| UNIVERSITY OF PENNSYLVANIA - AFRICAN STUDIES CENTER |
U P D A T E No.1
Geneva, September 3, 1997
Dear Friends,
This has reference to the subject Appeal issued on 25 April 1997 to address the effects of the severe drought of 1996. Unfortunately, due to failure of the rains again this year, the situation has greatly worsened and is expected to deteriorate even further as details of widespread crop losses come to light.
Against this backdrop, the ACT / Mauritania Program which aimed at providing food to 1,000 malnourished children and 750 vulnerable mothers as well as rehabilitating / constructing 19 Cereal Banks, is in serious jeopardy due to lack of adequate support for the Appeal. Against a target of US $ 158,520, the Appeal has received a meagre cover of US $ 58,800 only, till date.
In view of the prolonged drought and the critical food situation, ACT / LWS Mauritania Program reassessed its earlier plans and as a result proposes to drop the rehabilitation elements of the program and increase instead the number of supplementary feeding centres for malnourished children and vulnerable mothers.
The following pages provide further insights about the prevailing conditions and ACT / LWS Mauritania Program s plans to address the needs of growing numbers of malnourished children and at-risk mothers.
Background information to the current crisis
Greatly encouraged by the rainfall starting in mid - June, farmers in Southern Mauritania began planting operations. However, subsequent failure of the rains in July and August has since caused widespread withering of the crops. Sorghum and millet, planted in early June, have already dried up and have survived only in "bas fonds" areas. Pastures are in very poor condition. Staple food prices are on the rise. While food aid distributions have begun, the food situation is still difficult in several districts of the Brakna, Gorgol, Assaba, Hodh El Gharbi and Tagant regions. Reports conclude that additional emergency food will most certainly be needed next year. Comparison of rainfall conditions with the same period last year indicates big rainfall deficits in all agro-pastoral areas with the exception of some areas in the Hodh El Gharbi and Assaba regions. Purely rain fed crops are seriously compromised and it is highly unlikely (even for the short cycle varieties) that crops will reach maturity. The water balance of soils is insufficient to support agriculture in most areas, and replanting (3 to 4 times!!) is common. Reports indicate that even if it rains abundantly for the
remaining two months of the rainy season, crops planted in low areas will most likely be inundated while in any case, the loss is expected to be great for rain fed crops. Low and unequal rainfall distribution have had negative effects on new pastures also, with pastoralists resorting to distress sale of their animals at one - fifth the prices.
ACTion:
Current Activities
In addition to the ACT Appeal for US $ 158,520, LWS Mauritania also applied and received a grant of US $ 216,000 from EuronAid / EC. This grant is being used for managing distribution of 2,500 MT of wheat to 39,000 beneficiaries, and for the operation of 40 supplementary feeding centers benefitting 2000 malnourished children in the drought affected areas of the Brakna region, and in one district of the Assaba region. The LWS Brakna based development project commenced food distribution on 4 August, which is expected to continue for a period of 5 months. The food commodities for this EC funded drought relief project were donated in kind.
The Monguel and M'Bout districts in Gorgol, which depend on rain fed agriculture, were identified by the authorities as the worst affected drought areas in the region. ACT/LWS Mauritania, is operating 20 supplementary feeding centers benefitting 1,000 malnourished children (red/yellow nutritional status,<90% weight for height) and 750 at risk mothers. The Gorgol based Women's development project is implementing the program with the ACT Appeal funds. The food commodities, donated by USAID via Doulos (an American NGO working in the nutrition sector in Mauritania), have been transported from the capital to the Gorgol region, and equipment for the supplementary feeding centers has been purchased. A supervision system has been worked out for this with the local health authorities and selected villagers of all the twenty localities have been trained to work as volunteers in the feeding centers. The commodities made available for this operation include:
Sorghum 16.5 MT Wheat Soya Blend 18 MT Vegetable Oil 4 MT Sugar 5.5 MT The children get two meals per day, seven days per week for a six month period, the mothers get 3kg sorghum per month, while the volunteers get 25 kg sorghum and 4 lt vegetable oil per month. Health education is also provided to the mothers who attend the supplementary feeding centers.
Proposed Activities
In response to the prolonged drought and the critical nature of the situation, ACT/LWS Mauritania proposes to double the number of supplementary feeding centers to cover the increasing numbers of malnourished children and at risk mothers of vulnerable communities that are dependent on rain fed agriculture in the Gorgol region. Rehabilitation / construction of 19 Cereal Banks proposed in the original Appeal will be dropped in order to accommodate this additional need. This shift in focus is considered imperative as food is the most urgent requirement presently.
With this revision in the program, ACT / LWS Mauritania will cover through 40 centers, a total of:
2,000 children (red & yellow nutritional status (<90% weight for height)) 1,500 mothers 40 volunteers Except for some changes in line items, the total budget remains unchanged.
Support to supplementary feeding centers:
Salaries, wages and allowances US$ 12,000 Food commodities to be purchased US$ 26,000 Utensils US$ 6,000 Administration and Coordination:
Salaries, wages, and allowances US$ 29,520 Vehicle purchase US$ 20,000 Vehicle operation US$ 17,000 Transport of food obtained from other int. Organizations US$ 12,000 Training expenses US$ 10,000 Contingency (miscellaneous) US$ 6,000 Administrative costs US$ 20,000 Total: US$158,520
NOTE: With the US $ 58,000 already received against the Appeal, ACT /LWS Mauritania is currently operating 20 of the 40 supplementary feeding centers with USAID donated food commodities. An amount of US $ 26,000 has already been allocated for buying food items for operation of the additional 20 centers, as it is not yet certain whether further in-kind donations will be forthcoming from other international agencies. In the event of donated food commodities being received, the resultant savings will be utilized for construction / rehabilitation of cereal banks, including the supply of grains.
Thank you for your support.
For further information, please contact:
ACT Coordinator, Miriam Lutz (phone ++41 22 791 60 32 or mobile phone ++ 41 89 203 60 55) or ACT Appeals Officer, Neville Pradhan (phone ++ 41 22 791 60 35)
G:\APPEALS\AFRICA\OTHER\1997\AFMR71\AFMR711.UPD
Ecumenical Centre, 150 route de Ferney ,
P.O. Box 2100, 1211 Geneva 2, Switzerland
Phone: ++41 22 791 6033 Fax: ++41 22
791 6506 E-mail: act@wcc-coe.org Telex:
415 730 OIK CH
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Message-Id: <3.0.1.32.19970908135433.00b7f68c@pop.africaonline.co.ci>
Date: Mon, 08 Sep 1997 13:54:33 +0100
From: UN DHA IRIN - West Africa <irin-wa@africaonline.co.ci>
Subject: Mauritania: ACT Drought Assistance, Update No.1 97.9.8
Editor: Ali B. Ali-Dinar
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