Food, fertilizer, pumps, trucks ... emergency needs of 20 countries.

The following summary reports were prepared by OEOA on the basis of information gathered by United Nations system representatives in the countries concerned, in consultation with host Governments and local representatives of major donor programmes.

The number of people severely affected by food shortages is based on information provided by Governments concerned and on field observations. Food requirements listed are not solely for those severely affected beneficiaries, but also reflect the deficit in the known minimum import requirements of each country.

Angola: Unmet needs total $33.7 million, with emphasis on northern, central and southern provinces.

Sharp decreases in rainfall in January 1985 now seriously affect the prospects for the next harvest in the central and northern provinces. Consequently total food-stocks already largely insufficient as a result of the 1981 severe drought and adverse climatic conditions in subsequent years continue to cause concern. Disruption of communication and marketing structures caused by the political/military situation also continues and, to a great extent, still prevents a satisfactory recovery from the effects of the 1981 drought.

In the northern, central and southern provinces, the number of people severely affected by food shortages is estimated at 500,000.

It is expected that, despite average rainfall in most of the country, the forthcoming harvest will not cover the country's 1985/86 food consumption needs because of structural problems and civil strife.

During the 1984 drought, many farmers were forced to eat, or because of civil strife never produced, much of the seed needed for the 1985 agricultural campaign.

About 50 per cent of all deaths in Luanda are due to acute diarrhoea complicated by measles, acute respiratory infections, malaria and tetanus. The severity of infectious diseases and high death rates are in part further complicated by severe malnutrition.

Contrary to common belief, Angola is not warm and humid year round; during winter, temperatures can drop to below 10 degrees centigrade. Provincial meteorological stations have recorded winter temperatures of 3.3 degrees in Cuando-Cubango, 8.0 degrees in Bie and, 7.9 degrees in Huila and Huambo. The cold poses particular difficulty for displaced populations who are often malnourished and living in flimsy temporary shelters.

Burkina Faso: Unmet needs total $68.2 million, especially for northern provinces. Although late rains allowed the planting of off-season cash crops and some food crops in various lowlying areas, this has not significantly reduced the overall cereal deficit. In several areas, particularly in the north, complete crop failures have been reported. Throughout the country, some 500,000 people are seriously affected.

As a result of continuing food shortages over a number of years, there has been a marked deterioration in the health and nutritional status of the population in general and of vulnerable groups in particular. Cold nights and early mornings during the forthcoming rainy season will, unless vulnerable groups are provided with shelter materials and blankets, contribute to a further deterioration in their health.

Continuing deterioration of railcars and locomotives and lack of maintenance are serious problems affecting rail transport. By road, if trucks are available, capacity is about 2,000 tons per month. Lome is a small port, therefore shipments have to be well timed to prevent delays occurring.

Chad: Unmet needs total $125.4 million countrywide.

Continuing drought and political and military disturbances have resulted in extremely unfavourable crop projections. Aggregate production is expected to be about one half of consumption. Lake Chad has shrunk to one tenth of its 1960 volume, with surface water reduced from an average of 35,000 square kilometres to 2,500-3,000 square kilometres. The Chari river's flow has been reduced from an average maximum at peak flood times of 3,400 cubic metres/second to 780 cubic metres/second during the 1984 rainy season.

Agriculture has also been disrupted by the forced migration of many farming communities, displaced both because of drought and civil strife and now entirely dependent on international aid assistance for survival. The population of the capital, N'Djamena, has swollen with some 70,000 additional displaced people. An estimated 1,000 people per month, mainly children, are reported dying of malnutrition and related diseases; this number will increase as the dry season advances. Of the total population of 4.4 million people, over 1.5 million are reported to be seriously affected by the current drought and military situation.

An intensive feeding programme for 500,000 children over a six-month period, involving 15,300 tons of high protein commodities, has been initiated with WFP assistance and new commitments are imminent.

Several agencies and NGOs are already helping people to resettle and to grow their own food. These efforts must be expanded considerably; all recent missions to Chad to assess the plight of the farming population have concluded that the next harvest--at the end of 1985--will be practically non-existent unless major support is provided in the form of seeds, basic agricultural tools and appropriate technical assistance.

