World Food Programme Finance Innovation Could Cut Hunger

Vijaya Ramachandran

Senior Fellow, Center for Global Development

Posted: November 4, 2010 12:53 PM

CLICK HERE TO VIEW THIS STORY ON HUFFINGTONPOST

At the next meeting of its Executive Board in Rome on November 8, the management of the World Food Programme (WFP) will propose an expanded financing facility to the tune of $557 million to fund advance purchases of food. This is a welcome news that has the potential to cut hunger, by stretching WFP dollars and speeding deliveries.

In a document submitted to the Board, WFP's management argues that its existing facility of $60 million has thus far led to an average of 53 fewer days in response times, as well as cost savings of 3 percent for WFP operations in the Horn of Africa and in Southern Africa. Most importantly, the proposal includes an increase of the WFP's Forward Purchase Facility ceiling to $150 million, which will allow the purchase larger quantities of food at optimal times, improve planning and programming, reduce the need for large in-country stocks, reduce the number of advance financing requests, and allow for more timely delivery to people affected by conflict, floods or other natural disasters.

The expansion of WFP's advance purchasing will have significant consequences for the hungry and malnourished; it is important for WFP's Board to lend this new proposal their full support. In a CGD working paper issued this past April, my coauthors Ben Leo, Owen McCarthy and I argued that emergency food aid would be more effective if it were financed on a multi-year, cash basis by rich countries, rather than on a year-by-year, reactive basis. Our discussions with WFP staff, who provided comments on a draft version of our paper, left us even more convinced that financial instruments could be used to feed the most vulnerable people in poor countries. Last year, the Government of Australia announced a multi-year grant of $130 million over four years to the World Food Programme, giving the agency much-needed flexibility. Together with these resources, an expanded Forward Purchase Facility could eventually enable WFP to purchase food using forward purchase instruments (although this not included in the current proposal). For example, there is no doubt that the need for food in Haiti will continue to be great, for months if not years to come.

While obviously difficult to predict in any given year the magnitude, geography, and number of natural disasters to which the WFP must respond, there likely is a great opportunity for the WFP to realize cost savings while also avoiding sudden shortages of food. Carefully-planned purchases will enable the use of lower cost suppliers and might also allow food to be moved to where it is needed in a timely manner. We commend the WFP for their proposal to expand their Forward Purchase Facility and hope that rich countries will give it their full support.

WFP to Allow Donor Nations to Review Confidential Audit Documents

by George Russell @ FoxNews.com

The nations that pay the bills of the United Nations’ World Food Program (WFP) are getting the chance for a better look into the workings of the huge food aid agency—but not a lot better.

More than a year after a WFP administrative document revealed that the agency’s internal auditors had discovered “numerous” irregularities in the way the program reported its multimillion-dollar financial and commodity management in North Korea, WFP’s 36-country supervisory Executive Board is about to allow curious nation-states—including those, like the U.S., that are its biggest donors --to look at similar confidential audit documents for the very first time.

But only if they ask precise questions and promise to behave once access is granted.

And as for any internal WFP audits from the past—including those that itemized WFP’s “lapses,” “anomalies” and inconsistencies in reporting what happened to food aid and financial management in dictatorial North Korea—they will remain secret forever, so far as the food agency is concerned.

Nonetheless, WFP itself is hailing the action as an affirmation of its “commitment to transparency and accountability in all its activities and decision-making.”

That transparency, however, is still notably lacking in the case of North Korea, a habitually belligerent country that has been under international financial and other sanctions for years in a bid to stop, or at least slow down, its illegal nuclear weapons program. Only relief supplies for the neediest of North Korea’s starving millions of people have been trickling in.

Those efforts at financial pressure have not been far successful. Even as WFP’s Executive Board prepared to approve its new and still limited disclosure policy at a four-day meeting that starts Nov. 8, press reports have indicated North Korea is preparing for a third illicit nuclear weapons test.

WFP’s circumspection about its internal audit documents has been longstanding. But it reached a crescendo of sorts in September, after Fox News revealed the highlights of an internal audit that found “inconsistent data and unreliable information systems” and “numerous anomalies” in reporting management of WFP relief supplies in the country.

