Food needed urgently for hundreds of thousands - WFP

The World Food Programme (WFP) will face a break in its operations to help feed hundreds of thousands of destitute and vulnerable people in West Africa, especially in Guinea, Liberia and Sierra Leone, unless more contributions are received immediately, WFP said on Wednesday. "For emergency operations in 2002, WFP requires 100,000 tonnes of food. Given lengthy procurement processes, donors need to pledge their contributions urgently to cover the amount of food aid required for the region," Manuel da Silva, Regional Director for West Africa, said on Wednesday in Dakar. WFP’s largest emergency operation in West Africa is in the Mano River countries - Guinea, Liberia and Sierra Leone. The estimated one million beneficiaries depend on WFP food rations for their survival and any interruption in supplies would have an almost immediate impact. "In a region where civil conflict knows no bounds and crisscrosses the borders of Sierra Leone, Guinea and Liberia, WFP food is helping almost one million people, including refugees displaced by war, people returning to their homes and malnourished children to survive," da Silva said. He said the situation was still very fragile. In Liberia, many of the people displaced by fighting between pro-government and dissident forces “are on a razor's edge and had they not received emergency rations would have been close to death," Da Silva noted. “Without timely help,” he said, “countries such as Sierra Leone may soon fall back into the cycle of violence and despair.” Situation in Guinea-Bissau causes concern Other West African countries where WFP has emergency operations include Senegal and Guinea Bissau. In Senegal, WFP began a six-month emergency operation in October in the southern area of Casamance, home to large numbers of internally displaced persons (IDPs), forced from their homes by a 19-year conflict between the state and an armed group fighting for self-rule. “We have 50 percent of the resources we need for the programme,” which is directed at the most vulnerable IDPs, da Silva told IRIN. Guinea Bissau, where WFP’s emergency operation faces a deficit of 2,400 mt for next year, is the country in West Africa where the agency supports the highest percentage of the population. Its emergency and development programmes target about 30 percent of the country’s 1.1 million people, whose food security is threatened by two main factors: falling cashew prices and insecurity. Many people in Guinea-Bissau trade cashew nuts for rice but this year the price of the nuts is less than half of last year’s. This compounds the food security problem so that if anything goes wrong people would be in a much more fragile situation, Da Silva told IRIN. The political situation in Bissau has been shaky for months, with wrangling between the various branches of the state paralysing the government, according to media reports and sources based in the country. “We are very concerned about the situation, which is very confused," Da Silva said. “The outcome is uncertain". Better prospects in some Sahelian countries A relief programme also had to be set up in Niger following poor harvests caused by excessively dry conditions. This year’s harvests in Niger, as well as Burkina Faso, are expected to be good and WFP hopes that will encourage donors to fund the purchase of grain locally. “Between now and February there is a very good window of opportunity to buy food locally,” which saves on transport and is also a means of supporting farmers, Da Silva said. The prices now are low, which means donors also benefit since they get more value for their money. After February, prices would increase because, by then, middlemen would have bought up the harvests. WFP’s Regional Bureau for West Africa covers 12 countries - Burkina Faso, Cape Verde, Cote d'Ivoire, The Gambia, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Liberia, Mali, Mauritania, Niger, Senegal and Sierra Leone - where WFP food is targeted at 4.8 million people. It started its operations on Wednesday from a new facility in Dakar offered by the Senegalese government. "This Bureau will enable us to put WFP's strategic resources such as key personnel and decision-making powers closer to the millions of people who need our help," da Silva said. "We are bringing an important part of our headquarters in Rome to Dakar because we are committed to working toward a better future in Africa."