The cumulative effects of war and drought require immediate, widespread intervention in the fields of health and nutritional recuperation to guarantee the survival of the most vulnerable groups. The rehabilitation of the medical infrastructure destroyed during past conflicts requires urgent programming for reconstruction of key hospitals, health centres, dispensaries and infirmaries.

Mali: Unmet needs total $159.5 million, especially for Timbuktu, Gao and Mopti.

As a result of drought "of unprecedented duration and magnitude", six administrative subregions of Mali have been severely affected. Major reductions in agricultural output and extensive damage to pastures and domestic cattle have been particularly severe in the regions of Timbuktu, Gao and Mopti, which suffered most in 1984.

Aggregate food production of cereals is expected nationally to be far below average. In some cases the harvest is expected to be 50 per cent below normal. More than 1.2 million people, 50 to 60 per cent of the population of affected areas, are severely affected, with 95,000 of these forced to migrate from their farming communities in search of assistance.

Mauritania: Unmet needs total $41.6 million, especially for Traza and Brakna regions.

Rainfall levels over the past decade have on average been considerably lower than during preceding decades. The last three rainy seasons have been particularly bad with each resulting in cereals harvests less than one third of what is considered normal and producing less than 10 per cent of overall consumption needs. This situation, in a country which under normal conditions already faces a structural deficit in cereal production, further increased Mauritania's dependency on external structures to meet basic cereal requirements. During the 1983/84 season, cattle pastures also witnessed an extremely limited growth and the country suffered major livestock losses. A recent improvement of the situation in this respect remains insufficient.

Drought has contributed also to accelerating the process of desertification, with a concomitant destruction or deterioration of traditional grazing lands, tree cover and oasis agriculture. In some areas, lowered ground-water levels have caused major migrations of people and domestic livestock. Moreover, the continuing drought has increased dependence on free food distribution and led to malnutrition and vulnerability, disease, internal migrations, abandonment of traditional nomadic pastoral life and urban congestion. These migrations have also resulted in excessive concentrations of population in the southern rural areas, thus creating additional problems in terms of water resources and other amenities.

Approximately 1.1 million persons--63 per cent of the total population--are currently affected, totally or partially, and are considered in need of emergency assistance. Virtually the whole country is affected by drought and in Traza and Brakna, up to 90 percent of the people are affected.

Mozambique: Unmet needs total $81.1 million, with emphasis on the provinces of Tete, Manica, Sofala, Inhambane and Gaza.

The current food supply situation is extremely serious because of the drought-reduced 1984 harvest and continuing civil disturbance. The nutritional status of more than 1.6 million people in the five most affected provinces has reportedly worsened and is expected to deteriorate further in the coming months before the new harvest becomes available around April 1985. Severe storms in the Maputo area reportedly destroyed stocks of goods, damaging infrastructure and homes, and compromising rehabilitation efforts and crops at the vulnerable growing period.

(Torrential rains during the first half of February raised water levels of several rivers in southern and central Mozambique, causing floods in the river valleys. Despite a quick government response and strenuous efforts by the population, some loss of life and serious damage to infrastructure and field crops has been reported. As a result, additional urgent material needs include metal culverts, sipper trucks, cement, steel, fuel, tents, and communication equipment.)

The situation in drought-stricken areas has been further aggravated by continuing civil disturbances. Insurgent activities have not only reduced agricultural plantings and marketing activities but have also made distribution of available food very difficult. Moreover, key agricultural infrastructure, schools and dispensaries have in many cases been destroyed.

Some 2.5 million people throughout the country are affected, particularly in the provinces of Tete (91 percent), Manica (54 per cent), Sofala (34 per cent), Inhambane (38 per cent) and Gaza (43 per cent).

Infant mortality rates in Mozambique are among the highest in the world. Drought and civil disturbances, which have deeply disrupted rural life, have had dire consequences on the health and nutrition of the population in general and of vulnerable groups in particular. The main causes of death are respiratory diseases, measles, diarrhoea, malnutrition, malaria and neonatal tetanus. This situation is aggravated by widespread malnutrition. Continuing drought and civil disturbances have led also to an almost total paralysis of rural industries producing household items.

