US embassy cable - 04ROME815

UNCLAS  ROME 000815 
 
SIPDIS 
 
 
FROM U.S. MISSION IN ROME 
 
STATE FOR NEA/IR AMBASSADOR RAPHEL, AS/PRM DEWEY, AS/IO 
HOLMES, PRM/P, EUR/WE, EUR/NE AND IO/EDA BEHREND/KOTOK 
USAID FOR A/AID, AA/DCHA WINTER, AA/AFR, DCHA/FFP LANDIS, 
PPC/DP, PPC/DC 
USDA/FAS FOR U/S PENN, CHAMBLISS/TILSWORTH/GAINOR 
GENEVA FOR AMBASSADOR MOLEY, RMA LYNCH AND NKYLOH/USAID 
USUN FOR AMBASSADOR NEGROPONTE AND MLUTZ 
BAGHDAD FOR LSINGER, JWARLICK AND JLAPENN 
BRUSSELS FOR AFRICA WATCHERS AND USAID/LERNER 
NSC FOR JDWORKEN AND AFRICA DIRECTORATE 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: EAID, EAGR, AORC, PREF, KUNR, KHIV, WFP, UNHCR 
SUBJECT: FIRST REGULAR SESSION OF THE WORLD FOOD PROGRAM 
EXECUTIVE BOARD, ROME, FEBRUARY 23-26, 2004 
 
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SUMMARY 
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1. The WFP Board first regular session for 2004 took place 
against the backdrop of an unprecedented level of emergency 
needs. In 2003, WFP received U.S. dollars (USD) 2.6 billion 
in donor contributions in support of its operations 
worldwide (plus an additional USD 1.2 billion from the Oil- 
for-Food account for its work in Iraq). Executive Director 
Morris reported that WFP reached 110 million beneficiaries 
this past year and challenged the organization "to do more, 
and do it better." UN High Commissioner for Refugees Rudd 
Lubbers addressed the Board at its opening session and 
strongly endorsed WFP efforts linking food and nutrition in 
fighting HIV/AIDS and urged national governments to include 
refugee populations in their AIDS-related strategies. 
Getting emergency needs assessments right; proceeding with 
five pilots designed primarily to authorize spending against 
forecasted resources (rather than confirmed contributions) 
in order to improve the organization's business practices; 
approval (on an exceptional basis) to exclude from indirect 
support costs the cargo preference premiums for ocean 
transport from U.S. contributions for the period October 
2001-December 2003; measures needed to improve the quality 
of WFP's protracted relief and recovery operations - all 
received major Board attention. Development programs valued 
at USD 23.42 million and USD 210.1 million in protracted 
relief and recovery operations (PRROs) were approved. 
 
2. U.S. Mission/Rome Ambassador Tony Hall noted that the 
United States contributed USD 1.4 billion through the World 
Food Program in 2003, the largest single year U.S. voluntary 
donation to a UN agency in history. Ambassador Hall thanked 
WFP for directly moving 2.76 million tons of critically 
needed commodities over the past ten months to assist some 
27 million Iraqis; working to renegotiate USD 1.5 billion in 
food procurements of Oil-for-Food contracts; responding 
admirably to the terrible Baghdad bombing of August 19; and 
facilitating the procurement of more than one million tons 
of the 2003 Iraqi wheat harvest. End summary. 
 
--------------------------------------------- --------- 
Report of the WFP Executive Director on Current and Future 
 
 
Strategic Issues 
--------------------------------------------- --------- 
 
3. WFP Executive Director Jim Morris highlighted WFP's 2003 
receipt of USD 2.6 billion in donor contributions, (plus an 
additional USD 1.2 billion from the Oil-for-Food account for 
its work in Iraq) which enabled the organization to reach 
110 million beneficiaries this past year. He challenged WFP 
"to do more, and do it better." He reported that WFP had 
raised USD 95 million in 2003 from non-traditional donors 
which included: USD 19.8 million from the Republic of South 
Africa; USD 11.0 million from Russia; USD 10.92 million form 
the OPEC Fund; USD 6.35 million from the Dutch private firm, 
TPG; and USD 1 million from Kuwait. And, having just 
returned from Australia (where he met with Foreign Minister 
Downer and Deputy Foreign Minister, Mrs Galles), Morris 
confirmed an additional Australian dollars (AUD) 13 million 
contribution, essentially for WFP programs in Eritrea, 
Ethiopia and southern Africa. Morris highlighted 
humanitarian operations in Iraq, Afghanistan, Sudan, Chad, 
North Korea, Liberia, and initial steps to respond to the 
rapidly deteriorating situation in Haiti. Morris commented 
that WFP presently has 135 duty stations which are listed at 
a Phase 3 or higher level on the UN's security status 
rating. 
 
