
Nicla refugee camp immediately and needs an implementing
partner for this.

- The nutritional needs in the Tabou department need to be
assessed. Again, the lack of a nutritional NGO in that
area is a drawback.

-- Food and non-food interventions in Tabou department
should be supported in the short term to lower any
potential tensions between the local hosting families and
the 45,400 refugees as they vie for the same limited
resources.

- USAID/DCHA/OFDA should consider providing funding
Solidarites if it does not receive funding from ECHO. As
stated in para 21 above, if Solidarites stops its
operations at the end of September, it will cause a huge
gap in providing wet meals to large numbers of children
five years and younger in the west.

- USAID/DCHA/OFDA should also consider providing funding
to WFP in support of its Risk and Food Security Monitoring
System, as such an effort for food security is sorely
needed. 175,000 USD would provide six months of funding.

- WFP needs additional implementing partners. Donors,
especially the U.S. and the EU since they are providing the
bulk of commodities to WFP, should collaborate with WFP in
finding suitable partners.

- USAID/DCHA/FFP should participate in the joint UNHCR-
WFP-donor mission that will discuss activities and
strategies for the 2004 EMOP. The dates are October 14-24,

2003.


38. Ambassador Render cleared this cable.


39. Minimize considered. CLEVERLEY


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2003ROME04431 - Classification: UNCLASSIFIED