WFP claimed that there were only “a small number of inconsistencies in commodity accounting that have subsequently been addressed.” But the document uncovered by Fox News strongly suggested otherwise. Click here to read more on this from Foxnews.com.

The agency regards the audits as management tools—as do many other U.N. agencies and programs. Even powerful contributors like the U.S., which traditionally provides at least 22 per cent of WFP funds, WERE barred from viewing them.

According to the guidelines WFP’s Executive Board is about to approve, curious nations must apply in writing, and name the specific report they wish to read. They must also supply their reasons for wanting to look, and promise to keep anything they read confidential. Just to be sure, they won’t get a copy. They will instead be allowed to read one only in the office of WFP’s inspector general. No copying or note-taking is allowed during what the rules call a “consultation.”

Even that scrutiny may take a long while. Before agreeing to make a copy of any report available, WFP will notify any government specifically singled out in the audit, giving them a chance to read it as well, and comment. The new disclosure period says that reaction can take a “reasonable time,” without spelling out what’s reasonable. And if the report is deemed sensitive enough, it can be redacted--or even withheld entirely.

CLICK HERE FOR THE PROPOSED POLICY

Adding to the potential complexity is that fact that some of WFP’s biggest food aid recipients are also on its Executive Board—a circumstance that any bureaucrat might consider very sensitive.

Among them: Sudan, the strife-torn area where WFP conducts a program that it says is its largest in the world; Democratic Republic of Congo, where WFP spent $259 million last year and, according to its website, wants to spend $198 million in 2010; Burkina Faso, one of the world’s poorest nations; and battered Haiti.

Three of those countries—Haiti, Congo and Sudan, in that order, are listed among the worst on Transparency International’s 2010 Corruption Perceptions Index; Burkina Faso sits back in the middle of the international pack at Number 98.

George Russell is Executive Editor of Fox News

Special report: Is aid doing Haiti more harm than good?

TO READ ALL REPORT ON REUTERS CLICK HERE

By Simon Denyer

PORT-AU-PRINCE | Mon Oct 25, 2010 7:23pm EDT

(Reuters) - It was Haiti's premier private hospital, its rooms filled with the latest medical equipment, its surgeons trained in the latest techniques, its thick walls built to withstand an earthquake.

Those walls stood firm when the earth shook on January 12, and for three months after that devastating quake the CDTI du Sacre Coeur Hospital threw open its doors, treating thousands of victims free of charge.

American and French doctors, flown in by their respective governments, worked non-stop in CDTI's operating rooms together with their Haitian counterparts seeing more than 12,000 patients and performing more than 700 major surgeries.

Today, the hospital stands empty, its consulting and operating rooms abandoned, its beds unused, its scanners gathering dust, its two brand new ambulances sitting under tarpaulins in the yard. On April 1, owner Reynold Savain was forced to close CDTI because neither the Haitian nor U.S. governments, nor the United Nations, would agree to help pay his bills.

The echoing corridors of the hospital are a monument to the failure of the Haitian government and the international community to work with the private sector to rebuild. The risk is that billions of dollars of aid will once again fail to leave any lasting legacies in the Western Hemisphere's poorest country.

A cholera outbreak in recent days only underlines the vulnerabilities of Haiti's dysfunctional systems.

Savain said when he asked the World Health Organization to help cover his doctors' salaries, they offered to pay in food and blankets, of no use to professionals who needed cash to pay rent and school fees.

"Philosophically, they can't work with the private sector, that is the real issue," the white-haired Savain said as he opened door after door to empty rooms.

"They want to put everything through the public sector, but they have to find a way to strengthen the private sector."

Friends say Savain made mistakes too in handling the issue, sending invoices to the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID), as though he had a right to charge every patient his full private rates at a time of national emergency, instead of looking for a compromise.

Nonetheless, nine months after the earthquake struck, there is a strong sense that the Haitian government, foreign donors and non-governmental organizations (NGOs) and the domestic private sector are simply not pulling in the same direction, not even talking the same language.

HEALTH SYSTEM VULNERABLE

Time after time, Haiti has endured disaster followed by aid that did little to build long-term prosperity -- bypassing both the government and the private sector. From corrupt politicians to nepotistic elites and well-meaning outsiders who thought they knew best, there is plenty of blame to go around.