There are serious problems in internal transport, because of a shortage of trucks, spare parts, fuel and skills, compounded by internal insecurity. There are serious railway limitations owing to lack of maintenance of rolling stock and lines as well as security problems. WFP has chartered a coastal vessel to reach villages along Inhambane coast, with UNDRO and UNICEF assistance. A CARE logistics support unit is assisting with internal food movement.

Niger: Unmet needs total $149.7 million, especially in Agadez, Zinder, Diffa and Tahoua departments.

The drought situation is reported as the worst in 70 years and has severely compounded the endemic water shortage throughout the country. Approximately 2.5 million persons--39.4 per cent of the total population--are affected in 3,270 villages, of which 400,000 persons have been displaced.

Widespread and severe malnutrition is leading to a further deterioration in the health status of the affected population. Niger is a land-locked country served by the ports of Cotonouand Lome, and Nigerian ports of Apapa, Port Harcourt and Calabar, with Abidjan being used only to a minor extent owing to recent deterioration of railway off-take capacity. WFP is in the process of assigning transport coordinators to be based at Lome, Apapa and Cotonou/Parakou to monitor shipments to Niger. Problems may arise owing to the heavy demand on the ports of Abidjan and Lome. Donors are advised to make provision for multiple ports of delivery in their charter parties and to co-operate closely with the Government and WFP. Niger has an excellent network of storage facilities.

Sudan: Unmet needs total $191.3 million, especially for Darfur, Kordofan and eastern regions.

There have been poor harvests for four consecutive years. As a result, a noticeable deterioration in the food security situation is now evident. Substantial food deficits are now occurring in five regions, with the most acute shortfalls in northern Darfur, northern Kordofan and the Red Sea Province of the eastern region. There are substantial dislocated sedentary farming and nomadic populations who have moved to the more southern portions of these regions and to the banks of the Nile to escape the effects of drought. In many cases crops or livestock have been lost.

Problems are further compounded by the influx of rapidly increasing numbers of displaced populations from drought-stricken areas of Ethiopia and Chad.

While rainfed crop areas and pasture north of latitude 13 degrees have been almost completely devastated and are unproductive because of the drought situation, areas south of this latitude have also been seriously affected as a result of greatly increased pressure of additional population and livestock numbers on available farm land, pasture and water resources. The reduced rainwater in the Blue Nile system has led to reduced food and cash crop production in major irrigated agricultural schemes of the eastern and central regions and the stoppage of any irrigated winter wheat production.

A conservative estimate of 1,800,000 persons or 300,000 families will need some form of emergency shelter and basic survival items, including blankets, drinking and cooking utensils and stoves at an estimated total cost of $29.7 million.

A WFP food-aid logistics mission at the end of January 1985 reported that 1985 port capacity for bulk grain is in excess of 1,250,000 tons; and that a silo with a capacity of 50,000 tons presently has a discharging capacity of only 50 tons per hour. However, with World Bank funds, a new elevator is under construction adn should be ready by May; this should increase capacity to about 4-5,000 tons per day. The present bagging capacity will be more than doubled by the installation of a second bagging machine. The mission recommended using 50 bulk wagons not now in use for running bulk trains to Khartoum.

Although the railway is not functioning very well in Sudan today, there is a good supply of trucks with from 5 to 50-ton capacity.

Several areas of the Sudan are not accessible, mainly south Darfur and south Kordofan, in the period July, August and into September and supplies must reach these areas before rains start. Distances are considerable and transport costs as a consequence are high. Fuel must also be procured.

Decreasing water tables, dried up rivers and not enough water points contribute to the severe shortage of rural drinking water supply in northern areas, as well as in southern areas of affected regions where large numbers of displaced people are being resettled. The shortages have serious implications for health and sanitation. An estimated $6 million is needed for emergency programmes to rehabilitate water shortage points and wells, to provide water transport to settlements, and to drill new boreholes.

