WFP AND FAO EFFORTS TO IMPROVE WORLDWIDE EMERGENCY

UNCLAS ROME 002839

SIPDIS


FROM U.S. MISSION IN ROME

STATE FOR PRM/P AND IO/EDA
INFO USAID FOR DCHA/FFP LANDIS AND WHELAN


USDA FOR FAS CHAMBLISS
GENEVA FOR RMA AND NKYLOH/USAID

E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: EAID EAGR PREF UN
SUBJECT: WFP AND FAO EFFORTS TO IMPROVE WORLDWIDE EMERGENCY
ASSESSMENT AND RESPONSE SYSTEMS

Ref: Rome 2298


1. Summary. The recent G8 summit at Sea Island, Georgia,
ended with a pledge by G8 leaders that their governments
would coordinate with FAO and WFP to improve worldwide
emergency assessment and response systems. FAO and WFP
continue to work with stakeholders to improve emergency
needs assessments and response systems despite funding
uncertainties. End summary.

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G8 Statement on Improving Emergency Assessments
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2. On June 10, the last day of the G8 summit at Sea Island,
Georgia, G8 leaders agreed to expand efforts to fight
famine, hunger and food insecurity, including efforts by
FAO and WFP to improve worldwide emergency assessment and
response systems, the USG news service reported. The G8's
official statement included the following:

Acting individually and collectively, G8 members will
take the following actions:

-- Continue to work closely with the WFP and Food and
Agriculture Organization (FAO) to improve global food
emergency assessment methodologies and response
systems. G8 countries will support the piloting of
the improved assessment process in two Southern
African countries this year.

-- Support the International Food Policy and Research
Institute's "Strategic Analysis Knowledge Support
System" for agriculture and market analysis.

-- Support improvement of international needs
assessment initiatives such as the WFP/FAO common
approach and the Standardized Monitoring and
Assessment of Relief and Transitions (SMART)
Initiative.

-- We will work to ensure that the outcome of the
renegotiation of the Food Aid Convention promotes good
food aid practices and improved assessments based on
the needs of beneficiaries in food insecure countries.

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FAO and WFP Efforts to Improve Emergency Assessments
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3. The latest round of a series of stakeholder meetings
sponsored by FAO and WFP took place in Rome from June 6
through 8, 2004. Technical consultations were held to
recap milestones previously identified, crosscheck progress
made regarding methodological and process issues, discuss
key features of recent FAO/WFP crop and food supply
assessments, and critique WFP's Emergency Food Security
Assessment Handbook.


4. The first two days of meetings began with the Second
Joint Technical Meeting and Ongoing Review Process of the
Crop and Food Supply Assessment Missions (CFSAMs) sponsored
by FAO. The meetings were well attended by representatives
from FAO, WFP, the European Commission (EC) including ECHO,
DFID, Germany, and the US, represented by USAID/FFP
Officers, Drs. Will Whelan and Patrick Diskin, along with
USUN Rome Program Specialist, Philip Lamade. Day one
included a review of background issues, process documents
and recent CFSAMs.


5. Some interlocutors expressed concern about the
reliability of CFSAM data, e.g., for Malawi, and others
said that reports might be more credible with more detailed
analyses and explanations about the conclusions.


6. Day two included the presentation of a regional cross
border study in southern Africa, which was followed by a
demonstration of the EC-funded Global Information and Early
Warning Service (GIEWS) workstation, i.e., a Rome-based
function which includes reports, database services, mailing
lists and software.


7. Day three consisted of discussions about WFP's draft
Emergency Food Security Assessment (EFSA) Handbook and a


few words about appropriate ways to finance assessments.
To prepare for the meeting, WFP had earlier solicited and
in turn received extensive comments on the Handbook from
the European Commission and USAID/FFP. In addition, WFP
released a paper entitled "WFP Emergency Needs Assessments:
Commitment to Transparency."


8. With respect to financing EFSAs, WFP's Associate
Director of Operations observed that in view of perceived
conflicts of interest by some parties, an independent fund
for EFSAs might be preferable to the current practice of
using project funds for them. An FAO representative
concurred, stressing the importance of preserving the
integrity of EFSA findings. He also alerted the audience
to FAO's Emergency Needs Assessment (ENA) Guidelines, which
focus more broadly than WFP's on agricultural livelihoods,
and he also touted FAO's neutrality vis--vis food aid.

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Funding Uncertainties
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9. Both FAO and WFP face funding uncertainites, although
they are distinctly different kinds of uncertainties.
FAO's funds for emergency needs assessments have been
reduced, yet frequency of man-made and natural disasters
has increased the need for reliable assessments. In recent
years, FAO's GIEWS budget has been about $3 million/year,
plus $400,000/year funded exclusively by the EC for the
GIEWS workstation. About $2 million pays for a staff of
about 22 people, and the remaining $1 million pays for
publications, translation services, and CFSAMs. In March
2004, the GIEWS budget for 2004 and 2005 was reduced by
12.5%. In order to retain expertise and capacity, FAO has
decided to maintain its current staffing levels and instead
reduce expenses for CFSAMs. Budget reductions have led FAO
to eliminate planned CFSAMs this year for Eritrea, Haiti,
and the Sahel. CFSAMs for Afghanistan and Angola are only
possible due to ad hoc provisioning of extra-budgetary
funding.


10. Per reftel, FAO established a new, extra-budgetary
special fund for emergency and rehabilitation in order to
fund the establishment of an ENA capability focused on
preserving livelihoods. The special fund is an outgrowth
of FAO's Program Committee Report, "Progress Report on the
Implementation of Recommendations Regarding the Thematic
Evaluation of Strategy A.3," released in July 2003. Per
FAO, assessments responding to as many as 20 protracted
crises covered by CAPs, including analyses, report writing,
and project dissemination, will require up to $1.2 million
in funding. Similarly, in October 2004, FAO/GIEWS will
propose the establishment of a multi-donor trust fund to
finance CFSAMs, to which the EC is expected to contribute
$300,000.


11. As discussed in Paragraph 8 above, WFP's funding
uncertainties do not pertain to funding insufficiencies,
but to the source of the funds potentially coloring the
integrity of the assessments. WFP spends approximately $3
million/year to perform about 200 assessments of all types
e.g., CFSAMs, Joint Assessment Missions (with UNHCR),and
ENAs, mostly from project funds. In order to reinforce the
integrity of its assessment findings, WFP is considering
the establishment of an independent, multilateral fund for
its assessment function much like the multi-donor trust
fund contemlated by FAO to finance CFSAMs.


12. Recent G8 satements supporting improvements in needs
assessent initiatives provide an additional incentive to
ensure FAO and WFP maintain and improve their capabilities
in this area amid funding uncertainties. USUN Rome and
USAID/FFP continue to support FAO and WFP efforts in this
regard and are monitoring developments closely. Hall


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2004ROME02839 - Classification: UNCLASSIFIED