The question is how to break the cycle and rebuild after the quake which killed at least a quarter of a million people and rendered more than a million homeless, leaving vast swathes of Port-au-Prince in ruins.

The disaster drew an outpouring of sympathy from around the world and foreign aid has had significant successes. But it is not providing, and seems unable to provide, permanent private sector jobs. This is nowhere more apparent than in agriculture and in private healthcare

WFP Buys Over 3,000 Metric Tonnes of Food From Farmers

Kigali — The United Nations WFP announced on Tuesday that it had purchased food worth Rwf352.8 million (US$600,000) through its Purchase for Progress (P4P) initiative which has benefitted hundreds of families in the country.

P4P programme was launched in 2008 by President Paul Kagame with an aim of empowering small scale farmers from developing countries, through buying foodstuffs from them to supply areas where WFP has operations.

A total of 3,300 metric tonnes of maize grain and beans was bought in the Eastern and Southern provinces from 37 cooperatives and two farmers' unions, bringing together more than 14,000 small scale farmers.

Bernadette Furaha, a mother of four, started cultivating a small plot of land in Kirehe District, Eastern Province, after her husband was killed in the1994 Genocide against the Tutsis.

She said that through P4P, she was trained by WFP on post-harvest management and managed to sell her maize to WFP.

"My life has changed drastically," said Furaha, who used the proceeds to build an iron-roofed house worth Rwf200,000, bought a cow and paid her children's school fees.

FOR MORE ABOUT THIS STORY CLICK HERE TO READ IT @ ALL AFRICA.COM

WFP to Buy U.S.$100 Million Food

http://allafrica.com/

Paul Busharizi

14 October 2009

interview

Kampala — IN the run up to the World Food Day tomorrow, October 16, Paul Busharizi, spoke to the the World Food Programme (WFP) country director, Stanlake Samkange, about Purchase for Progress, a new WFP initiative poised to make Ugandan small-holder farmers major players in the regional quality grain market.

Outline what the Purchase for Progress programme is all about. When was it initiated and what prompted its creation?

The Purchase for Progress, or P4P, is a five-year pilot project that WFP launched last year in partnership with the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation.

It aims at working with governments in 21 developing countries, including Uganda, to expand market opportunities for small-holder farmer groups.

In recent years, WFP has realised that increased cash contributions from donors have made it possible for it to become a stable and substantial purchaser of food in developing countries.

About two years ago, WFP started to explore ways in which these purchases could promote development of small-scale agriculture. That was the origin of P4P.

The project in Uganda features two main aspects; developing market infrastructure, both physical and informational, and enhancing productivity. Plans have been developed in collaboration with the Ministry of Agriculture, Animal Industry and Fisheries.

Regarding enhanced productivity, WFP will complement the work of the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) by assuring demand, supporting improved post-harvest handling and encouraging value addition.

What does WFP hope to achieve with this initiative?

WFP foresees P4P as a major catalyst of increased agricultural production, which will result in the gainful participation of small-holder farmers in the market. The initiative should open up the regional quality food market for Uganda's small-holder farmers.

Under the project and other purchase mechanisms, WFP would like to double the amount of food it has been buying in Uganda in recent years to make about $100m worth of purchases annually, in the next five years. This should help farmers improve their quality of life through increased incomes.

P4P is one of WFP's longer-term solutions to global hunger. In Uganda, it has been positioned to support the Poverty Eradication Action Plan, the Plan for Modernisation of Agriculture and the anticipated National Development Plan.

What is the progress so far in rolling out this project in Uganda?

P4P was launched globally about a year ago. Through the warehouse receipt system, we have bought close to 1,000 tonnes of maize from farmer groups in the Jinja and Masindi. We would like to buy about 3,000 by the end of the year.

In collaboration with SG 2000 and the Uganda Commodity Exchange (UCE), we have sensitised over 3,400 farmer group leaders in post-harvest handling and agricultural financing.

In the next few weeks, we will begin to construct a 2,000-tonne regional warehouse, which will be equipped with a cleaning and drying plant. We recently opened an office in Iganga and will soon open one in Hoima. The new offices will help us take demand closer to producers.

Busoga produces substantial amounts of maize, but it is of poor quality, largely due to the use of poor post-harvest methods. Now we can work closely with the farmer groups to help them improve their quality.