Ethiopia: Unmet needs total $379,3 million, for northern regions (Wollo, Tigrey and Eritrea), the southern province of Sidamo, the eastern province of Hararge, and the central province of Shoa.

Drought continues unabated. In total, 12 of the 14 administrative regions in Ethiopia continue to suffer from drought in varying degrees. The 1984 crop output dropped 30 per cent below the previous years' drought-reduced level. For 1985, Ehtiopia will need at leasat three times more food-aid than it received in 1984--1.5 million tons. There is an urgent additional need for supplementary feeding requirements for children. Cereal arrivals for the period January through April 1985 are confirmed at 448,000 tons, which is within the target set in mid-December 98%. After April 1985, cereal food needs are estimated at 125,000 tons per month. It is now estimated that more than 7.9 million rather than 7.7 million people are affected by drought, with approximately 5.5 million in the northern areas and 2.4 million in the regions of Sidamo, Hararge and Shoa. The latest estimate of drought victims in Eritrea and Tigrey is 2.4 million.

With conditions worsening as the dry season proceeds, this estimate is expected to grow upwards of 8 million before the next harvest. The increasing volume of food-aid commodities is stretching port-capacity to the utmost and very close scheduling of food-aid shipments will continue to be necessary. The road transport situation is still very tight but will improve somewaht with expected arrival of additional new short-long haula trucks.

The next planting season starts in May 1985, and essential seed supplies and other agricultural and pastoral inputs are urgently needed, as is shelter material and survival items for large population groups seeking temporary shelter in camps.

To rehabilitate Ethiopian agriculture, what is most urgently needed are: seed supplies, farm machinery services, importation and increased local manufacture of hand tools and implements, draught oxen, animal disease control, cattle feeding, water supply for human use, livestock and irrigation and technical assistance for logistics and road construction.

An army worm infestation is rapidly spreading from Kenya and requires an urgent control project involving insecticides and spraying equipment, at an estimated cost of $600,000.

Urgent shelter/clothing requirements for 250,000 people in 25 locations managed by the Ethiopian Relief and Rehabilitation Commission and NGOs include tents, stoves, cooking utensils, and clothing for an estimated total of $4.3 million.

The port of Assab, owing to the shortage of trucks, has averaged only 1,900 tons per day and faces a bottle-neck in port off-take. It is expected that its off-take capacity will be increased to about 100,000 tons a month, mainly through the provision of 300 new long-haul trucks and trailers and 400 smaller trucks for transport from warehouses to distribution centres. One hundred long-haul trucks are expected shortly from a European donor, together with 265 smaller trucks from various sources.

On 26 January, a new techniques of low-altitude air-dropping of emergency food in otherwise inaccessible areas was first tested successfully. The operation, organized by the Emergency Operations Office in Ethiopia, was undertaken with helicopters and aircraft provided by the Government and donors. Some locations are very remote and almost inaccessible owing to the mountainous topography of the stricken regions. The experience gained could become very useful as roads become impassable and airstrips unusable in the rainy season.

Botswana: Unmet needs total $2.8 million in food aid.

By the end of the rainy season, crop conditions were reportedly unfavourable in most of the country, following three preceding drought years and overgrazing, which badly affected grassland. Total cultivated area is now only 10 per cent of the previous season. The Government has been compelled to use approximately 20 per cent of its developmetn budget for relief operations. Food aid is currently reaching more than half of the country's population through expansion of primary school and vulnerable group feeding projects. If current levels of pledges arrive as scheduled, there should be no major shortfall this year.

The Government has had to incur heavy expenditures for internal transport and distribution of food aid. District level storage capacity is being expanded by construction of depots with the help of UNDP and the United Nations Capital Development Fund. When completed, storage capacity will be adequate to support a relief programme under drought conditions.

Burundi: Unmet needs total $20 million in food aid.

Although Burundi was, until mid-1984, self-sufficient in food production, its high population density and rapid population growth and declining food production, due in part to soil erosion and consequent loss of natural resources, makes it increasingly vulnerable. The unsatisfactory 1984 rainy season severely affected harvests of beans, cereals, and pulses in highland areas. The average calorie intake per person during 1984 declined substantially. Rapid increases in prices, particularly of basic foods, have been recorded, specifically for beans and maize whose prices have doubled. Increased malnutrition is reported in such areas as Lankuza and Bujumbura. Although the country has no food security stocks, the Government is planning to attain a storage capacity of over 100,000 metric tons, 45,000 of which are already available.

