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Hunger Hotspots

Facts, figures and the latest updates from WFP's high-profile emergencies.
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Responding to Emergencies
12 October 2009

Ethiopia

The United Nations Humanitarian Air Service (UNHAS), run by WFP, is facing a serious funding shortfall. The UN agencies working in the Somali region are presently looking at making contributions to keep this service afloat for one more month. UNHAS provides a vital service to areas not served by the Ethiopian Airlines. Reduction or closure of services will have a serious implication in the management and monitoring of operations in Somali region. 
Responding to Emergencies
17 September 2009

Sri Lanka

WFP will begin facilitating individual cooking in zones II and VI of the largest IDP camp at Menic Farm, as NGO’s have exhausted their funds to continue with communal cooking arrangements. WFP plans to distribute dry food rations to some 55,000 displaced persons in zone II alone. Local Government counterparts are attempting to procure complimentary food items to distribute with the general food rations for now. WFP continues to feed the estimated 270,000 IDPs in temporary transit camps, and is currently dispatching approximately 900 mt of food commodities each week to the IDP population. The Government of Sri Lanka has recently announced that it plans to resettle an estimated 100,000 IDPs to the north and east of the country in the next few weeks, and before the monsoon rains set in.
Responding to Emergencies
17 September 2009

Somalia

In light of the precarious pipeline and as part of the ongoing strategic review, WFP has started to phase out the support for Maternal and Child Health Nutrition Programme from seven centres in Lower Shabelle  and five others in Bay/Bakool  in order to prioritize life-saving intervention such as targeted supplementary feeding programme (TSFP), in coordination with UNICEF and nutrition cluster partners. In central Somalia, WFP is completing distributions for Blanket Supplementary Feeding Programme (BSFP) as initially planned before switching to TSFP. WFP is currently working with Food Security and Nutrition Analysis Unit to design an evaluation of the impact of BSFP as part of the October nutrition survey. The transition to TSFP is likely to be delayed due to the current security and pipeline situation.
Responding to Emergencies
17 September 2009

Kenya

Results from recent nutrition surveys in various districts have been released. They indicate that global acute malnutrition (GAM) rates are above emergency threshold in the arid districts. The rates are also considerably higher than the norm for semi arid districts. The deteriorating situation is confirmed by surveillance information, which is showing a worsening situation in most drought affected areas. WFP shortfalls for PRRO 106660 over the next six months (October 2009 – March 2010) are 315,000 mt of food or US$278 million, to provide emergency food assistance to millions of Kenyans affected by deepening drought and continued high food prices, as per the findings of the just-concluded long rains assessments. This includes the US$31 million from advanced financing. WFP is expanding its school meals programme by 100,000 to reach nearly 1.2 million children across the worst affected areas. The Government of Kenya is also providing school meals to about half a million more children under their own school meals programme. Some of the worst affected Kenyans have been pushed to the edge and are struggling to survive. Many have reduced the number of meals per day, eat cheaper and less nutritious foods, migrated to urban centres and taken on massive debt.
Responding to Emergencies
17 September 2009

Ethiopia

The approved Interim Risk Finance for Productive Safety-Net Programme (PSNP) for 2009, which plans extended assistance to 6.47 million PSNP beneficiaries living in hotspot areas drought/emergency affected areas is ongoing. The assistance consists of one month food assistance for priority one areas and cash for another two months. Delivery of assistance has started already. Revalidation exercise of Sudanese refugees in camps in west Ethiopia is ongoing with support from WFP.
Responding to Emergencies
17 September 2009

Chad

The Special Operation (SO 10560) is currently experiencing a severe shortfall. The available funding can only keep the service running until 20 September. Meanwhile, a B1900 aircraft based in N’Djamena will be removed by 30 September 2009 as a cost saving measure.
Responding to Emergencies
17 September 2009

Afghanistan

On 20 August, the Afghan people voted in the Presidential and Provincial elections. The preliminarily results have been announced, while at present it is unclear when the final results will be announced. On the Election Day significant numbers of security incidents and allegations of fraud were reported. WFP has begun the implementation of a pilot Cash Voucher programme in Kabul. Under this programme WFP plans to target 10,000 vulnerable families (about 60,000 individuals) in Kabul City. WFP has begun pre-positioning of nearly 33,000 tons of food for its normal activities to ensure a continued supply to vulnerable communities in remote areas inaccessible during the harsh winter. Thus far 11,000 tons (34 percent) of the total planned food has been dispatched.
Responding to Emergencies
3 September 2009

