In August 2006 the Senegalese army commenced a major offensive against rebel groups in the Casamance area of Southern Senegal. While this has been one of West Africa’s longest running conflicts, this current involvement of the army and the intensity of the fighting have resulted in many of the local population fleeing with over 6,500 Senegalese seeking refuge in neighbouring Gambia.
The most recent confirmed UNHCR figure from their latest refugee registration exercise conducted at the beginning of November 2006. Currently, all refugees are being hosted in Gambian households in 56 villages located in the Foni Disticts of the Western Division adjacent to the Casamance area.
Since August 2006, the urgent need for food aid for both refugees and host families was highlighted by UN and NGOs. This was confirmed by a Joint UNHCR/WFP Assessment Mission (JAM) undertaken in mid-September 2006. The JAM recommended providing food assistance to the refugees and advocated for the host families to receive food as well.
In response, the WFP Country Office initiated an immediate response EMOP (IR-EMOP 10550.0 under the Regional Director’s Delegated Authority), providing food to all refugees for three months from October to December 2006 for initial immediate emergency support while preparing the longer term EMOP.
In addition, the WFP Country Office coordinated with NGOs which resulted in NGOs initiating food support to host families for the period October 2006 - March 2007. However, the NGOs could only provide half ration of the daily requirements which did not include cereals.
At the moment, refugees are entirely reliant on food aid. However, in the areas of influx, the households are usually highly food insecure and the average subsistence production only meets three to four months of the households’ basic food needs for the year. Each host family is supporting an average of 15 refugees and providing full support for food as well as for other basic needs.
The refugee influx is therefore having a negative impact on their general food situation and reduces their access to food. Under these conditions, the host families will also need support to protect their livelihoods from further deterioration.
This EMOP aims to provide food assistance to (1) refugees and (2) to host families hosting the refugees. It is in line with WFP’s Strategic Objectives: saving lives (SO1) and protecting livelihoods (SO2). At a cost of US$ 863,771 the operation will assist 13,500 beneficiaries with a total tonnage of 1,475 mt for a period of 9 months (1 February – 31 October 2007).