While no emergency needs were identified for survival items, emergency requirements include those for basic agricultural and pastoral inputs for the 1985 harvest, health and rural water supply programmes and capital inputs in the logistics sector.

Cape Verde: Unmet needs total $11.8 million, including $9.4 million in food aid; $800,000 for health material and drugs; $100,000 for distribution of food, water and health supplies; and $500,000 for water supply.

since independence in 1975, Cape Verde has been affected by a severe, long-term drought. The country has faced almost constant structural food deficit. The year 1984 was no exception, when lateness and poor distribution of rains seriously disrupted food and livestock production. Widespread, chronic malnutrition exists.

The scarcity of drinking water is a major concern. Only 20 per cent of the island's archipelago population has access to running water and they are limited to 30 litres per day per person. Many existing underground water sources have a high salinity content or have drie dup completely.

Key requirements for seeds, fertilizers and agricultural implements are being emphasized. After severe storms in late September 1984, more than $1 million for reconstruction and repair of more than 1,000 homes is being sought.

Kenya: Unmet needs include $17.4 million in food aid.

The eastern agricultural areas of Kenya (District of Kitiu, Machakos and parts of Erulu and Meru) suffered from a failure of both long april rains and short rains in October 1983. In 1984, the long rains failed over the entire country with the exception of the coastal strip and a part of western Kenya along the Uganda border and lake Victoria. This extraordinary failure of rains affected the usually highly productive central highlands, while the drought continued through the eastern regions. An estimated 11 per cent of the population was affected in 1984, essentially in the pastoral eastern areas where farmers and livestock owners suffered severely from loss of cattle. Late in 1984, however, normal precipitation (short rains) fell in rain-prone districts resulting in respectable maize and bean harvests. This is expected to relieve pressure and food requirements and facilitate basic recovery in the next few months.

For 1985, the quantity of seeds available for the next planting season will be carefully monitored while approximately 78,500 tons of various types of fertilizers have been requested from the donor community.

Lesotho: Unmet needs total $2.5 million, including $300,000 in food aid; 500,000 for transport costs; $230,000 for health needs; and $1.5 million for seeds, fertilizers and pesticides.

The three-year drought reached a critical level in mid-1983, when cereal production dropped to less than a third of previous average production. The drought has continued through the 1983/84 agricultural season. Current crop forecasts now indicate that another below-average crop appears likely in 1985. Although food-aid pledges have covered a large part of food aid requirements, a potential shortfall still exists, which might be revised downwards if actual production targets are met. Vulnerable groups, estimated at 100,000 people throughout the country, are now benefiting from a WFP emergency feeding programme.

Logistic needs range from cash for inland transport costs to six large trucks (7-on) for food distribution within the country and logistic training. Shortages in medical supplies, drugs, vaccines, PHC kits and equipment are reported.

Rwanda: Unmet needs total $30.4 million, including $19 million in food aid; $5.7 million for seeds, fertilizers, pesticides, tools; $1.9 million health needs; $2.8 million for water supply; and $1 million for transport.

The 1984 drought ws characterized by an early end of seasonal rains, and an inadequately distributed rainfall pattern. In 1984, there was a critical production shortfall of about 120,000 tons of cereals, including beans and pulses.

The Port of Mombasa serves the country and food is forwarded from there by road through Uganda. Since Mombasa is also used for food shipments for Kenya, Uganda, Burundi and south Sudan, WFP plans to assign shortly a transport co-ordinator who will be based in Mombasa. Emergency food aid must be accompanied by cash contributions to cover internal transport/handling/distribution costs.

Senegal: Unmet needs total $23.1 million, including $5.9 million in food aid; $10.7 million for seeds, fertilizers and cattled feed; $4.9 million for water supply; and $1.6 million for transport.

