ZAMBIA: WFP warns of renewed refugee influx

WFP says it is bracing itself for a further influx of refugees from the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) into northern Zambia. In statement on Wednesday, WFP country director in Zambia Techeste Zergaber said: "At this rate, we could easily see another 15,000 people arriving within the next month." WFP also said that food aid was urgently needed to feed the growing number of refugees. "WFP has been able to borrow food from other programs to feed the refugees, but these supplies are rapidly becoming exhausted." It said that since 5 March an estimated 20,000 refugees had crossed the border into Zambia's northern Kaputa district. Meanwhile, UNHCR in Zambia said in a statement that by Tuesday the registered refugee population in Kaputa had risen to 17,467 with an estimated further 600 in surrounding villages. UNHCR said that about 200 new arrivals were entering Zambia everyday. WFP said there had been some cases of measles, and that it feared outbreaks of malaria, diarrohoea and cholera. A vaccination team from UNICEF had been dispatched to the area to help contain the spread of cholera. The UN agency said although there were no nutritional concerns at the moment, but it did recommend a nutritional survey to identify the special needs among women and children. It said that these two groups constituted about 60 percent of the refugee population and were "typically the most vulnerable." According to WFP most of the refugees were coming from the Kalemie, Moba and Pepe areas in eastern DRC. UNHCR said that plans to relocate refugees from Kaputa to Mwange camp near Mpororkoso, also in the north, had been delayed due to bad roads. It said a bridge along the Nchelenge-Kaputa road had been partially washed away by rising water levels and delayed the delivery of 54 mt of maize meal to Kaputa. UNHCR started to distribute maize meal on 6 April after it had received reports that refugees were looting fields in Kaputa. But, UNHCR said these were isolated incidents and: "We should not forget that more than 6,000 Congolese refugees are still accommodated in the surrounding villages by family members and friends and this is true example of Zambian generosity."