WFP distributes one month's food aid in the north

The World Food Programme (WFP) has successfully distributed one month's food assistance to millions of people living in northern Iraq. "In the three northern governorates [of Dahuk, Arbil and Sulaymaniyah], WFP has brought in and distributed one month's consumption of food for the 3.6 million people there over the last three weeks," Heather Hill, an agency spokeswoman, told IRIN from the northern city of Arbil, noting that distributions were continuing, with an emphasis on wheat flour. According to Hill, agency staff have made four visits to the city of Kirkuk to pave the way for the first general distribution since the start of the conflict on 20 March. The food agency had stored in warehouses 8,200 mt of food, and assessments were now under way for the beneficiary population. She added that in Mosul, WFP had pre-positioned in warehouses 11,200 mt of food and, at the request of the Mosul authorities and following a two-day assessment, the food agency would give food to patients in health institutions. "In the coming weeks, the first post-conflict general distributions will be held," she said. Meanwhile, as part of a larger effort, trucks continue to move urgently needed food assistance into northern Iraq from Turkey. David Schaad, the WFP head of logistics in the Turkish capital, Ankara, told IRIN that as of Monday, a total of 2,921 trucks had entered the country, bringing a total of 62,697 mt of food. About 1.8 million mt of food has currently been made available for WFP's response to the Iraq crisis through directed contributions and Oil-for-Food Programme (OFFP) commodities. However, whereas the pipeline situation was improving, shortfalls were expected to continue for oil, pulses and dried whole milk. It is estimated that only limited quantities of pulses, oil and milk are available in the region for immediate purchase, so WFP will be obliged to look at markets further afield, such as northern Europe and Asia. This will involve longer lead times for procurement and transport, and immediate cash contributions are needed to enable purchase action to be initiated, the agency warned. Indeed, making sure the right amount of supplies arrived in the country in a timely basis remained a pivotal challenge. "It's really a question of what is arriving when," Trevor Rowe, the WFP chief spokesman, told IRIN from Rome. "We were very constrained from the beginning, so now it's a question of building up and making sure we can move sufficient supplies so that we can reach the target of 500,000 mt per month, which is what we estimate is what the country needs." Since 3 April, WFP has shipped over 120,000 mt of food aid into Iraq - enough to feed seven million people, or one quarter of the population, for one month.