Identifier
Created
Classification
Origin
03ROME5073
2003-11-07 14:39:00
UNCLASSIFIED
Embassy Rome
Cable title:  

WFP EXECUTIVE BOARD APPROVES WEST AFRICA

Tags:  EAID EAGR AORC PREF WFP UN 
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UNCLAS ROME 005073 

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
BRUSSELS FOR USAID PLERNER
NSC FOR JDWORKEN
USUN FOR MLUTZ
STATE FOR PRM, AF, IO
USAID FOR DCHA/AA, DCHA/FFP, DCHA/OFDA, AFR

E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: EAID EAGR AORC PREF WFP UN
SUBJECT: WFP EXECUTIVE BOARD APPROVES WEST AFRICA
COASTAL PROTRACTED RELIEF AND RECOVERY OPERATION FOR
2004

Ref: Rome 4996

---------
Summary
---------

UNCLAS ROME 005073

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
BRUSSELS FOR USAID PLERNER
NSC FOR JDWORKEN
USUN FOR MLUTZ
STATE FOR PRM, AF, IO
USAID FOR DCHA/AA, DCHA/FFP, DCHA/OFDA, AFR

E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: EAID EAGR AORC PREF WFP UN
SUBJECT: WFP EXECUTIVE BOARD APPROVES WEST AFRICA
COASTAL PROTRACTED RELIEF AND RECOVERY OPERATION FOR
2004

Ref: Rome 4996

--------------
Summary
--------------


1. The U.S. Delegation (USDEL) provided a number of
comments to the U.N. World Food Program (WFP) regarding
its new Protracted Relief and Recovery Operation (PRRO)
for West Africa during WFP's Executive Board (EB)
meeting the week of October 20. The USDEL expressed
support for the activation of the contingency measure to
cover the current food needs in Liberia, disappointment
that the longer-term refugees in the camps in Guinea who
had been able to engage in farming or income-generating
activities continued to receive full rations, support
for use of land transport, shipping and handling (LTSH)
funds to cover post-distribution monitoring costs, and
concern over reported malnutrition rates in the refugee
camps in Sierra Leone. USDEL's concerns in Guinea and
Sierra Leone are being addressed by the WFP country
representatives. WFP's regional director was very
pleased with the USDEL proposal regarding the use of
LTSH funds for post-distribution monitoring. He is
quite optimistic about the future of Liberia, but quite
pessimistic about Cote d'Ivoire. End Summary.

--------------
Background
--------------


2. The current PRRO for the West Africa Coastal region
began on January 1, 2003, and ends with this calendar
year. The new PRRO is for one year and begins January
1, 2004. The PRRO covers three countries, accompanied
by the following beneficiary numbers: Sierra Leone
(275,000),Liberia (454,400),and Guinea (172,700).
Note: Last year, Cote d'Ivoire (CI) was added to the
PRRO because of the number of Liberian refugees in CI.
During the year, however, the caseload of refugees
inside CI was transferred to the new WFP Emergency
Operation (EMOP) for CI. End Note.


3. Because PRRO documents are prepared four to five
months in advance of their presentation at the EB
meetings, the summer's events in Liberia were not
included in the project document. WFP distributed an
addendum during the EB that provided an update of the
current situation in Liberia. WFP's regional director,
Manuel Aranda da Silva, requested that the EB
immediately approve activating the contingency measure
in the PRRO to accommodate an additional 150,000
beneficiaries in Liberia, which currently is sufficient
to address the increased needs in Liberia and is
included in the 454,400 number give above.

--------------
WFP Executive Board Presentation
--------------


4. The U.S. delegation made the following comments to
WFP during its Executive Board meeting.


A. We congratulate WFP on its current work in Liberia.
Although we had trouble getting timely information at
the beginning of the re-entry operation, that element,
as well as others, has greatly improved.


B. The USDEL is pleased to learn that the contingency
measure in the new PRRO is sufficient in addressing the
current needs in Liberia. This reflects good planning.


C. We are very supportive of the continued emphasis on
women in the PRRO and the safeguards needed to ensure
that sexual abuse of beneficiaries is not tolerated.
Constant vigilance is indeed required.


D. We are disappointed to see that only in 2004 is WFP
planning to reduce the ration size in the refugee camps
in Guinea, and only in Kola Camp. It was our
understanding that this was to begin in 2003 because of
the extensive farming that the refugees had achieved in
2002 and 2003 in the Albadariah camps in Kissidougou, as
well as in other camps, such as Kola. We had hoped that
all camps would be periodically assessed to review the
refugees' status of self-reliance, which would include
benefiting from one successful cultivation season or
from other income-generating activities and reviewing
the refugees' nutritional status. We strongly encourage
WFP and UNHCR to monitor such progress systematically in
the camps so that refugees can enjoy the feeling of some
self-sufficiency. If ration cuts are implemented, we
would expect that WFP would have in place sufficient
mechanisms to ensure that food-insecure refugees
continue to receive adequate assistance.