Mostly, we have been buying maize and beans through competitive bidding. However, last December, WFP signed an agreement with the commodity exchange and began direct purchases through the warehouse receipt system. In the next few weeks, we would like to start making forward contracts with farmers.

We want to buy maize and beans, as well as other staples including, sorghum, millet and fish. With alternative staples, we can buy more food and offer a bigger market.â-àWe will at the same time be able to address micro-nutrient deficiencies in crisis areas such as Karamoja

What is Uganda's potential as a regional or international supplier for the WFP?

There are times when WFP has been forced to buy food from South Africa, ship it to Mombasa, transport it across Uganda to the DR Congo. That is because there is not enough quality grain or beans in the region.

With improved supply, quality and market guarantees from WFP and other P4P innovations, Uganda can produce enough maize for the region. WFP can absorb everything that Uganda can produce, but we cannot buy it all because then it would upset the market. Under P4P, WFP is looking to work with the FAO and the national agricultural advisory services to increase production. FAO supports farmer field schools, where farmers come together to learn about productive agriculture.

WFP will assist farmer field schools, mostly in northern Uganda, by supporting market linkages and providing a market.

Are you exporting any of the food?

About 20% of the food that WFP buys in Uganda is exported to Rwanda, Burundi and DRC. The remaining 80% is used to support operations in Uganda.

In the coming months, however, we expect a reduction in relief needs in Uganda and see WFP take a lead in supporting regional operations through local purchases in Uganda.

What have been the major challenges in rolling out the project in Uganda? Sensitisation, poor agricultural practices, or the economic environment?

The main problems that farmer groups face are the lack of cleaning and drying equipment and adequate modern storage facilities. Farmers are often forced to dry their maize on the ground at the mercy of unreliable weather, which compromises quality. And then, they are forced to rely on stores that can only take about five tonnes.

Some farmers that have signed contracts to supply food to WFP are sometimes forced to sell their food since they are unable to meet the quality and quantity specifications required by WFP. WFP has made orders for cleaning and drying equipment. We will supply it in areas where we have collaborations with UCE and where we will set up market collection points. Kapchorwa, Kasese, Masindi, Gulu and Iganga districts will be some of the first beneficiaries.

What are the possibilities for value addition under this programme and what form could this (value addition) take?

P4P will support grain milling for easier cooking, fortification with micro-nutrients, bagging to prevent tampering, and drying, salting and smoking of fish to increase its shelf-life. Also, P4P intends to support processing, working with farmer associations and the private sector.

How does P4P relate to this year's theme for the World Food Day: "Achieving food security in times of crisis"?

Recently, the media has been reporting on the impacts of the global economic crisis. We need to realise that not everybody, who has been affected, works for a big bank, a big insurer or a major car company.

The FAO has said the global crisis is stalking small-scale farmers of the world, in part because of dwindling amounts of money sent home from relatives working abroad and last year's high fuel and food prices. P4P should help make small-scale farmer groups beneficiaries, not victims of the crisis.

The approach that WFP uses in strengthening regional trade for Uganda, is not to establish itself as the sole buyer, but rather as one of the buyers.

Cholera

KEY FACTS

Cholera is an acute diarrhoeal disease that can kill within hours if left untreated.
There are an estimated 3–5 million cholera cases and 100 000–120 000 deaths due to cholera every year.
Up to 80% of cases can be successfully treated with oral rehydration salts.
Effective control measures rely on prevention, preparedness and response.
Provision of safe water and sanitation is critical in reducing the impact of cholera and other waterborne diseases.
Oral cholera vaccines are considered an additional means to control cholera, but should not replace conventional control measures.

Cholera is an acute diarrhoeal infection caused by ingestion of food or water contaminated with the bacterium Vibrio cholerae. Every year, there are an estimated 3–5 million cholera cases and 100 000–120 000 deaths due to cholera. The short incubation period of two hours to five days, enhances the potentially explosive pattern of outbreaks.

Symptoms

Cholera is an extremely virulent disease. It affects both children and adults and can kill within hours.

About 75% of people infected with V. cholerae do not develop any symptoms, although the bacteria are present in their faeces for 7–14 days after infection and are shed back into the environment, potentially infecting other people.

Among people who develop symptoms, 80% have mild or moderate symptoms, while around 20% develop acute watery diarrhoea with severe dehydration. This can lead to death if untreated.

