afrol News, 25 November - The WFP has been able to "resume most of its operations" in crisis-ridden Côte d'Ivoire, the UN agency today informed. Early this month, the agency had briefly suspended most of its food aid projects following a government offensive that sparked a wave of unrest throughout the country.

The resumption of food aid deliveries to Côte d'Ivoire had been decided on "in spite of chaos" in the country, WFP said today. While there now was a "relative calm" in the split country, the situation was far from normalised.

Food aid was already reaching more than 15,000 refugees and displaced persons sheltering at camps in Guiglo and Tabou. The UN agency also continued to provide assistance to thousands of malnourished children and pregnant and nursing women at therapeutic feeding centres across Côte d'Ivoire.

WFP in a statement today said it was "taking advantage of the relative calm to replenish its food stocks in the north and west of Côte d'Ivoire," delivering 1,500 tonnes to its sub-offices in Guiglo, Man, Korhogo and Bouake over the past seven days. Most of these cities and town are under rebel control. The agency has also resumed its distributions for school feeding in the south. Schools in the rebel-held north are on holiday.

- WFP dispatches took place without incident, said regional spokesman Ramin Rafirasme. While security remains volatile in Côte d'Ivoire, UN humanitarian personnel are nevertheless beginning to return. At the height of the violence, the UN peacekeeping operation in the country, UNOCI, evacuated non-essential UN civilian staff, including WFP personnel.

To date, WFP sub-offices in Côte d'Ivoire have not reported significant food shortages, with contingency plans in place to meet sudden needs in case of population movement due to possible future violence. The agency is also planning an assessment mission to western Côte d'Ivoire near the Liberian border to check the humanitarian situation and the movement of Ivorians seeking refuge in Liberia.

- The current crisis has come at a critical time for Côte d'Ivoire's precarious food security, the harvest season, WFP noted today. Several humanitarian agencies had cooperated to distribute seeds and tools during last May's planting season.

After that, WFP had expected that a successful harvest would reduce Côte d'Ivoire's reliance on food aid in November and December. "Instead continued insecurity could stop farmers from gathering their crops, hamper transport and distort food prices," the UN agency deplored.

With humanitarian agencies warning that a deterioration of security in Côte d'Ivoire could provoke a mass exodus into neighbouring Liberia, WFP is now also pre-positioning food stocks on the border. From 20-22 November, UN helicopters airlifted some 42 tonnes of emergency food aid to the frontier area. Poor road conditions mean the site is inaccessible by trucks.

To date, the UN refugee agency, UNHCR, estimates that it has registered over 10,000 Ivorian refugees - mainly women and children - that have fled across the Liberian border. WFP has already distributed high-energy biscuits to these refugees.

The flow of Ivorian refugees into Liberia comes at a critical time for the country's fragile peace agreement that brought 14 years of civil war to an end in 2003. Hundreds of thousands of Liberian refugees and displaced people are set to return to their home towns. In order to ensure a successful resettlement, these Liberian will also need WFP food aid and other humanitarian assistance.

Yet, even before the current crisis, WFP was facing serious resource shortfalls in Liberia, needing US$ 20 million to avoid a break in food stocks from now through to March 2005. "We still have serious financial problems with our operation in Liberia and the situation in Côte d'Ivoire is not helping at all," noted Mr Rafirasme.

By staff writer

© afrol News

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