E. We also thought that emergency school feeding in the
Guinea refugee camps was to be introduced during 2003
that would coincide with a reduction of the general
ration. We truly hope this can take place in 2004. We
are pleased to see that the surrounding communities in
Guinea will also be targeted for emergency school
feeding. And we add that school feeding in the fragile
districts of Kono and Kailahun in Sierra Leone and now
in Liberia is extremely important.


F. We fully support WFP's post-distribution monitoring
(PDM) efforts under the PRRO and would like to see WFP
using land transport, shipping and handling (LTSH) funds
to ensure that PDM takes place.


G. We take note of the rates of malnutrition in the
refugee camps in Sierra Leone, and have also heard
reports of rates of malnutrition increasing among the
returnees coming from Guinea resettling in Sierra Leone.
We urge WFP and UNHCR to take serious steps to address
these issues.


H. We take note of WFP's efforts in Sierra Leone to
closely link the rehabilitation efforts to the longer-


I. We once again this year want to emphasize the
important roles that UNHCR and FAO play in regards to
food security. We ask that UNHCR ensure that non-food
items (NFIs) are being provided in the refugee camps, so
that high-valued food commodities are not bartered for
NFIs and that FAO continue its agricultural support to
the refugees and internally displaced so they are not
completely reliant on food aid and can achieve some
degree of self-sufficiency for their own self-esteem.


J. USDEL recommends approval of the West Africa Coastal
PRRO with noted comments

--------------
WFP's responses
--------------


5. WFP made the following responses to the USDEL
intervention:


A. Aranda da Silva said WFP was committed to
maintaining its focus on women and continuing its
vigilance in safeguarding against sexual exploitation
possibilities.


B. Arnada da Silva also said he was pleased with the
USDEL proposal to use LTSH funds to cover PDM costs. He
believes PDM to be an important investment and one that
yields high returns.


C. Note: In a follow-on meeting the next day, WFP and
the USDEL further discussed this proposal of using LTSH
funds for PDM. USDEL clearly stated that it firmly
supported the use of LTSH funds to cover PDM costs and
pointed to the language in the Guidelines for LTSH
Guidelines for P.L. 480, Title II emergency commodities
that allow the expense. Aranda da Silva added that the
European Community is also very supportive of using LTSH
funds to support PDM. WFP agreed to pursue the issue
internally, but this may require pushing from the USG.
PDM costs now are either covered by UNHCR in a refugee
setting or by another donor, usually USAID/OFDA or ECHO,
for internally displaced persons (IDPs). End Note.


D. Stefano Porretti, the new WFP country representative
in Guinea, addressed the points concerning the refugees
in Guinea. He said that he and the new UNHCR country
representative had conducted a joint mission to the
refugee camps in eastern Guinea in September, and they
agreed that a downsizing of the ration is warranted in
some camps. They are in the process of establishing a
task force to focus on the issue. It is WFP's and
UNHCR's goal to effect a reduction in the ration by the
end of this year and put into place other activities of
self-reliance. He also mentioned that FAO had provided
the seeds (with State/PRM funding) and the Government of RBONCEY,
Guinea had provided the land in some of the camps.


E. Porretti also remarked that WFP and UNHCR hoped to
soon initiate support of income generating activities
targeting women.


F. Porretti confirmed the importance of ensuring that
the local population surrounding the refugee camps was
not forgotten when providing for the refugees.


G. Louis Imbleau, the WFP country representative in
Sierra Leone, said malnutrition problems were identified
in July and August. UNHCR and WFP with their
implementing partners, Medecins Sans Frontieres and
Merlin, are now performing nutritional screening in the
way stations and in the camps. WFP supports the
supplementary and therapeutic feeding centers with food.
During September and October, a nutritional survey was
conducted in all the camps, reported Imbleau, and the
results will be out soon.

--------------
Parting Shots
--------------


6. Aranda da Silva added that the timespan for this
PRRO has remained one year due to the very fluid nature
of the region. Next year, he said, the landscape may be
quite different. He said he feels that we, the
international community, have turned the page in Liberia
and that Liberia will be one of the most stable
countries in the region in two years. Being a
Mozambican and having experienced the civil war in his
country, Aranda da Silva said that the hope for change
in Liberia is immense and that hope can have profound
effects on the population. In contrast, he said we have
not yet opened the book on Cote d'Ivoire. He and his
staff are quite concerned about the future in Cote
d'Ivoire.


7. WFP's Executive Director Morris added that
responding to the crisis in Liberia, with its waves of
serious security problems for the UN staff, is "as
difficult a situation in Africa in which WFP has had to
work in a long time." Hall


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2003ROME05073 - Classification: UNCLASSIFIED