People with low immunity – such as malnourished children or people living with HIV – are at a greater risk of death if infected.

History

During the 19th century, cholera spread across the world from its original reservoir in the Ganges delta in India. Six subsequent pandemics killed millions of people across all continents. The current (seventh) pandemic started in South Asia in 1961, and reached Africa in 1971 and the Americas in 1991. Cholera is now endemic in many countries.

Vibrio cholerae strains

Two serogroups of V. cholerae – O1 and O139 – cause outbreaks. V. cholerae O1 causes the majority of outbreaks, while O139 – first identified in Bangladesh in 1992 – is confined to South-East Asia.

Non-O1 and non-O139 V. cholerae can cause mild diarrhoea but do not generate epidemics.

Recently, new variant strains have been detected in several parts of Asia and Africa. Observations suggest that these strains cause more severe cholera with higher case fatality rates. Careful epidemiological monitoring of circulating strains is recommended.

The main reservoirs of V. cholerae are people and aquatic sources such as brackish water and estuaries, often associated with algal blooms. Recent studies indicate that global warming creates a favourable environment for the bacteria.

Risk factors and disease burden

Cholera transmission is closely linked to inadequate environmental management. Typical at-risk areas include peri-urban slums, where basic infrastructure is not available, as well as camps for internally displaced people or refugees, where minimum requirements of clean water and sanitation are not met.

The consequences of a disaster – such as disruption of water and sanitation systems, or the displacement of populations to inadequate and overcrowded camps – can increase the risk of cholera transmission should the bacteria be present or introduced. Epidemics have never arisen from dead bodies.

Cholera remains a global threat to public health and a key indicator of lack of social development. Recently, the re-emergence of cholera has been noted in parallel with the ever-increasing size of vulnerable populations living in unsanitary conditions.

The number of cholera cases reported to WHO continues to rise. From 2004 to 2008, cases increased by 24% compared with the period from 2000 to 2004. For 2008 alone, a total of 190 130 cases were notified from 56 countries, including 5143 deaths. Many more cases were unaccounted for due to limitations in surveillance systems and fear of trade and travel sanctions. The true burden of the disease is estimated to be 3–5 million cases and 100 000–120 000 deaths annually.

Prevention and control

A multidisciplinary approach based on prevention, preparedness and response, along with an efficient surveillance system, is key for mitigating cholera outbreaks, controlling cholera in endemic areas and reducing deaths.

Treatment

Cholera is an easily treatable disease. Up to 80% of people can be treated successfully through prompt administration of oral rehydration salts (WHO/UNICEF ORS standard sachet). Very severely dehydrated patients require administration of intravenous fluids. Such patients also require appropriate antibiotics to diminish the duration of diarrhoea, reduce the volume of rehydration fluids needed, and shorten the duration of V. cholerae excretion. Mass administration of antibiotics is not recommended, as it has no effect on the spread of cholera and contributes to increasing antimicrobial resistance.

In order to ensure timely access to treatment, cholera treatment centres (CTCs) should be set up among the affected populations. With proper treatment, the case fatality rate should remain below 1%.

Outbreak response

Once an outbreak is detected, the usual intervention strategy is to reduce deaths by ensuring prompt access to treatment, and to control the spread of the disease by providing safe water, proper sanitation and health education for improved hygiene and safe food handling practices by the community. The provision of safe water and sanitation is a formidable challenge but remains the critical factor in reducing the impact of cholera.

Oral cholera vaccines

There are two types of safe and effective oral cholera vaccines currently available on the market. Both are whole-cell killed vaccines, one with a recombinant B-sub unit, the other without. Both have sustained protection of over 50% lasting for two years in endemic settings.

One vaccine (Dukoral) is WHO prequalified and licensed in over 60 countries. Dukoral has been shown to provide short-term protection of 85–90% against V. cholerae O1 among all age groups at 4–6 months following immunization.

The other vaccine (Shanchol) is pending WHO prequalification and provides longer-term protection against V. cholerae O1 and O139 in children under five years of age.

Both vaccines are administered in two doses given between seven days and six weeks apart. The vaccine with the B-subunit (Dukoral) is given in 150 ml of safe water.

