Interview with WFP regional director Holdbrook Arthur

Holdbrook Arthur is the UN World Food Programme's (WFP) regional director for east and central Africa. He recently visited southern Ethiopia, which is hard hit by the current food emergency, and tells IRIN how the food agency is coping with the crisis. QUESTION: Long-term development is cited as the key in escaping recurrent food crises in Ethiopia. What role does WFP play in that? ANSWER: I think we are going to have a substantial role depending on the way the framework is spelt and the kind of resources that would be needed. If we are looking at very simplistic inputs at certain levels of the community, undertaking food for work activities, I can see that we would have some major role to play in this. But I cannot quantify at this time because the specifics are not there. We have the global framework, which has been agreed to with the donors, and all of them seem to be on board and yes, that is the way to go. Q: Does WFP have an exit strategy for Ethiopia? Do you see a time when you will not be here? A: That is very difficult to determine by the sheer nature of the emergencies that come up from time to time. If it is going to happen, it is not going to be within the next decade because the problems here are quite difficult and require a calculated approach to solve them. They are not problems we are going to solve on a rush. Q: Where does WFP think the direction of aid should be heading in the next few years? A: First of all what we need to do is capture, in very broad terms, the government’s own development direction. Then find out whether having determined the development direction, there are elements that fit WFP’s only resource – that’s where we have to go. We could also interact with the government in giving guidance in terms of how to develop their food security systems in the country. Q: Do you think food aid is the answer to Ethiopia’s problems? A: Food aid is only a resource. Good planning, determining what the needs are, after consultation with the community, should be the answer. Even if you put in cash it doesn’t mean you are going to solve the problems if you plan badly...I wouldn’t think that food aid is the only answer to Ethiopia’s problems. It may be a complementary input. Q: How should we go about addressing the problem of targeting food aid? A: I think a clear assessment to determine needs, then sitting down with the community to prioritise who should get what sort of assistance. Q: And why wasn’t this done before? A: It is because they didn’t even know the problem was there. This is it. They didn’t know the problem was there and therefore questions of targeting become secondary. If you knew the problem was there and you knew you were not going to get resources to cover 100 percent of your needs then you would look at targeting. But if you didn’t know the problem then you wouldn’t think of targeting. Q: Are we going to face a similar problem of the same scale in Ethiopia in the next decade? A: It is possible. It is unpredictable. But if we defer to the possibility that we put in place preventive and preparedness measures through development, the impact of the scale could be much less. It is ridiculous to find out the health centres are there but they have no capacity, no staff and no drugs. So why do you have the health centres. The structures are meaningless if what they are supposed to deliver is not available. But if close monitoring of the nutritional status of the population was in place then they would have identified the problem much earlier, then gone after the drugs or whatever. Q: Would you be happy for genetically modified food to be brought into Ethiopia to resolve a food crisis? A: I wouldn’t like to look at it specifically in the case of Ethiopia. We receive GM food from some of our donors. It is for the governments to determine whether they are willing to accept them. We have come out clearly stating that the decision should be left to the governments. Our role as WFP is to give them every bit of information they may require to be able to take informed decisions. Q: What lessons have been learnt from this emergency? A: The lesson is very clear. When we have assembled sufficient information as to the condition of the population through the early warning system, donors should assist us by responding quickly to what may come up.