Rainfall data for 1984 showed some improvement over 1983, although rainfall distribution was still quite uneven, with very significant regional disparities, affecting particularly very large areas in the northern part of the country. Crop production in the 1984/85 season remained very low.

The port of Dakar has adequate facilities. However, the high rates of private carriers make it advisable to strengthen the fleet of the country's Food Security Commission. Wheat imports are limited by the absorptive capacity of the mills (9,0000 tons/month). While the Government will try to contribute to internal transport costs of food and aid supplies, there will be a definite need for donor community support to this sector.

The Government is urgently seeking support for rehabilitation of large potable wells and 50 new wells.

Somalia: Unmet needs total $37.4 million, including $14.7 million in food aid; $10.3 million for agricultural and pastoral inputs; $1.5 million in health needs; $7 million for shelter, relief and survival requirements; $1.9 million for water supply; and $2 million in transport costs.

Food crop conditions have improved particularly for the main seasonal crop harvest in 1984. However, in northern areas, crops were adversely affected by irregular and uneven rainfall and attacks of army worms.

Aggregate food production in 1984 is substantially higher than in 1983 and already above the five-year average for the years 1979 through 1983. Somalia continues to be negatively affected by a major refugee problem, which is expected to continue through 1985.

Fuel shortages often disrupt the inland transportation of commodities. It is reported that approximately 30 per cent of the country's total population is at present severely affected by the drought situation and requires additional emergency assistance for provision of shelter, relief and survival items.

Within the scope of a large ongoing emergency water-supply programme, additional assistance is required for the urgent rehabilitation and maintenance of additional wells, of which only a third are persently operationsl throughout the country.

United republic of Tanzania: Unmet needs total $63.2 million, including $35.4 million in food aid; $18 million for agricultural inputs; $6 million for health supplies; $1.2 million for water supply; and $2.6 million for transport.

The 1984 harvest was particularly poor in the northern regions; elsewhere conditions were somewhat better, but as a whole cereal import requirements for the 1984/85 seasons will be higher than the previous season, because of reported crop failures and rundown of previous year's stocks. There are also internal transport problems hampering cereal movement from south to north. In and between regions, some migrations have been observed of people in search of food and pastures.

Drought has affected a large number of farmers in seven regions, and large quantities of agricultural inputs, such as seeds, pesticides, fertilizers and animal feed supplements are required.

Zambia: Unmet needs total $6.8 million, including $2.7 million agricultural inputs and fodder; $1.5 million for health needs; $2 million for water supply; and $600,000 for transport.

Because of a third drought year, severe food shortages occurred in 1984. Parts of southern and north-western provinces remain dry. About 5 per cent of the country's population is presently receiving food aid. Due to favourable rainfall conditions, however, 1984-85 is expected to yield a favourable harvest. Food self-sufficiency could thus be achieved for the 1985-86 marketing year depending on the country's ability to collect, transport and store its maize crop.

There is a lack of funds to administer the food-aid programme, including the lack of foreign exchange for maintaining/importing vehciles, spare parts and fuel. WFP is providing two trucks, and has air-lifted emergency food aid by helicopter to isolated regions with World Bank funding. Storage capacity is low.

Agricultural and pastoral inputs are urgently required for the 1985 planting season, including seeds (millet, sorghum, corn, peanuts, wheat) and fodder for 100,000 cattle for 100 days.

Zimbabwe: Unmet needs total $3 million, including $700,000 for food aid; $900,000 for health supplies; $1.2 million for water supply; and $200,000 for transport.

Because of a third consecutive year of drought, the main 1984 harvest was below average. While aggregate cereal production is estimated at 1.6 million tons and some 300,000 tons mor than the disastrous 1983 crop production, Zimbabwe's food production will still be 20 per cent below normal. Forecasts for the 1985 harvest are, however, favourable with an expected yield of 1.8 metric tons for maize and good results for other crops as well.

Health conditions, particularly in the south-western part of the country, appear to be worsening and the Government is requesting urgent assistance for a comprehensive health care programme. Vaccines, basic drugs and water and sanitation equipment for health centres are needed, as is the upgrading of 160 health clinics.