Yemen

Clashes in the Northern governorate of Sa’ada and in Harf Sufyan district of the neighbouring Amran governorate are ongoing. Fighting is now occurring in the main town of Sa’ada. Families have fled to areas of Amran, Hajjah, and Jawf governorates as well as to safer areas within Sa’ada governorate and possibly to Saudi Arabia WFP, with UN and INGO teams, has moved to the three neighbouring governorates to assess the situation of IDPs. In Hajjah – the most accessible governorate – WFP distributed ready-to-eat high energy biscuits and dates for 7,000 persons within 48 hours from receiving reports of a concentration; distribution of full food baskets began on 23 August for 12,500 persons – 7,574 persons have thus far benefited. In Amran, access has been more difficult, and only on 23 August were teams finally given clearance to move within the governorate and assess the needs of families. Some 9,100 IDPs have been spotted; a WFP team has been in Amran since 30 August to prepare for distribution. WFP is expanding its operation to respond to the deteriorating humanitarian and security situation. The new planning figure is 150,000 persons against the previous 100,000 through June 2010; a supplementary feeding component will also be added. Technical staff has been called in to assist with the Sa’ada emergency, to address issues of: access and supply routes; security;   ICT; nutrition. As a result of lack of funding, the CP has been on hold since June without resources to continue through the remainder of the year (impacting 900,000 vulnerable Yemenis); under the HFP EMOP, 40 percent of mothers and children will not receive nutrition assistance for 6 of the 12 planned months. Overall, in November, 1.3 million beneficiaries (out of 1.6 million planned) will not benefit from assistance. WFP has received indication that Saudi Arabia may be willing to contribute US$20 million to WFP operations in Yemen.
Responding to Emergencies
3 September 2009

Sudan

Darfur: Food distributions are continuing to more than 3.6 million beneficiaries in Darfur, including some 1.1 million beneficiaries in areas affected by the NGO expulsions. The overall number of people requiring food assistance has increased as the lean season deepens. Negotiations are ongoing with new and existing NGO partners to cover gap areas that exist in Darfur. Short-term agreements have been signed with the Sudanese Red Crescent and Catholic Relief Services to cover some of the gap in West Darfur, and with Africa Humanitarian Action for North Darfur. This leaves nearly 60 percent under WFP direct management. WFP will continue to do joint distributions with partners while assessing and augmenting their capacities. Southern Sudan: Poor rainfall, continued high levels of insecurity and high cereal and low livestock prices have combined in Southern Sudan to create an urgent food security situation. The recently released Annual Needs and Livelihood Assessment (ANLA) Mid-Year Review for Southern Sudan estimates 1.5 million people face severe food insecurity. WFP must provide an additional 22,000 mt of food to reach an additional 300,000 people facing severe food insecurity in six of the most vulnerable states in Southern Sudan from August to December 2009. This is on top of WFP’s original plan to provide 80,000 mt for 1 million people, bringing the plan for WFP total assistance to 102,000 mt and 1.3 million people this year in Southern Sudan. More than half of the additional 22,000 mt will go to conflict-affected and displaced people in Jonglei and Upper Nile States where food deliveries have been complicated by insecurity and poor road access. CETA: The situation in the region remains calm and WFP continues to monitor Abyei, following the 22 July ruling of the Permanent Court of Arbitration (PCA) on the Abyei boundary issue. The PCA redefined its eastern and western boundaries, but left the northern border intact. WFP food assistance programmes are proceeding according to plan.
Responding to Emergencies
3 September 2009

Somalia

Somalia faces its worst humanitarian crisis in 18 years amid an escalating civil war that threatens to push the country into further deteriorations in food security and nutrition status of the people. Results of a country-wide comprehensive inter-agency assessment, led by FAO Food Security Nutrition Analysis Unit (FSNU) with the participation of WFP, confirms that the humanitarian crisis in Somalia is widespread and severe with half of the population in humanitarian crisis. Seventy five percent of them are concentrated in south and central Somalia, where the fighting is greatest and which are most inaccessible to humanitarian operations. One in five Somali children is acutely malnourished and one in twenty is severely malnourished. The number of internally displaced people has increased by more than 40 percent since January 2009.  Whereas WFP efforts to sustain food assistance interventions for 3.5 million vulnerable Somalis are critically jeopardized by funding shortfall of US$189 million from September 2009hrough March 2010.