Zimbabwe

WFP will reach over 500,000 beneficiaries through its Safety Net activities that support school-based feeding, people affected by HIV/AIDS and mobile and vulnerable populations. The school-based programme, comprising 30 percent of the safety net beneficiaries, is dependent on the start of the school term which may be delayed. WFP’s cholera response has commenced in Manicaland and Masvingo provinces with onsite feeding under MSF-Luxembourg in five districts. So far 12,600 beneficiaries (patients and staff) have been assisted. In addition, WFP has established three new partnerships for cholera food support that will cater for beneficiaries in another seven districts.

Kenya

On 16 January, the President of Kenya declared the severe drought and livelihood crisis a national disaster. He appealed to development partners for emergency food and non-food assistance. According to the appeal, 10 million people are facing acute food shortages as follows: 3.2 million in the drought-affected traditional EMOP areas; 850,000 children who require emergency school feeding; 3.5 million urban poor; and, 2.5 million people affected by HIV/AIDS, including orphans and children.   The main causes of the severe food insecurity include the poor performance of the recent rainy season, decimation of goats and sheep by peste de petits ruminants (PPR) in pastoral areas, the continued increase in food prices and escalating resource-based conflicts in pastoral areas. In addition, there is reduced resilience due to the cumulative effects of consecutive years of eroded coping strategies caused by drought, floods and conflicts.  WFP is preparing for a massive scale up of the EMOP from the current 1.4 million beneficiaries to 3.2 million from March. However, as the current figures are based on early warning information, food security assessments will be carried out in February to clarify the exact needs. Also, the appeal document included needs up to August 2009 but the marginal agricultural areas, which are worst affected, do not expect significant harvests until March 2010.

DRC

Peace talks between the DRC Government and the Congrès National pour la Défense du Peuple (CNDP) are set to resume on 7 January 2009.  However, the CNDP considers government forces are present in areas covered by a truce and requires this issue be solved.  In addition, unconfirmed reports on 5 January 2009 state that Laurent Nkunda has been ousted from his position of CNDP head. An outbreak of Ebola viral haemorrhagic fever occurred in Kasai Occidental and access to the area has been restricted.  WHO requested WFP/Inter-agency logistics service to airlift three vehicles and non-food items from Kinshasa to Kananga (Kasai Occidental) in response to the Ebola outbreak.  Two vehicles have already been transported.

Sudan

While food dispatches to Darfur have improved after several months of difficulties caused by insecurity, rations for January will remain at the 67 percent mark given the fact that it is post harvest season. In addition, WFP are building up stocks in Darfur in preparation for the onset of the next rainy season.