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WFP WARNS TENS OF THOUSANDS OF PEOPLE IN SIERRA LEONE IN NEED OF URGENT FOOD ASSISTANCE
Abidjan, 7 November 1997 -- The United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) today warned that the health of tens of thousands of vulnerable people in Sierra Leone could quickly deteriorate over the coming weeks unless the agency is able to bring in more food immediately. Many of these people are in hospitals, clinics, orphanages or are simply displaced in urban centres and have been receiving food through programmes supported by the World Food Programme.
WFP estimates that right now over 200,000 Sierra Leoneans, who have been left virtually destitute by the five-month old conflict, are in need of WFP?s assistance. WFP requires 2,400 tons of food each month in order to feed them, but the agency?s stocks in the country have reached a critical low. Insecurity and lack of clearances have prevented WFP from replenishing them.
>From the original 10,000 tons of relief food WFP had in Sierra Leone when the fighting first erupted in May and international aid workers were evacuated, a mere 800 tons of food is left -- enough food for just 65,000 people for one more month. Other agencies food supplies, estimated to be even lower at 700 tons, are also running out.
?Every month gets more difficult. As our food stocks run-out, we?re forced to decide who will eat this month and who will go hungry?, said Paul Ares, WFP?s Regional Manager for the coastal area of West Africa. ?If we?re not able to bring in more food soon to meet the needs of the most vulnerable people, we fear their situation will worsen over the coming weeks.?
WFP has requested for all necessary clearances to be issued in order to begin shuttling food in a cross-border operation from neighbouring Guinea into Sierra Leone. By diverting food for Sierra Leone to Guinea and C?te d?Ivoire over the past few months, WFP has managed to build-up a regional stock of 5,000 tons of emergency relief food supplies which could be dispatched immediately and feed all 200,000 people for the next two months. This stock is in addition to the 6,300 tons of food aid held in Guinea by other agencies.
In order to boost assistance immediately, WFP signed an agreement last month with the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) in Guinea to provide the ICRC with 1,000 tons of food commodities every month over the next three months to be distributed in Sierra Leone.
Since the May 25 coup in Sierra Leone, the prices of basic food commodities such as rice and palm oil have doubled, banks and many business remain closed, and thousands of workers have been laid off. Although there are reports that the current harvest may result in a higher yield this year, commercial distribution of it throughout Sierra Leone could be seriously constrained due to insecurity, while many of those who may get access to it will have little money or resources to purchase it.
For more information, contact:
Paul Ares WFP Regional Manager Abidjan, C?te d?Ivoire Tel. (225) 22 20 58 or 21 17 09
Abenezer Ngowi WFP Acting Country Director for Sierra Leone (currently in Conakry, Guinea) Tel. (1) 212 4 79 47 05
Wagdi Othman WFP Regional Information Officer, Abidjan Tel. (225) 22 20 58 or 21 17 09
[The material contained in this communication comes to you via IRIN West Africa, a UN humanitarian information unit, but may not necessarily reflect the views of the United Nations or its agencies. UN IRIN-WA Tel: +225 21 73 66 Fax: +225 21 63 35 e-mail: irin-wa@africaonline.co.ci for more information or subscription. If you re-print, copy, archive or re-post this report, please retain this credit and disclaimer. Quotations or extracts should include attribution to the original sources. IRIN reports are archived on the Web at: http://www.reliefweb.int/emergenc or can be retrieved automatically by sending e-mail to archive@dha.unon.org . Mailing list: irin-wa-list]
From: owner-IRIN-WA-List@dha.unon.org Date: Fri, 7 Nov 1997 22:04:44 +0300 Message-Id: <199711071904.WAA29759@dha.unon.org>
Editor: Ali B. Ali-Dinar
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