WHO recommends that immunization with currently available cholera vaccines be used in conjunction with the usually recommended control measures in areas where cholera is endemic as well as in areas at risk of outbreaks. Vaccines provide a short term effect while longer term activities like improving water and sanitation are put in place.

When used, vaccination should target vulnerable populations living in high risk areas and should not disrupt the provision of other interventions to control or prevent cholera epidemics. The WHO 3-step decision making tool aims at guiding health authorities in deciding whether to use cholera vaccines in complex emergency settings.

The use of the parenteral cholera vaccine has never been recommended by WHO due to its low protective efficacy and the high occurrence of severe adverse reactions.

Travel and trade

Today, no country requires proof of cholera vaccination as a condition for entry. Past experience shows that quarantine measures and embargoes on the movement of people and goods are unnecessary. Isolated cases of cholera related to imported food have been associated with food in the possession of individual travellers. Consequently, import restrictions on food produced under good manufacturing practices, based on the sole fact that cholera is epidemic or endemic in a country, are not justified.

Countries neighbouring cholera-affected areas are encouraged to strengthen disease surveillance and national preparedness to rapidly detect and respond to outbreaks should cholera spread across borders. Further, information should be provided to travellers and the community on the potential risks and symptoms of cholera, together with precautions to avoid cholera, and when and where to report cases.

WHO response

Through the WHO Global Task Force on Cholera Control, WHO works to:

provide technical advice and support for cholera control and prevention at country level
train health professionals at national, regional and international levels in prevention, preparedness and response of diarrhoeal disease outbreaks
disseminate information and guidelines on cholera and other epidemic-prone enteric diseases to health professionals and the general public.

Cholera Outbreak in Haiti

EOC SITUATION REPORT #2 Cholera Outbreak in Haiti
Summary
• As of today, the MSPP (Ministère de la santé publique et de la population) has reported 2,564 cases and 194 deaths at the national level.
• MSPP’s national reference laboratory today confirmed cases in Ouest Department, including Port-au-Prince. In addition to Central Department and Artibonite Department which had confirmed cholera cases since Friday.
• Suspected cases have also been detected in Nord Department and Sud Department and results of confirmatory tests are pending.
• While no cases of cholera have been reported in Dominican Republican, the outbreak has prompted the Government to mobilize a contingency plan in the border area, while the border remains open.
PAHO/WHO Response
• PAHO continues the mobilization of experts in various fields including epidemiologists, risk communication, case management, laboratory, water and sanitation, logistics, and LSS/SUMA experts to both Haiti and Dominican Republican to provide technical support to MSPP and to strengthen the PAHO offices.
• PAHO currently has medicines and supplies to cover initial treatment needs in stock at the PROMESS warehouse near the Port-au-Prince airport. Additional supplies have been estimated based on new information and are in the process of being procured.
• The PAHO/WHO website has been populated with multilingual guidelines to provide general guideline during a cholera outbreak. The following documents readily available in PAHO’s website: Acute diarrhoeal diseases in complex emergencies: critical steps; First steps for managing an outbreak of acute diarrhea; Cholera fact sheet; Cholera outbreak: assessing the outbreak response and improving preparedness; and, Cholera: prevention and control. Other relevant documents are listed in the Resources section below.
• PAHO remains in close collaboration with health cluster partners, including the Cuban medical mission, MSF, MINUSTAH, OCHA, USAID, USCDC, UNICEF and other governmental and non-governmental organizations to respond to the outbreak. PAHO is also coordinating closely with health officials in the U.S. and Canada, including with HHS, the
Emergency Operations Center (EOC) – PAHO
Page 1
Saturday, October 23, 2010 6:00 PM, EDT
Cholera Outbreak in Haiti Pan American Health Organization
State Department, the CDC, NIH, and the FDA, and in Canada, with Health Canada, PHAC, and CIDA.
Cholera Key Facts
• Cholera is an acute diarrheal infection caused by exposition, ingestion of food or water contaminated with the bacterium Vibrio cholerae 0:1.
• Provision of safe water and sanitation is critical in reducing the impact of cholera and other waterborne diseases.
• Up to 80% of cases can be successfully treated with oral rehydration salts. • There are an estimated 3–5 million cholera cases and 100 000–120 000 deaths due to
cholera every year around the world.