4. U.S. Mission/Rome Ambassador Tony Hall congratulated WFP 
Executive Director Jim Morris and the entire WFP 
organization for their untiring efforts on behalf of the 
world's hungry poor, noting that the United States 
contributed USD 1.4 billion through the World Food Program 
in 2003, the largest single year voluntary donation to a UN 
agency in history. Ambassador Hall thanked WFP for directly 
moving 2.76 million tons of critically needed commodities 
over the past ten months to assist some 27 million Iraqis; 
working tirelessly to renegotiate USD 1.5 billion in food 
procurements of Oil-for-Food contracts; responding admirably 
to the terrible Baghdad bombing of August 19; and 
facilitating the procurement of more than one million tons 
of the 2003 Iraqi wheat harvest. 
 
5. In another major war - against the global scourge of 
HIV/AIDS, Ambassador Hall commented that we all need to make 
the case that (a) good nutrition is the first line of 
 
 
defense in warding off the detrimental effects of the 
disease; and (b) adequate nutrition is essential to 
obtaining the maximum effectiveness from HIV/AIDS-fighting 
drugs. He thanked UN High Commissioner Ruud Lubbers for 
coming to address the Board and underlined the U.S. 
Government's commitment to and concern for the well-being of 
refugees and displaced persons, even those in the most far- 
flung and oft-forgotten locales, including through 
substantial cash donations to WFP for refugee feeding 
programs. 
 
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Emergency Needs Assessments - ENA 
--------------------------------- 
 
6. The Board took note of WFP's strategy related to 
strengthening emergency needs assessments. It requested that 
the Secretariat provide an update on progress made in 
implementing improvements, along with a proposed 
implementation plan, including cooperation with other 
agencies/partners, a timetable and budget implications - to 
the Third Regular Session of the Board in October 2004. 
USAID's Lauren Landis commended WFP for organizing two inter- 
agency workshops during 2003 directly related to emergency 
needs assessments. She noted that, at these meetings, 
participants: (a) argued for comparability and minimum data 
sets; (b) endorsed regional and sub-regional approaches to 
assessments; (c) promoted approaches that distinguish acute 
from chronic needs; (d) urged more detailed ENA analysis on 
livelihoods; (e) concluded that specific methodological 
issues needed refinement on estimates of potential for 
commercial and regional cross border imports to fill a 
domestic food supply gap; and (f) endorsed an increased 
focus on how markets can bolster food security in emergency 
situations. USDEL commented that the shortfalls identified 
by these workshops are accurate and require concerted 
attention. 
 
7. On the upcoming FAO/WFP food and crop assessments in 
Southern Africa, particularly those in Malawi, Mozambique 
and Zimbabwe, USDEL looks forward to a report on the results 
of the Southern Africa experimental pilot to improve overall 
FAO/WFP crop and food security assessments, with the 
expectation that FAO/WFP will incorporate pre-assessment 
 
 
planning into all of its assessments. Note. USDEL met 
separately with the European Commission, UK and Sweden to 
further explore how to keep this process moving forward, 
given that they (particularly the EC) have raised a number 
of red flags related to the rigor of the UN's needs 
assessment process. End note. 
 
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Humanitarian Principles 
----------------------- 
 
8. The Board approved the ten humanitarian principles 
presented in the policy document. USDEL noted that the UN's 
Inter-Agency Standing Committee (IASC) has not reached an 
agreement among international humanitarian assistance 
agencies on a set of common principles. This WFP document 
can help deliver a clear and productive message with respect 
to why the UN is present in humanitarian operations and how 
it will go about its work. USDEL concluded that, while we 
wait for the IASC to reach agreement, perhaps the WFP 
principles, as endorsed by this Board, can be used to spur 
the IASC process to completion. 
 
--------------------------------------------- -- 
Business process review: Pilot-financing paper 
--------------------------------------------- -- 
 
9. In March 2003, the WFP Secretariat began a business 
process review designed primarily to authorize spending 
against forecasted resource flows, rather than against 
confirmed contributions, as is currently the case. In 
general, WFP proposes: a) a multi-scenario approach in 
program planning where cost category "ranges" will be 
provided to donors, instead of fixed rates for each project; 
b) a single cash account will be used at the project level; 
and c) at the end of the project, WFP will provide donors 
with an actual expense report, with reconciliation done pro 
rata, taking into consideration overall project 
expenditures. For 2004, WFP proposes using its Operational 
Reserve to provide from USD 14 million up to USD 49 million 
for advanced funding for five pilots: DRC PRRO; West Africa 
Coastal PRRO; Palestinian Territories Emergency Operation 
(EMOP); Indonesia PRRO; and the Cambodia PRRO. 
 
 
10. The Board approved the use of WFP's Operational Reserve 
to finance the five pilot projects on the basis of forecast 
contributions, as an exception. In general, while supportive 
of WFP's new streamlined financial model, the Board noted 
the risk of potential shortfalls resulting from flawed 
contribution forecasting. Hence, the Board agreed with WFP's 
prudent approach to more thoroughly field-test the new 
project-financing model using the proposed five pilots 
throughout 2004. 
 
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Basis for calculation of indirect support (ISC) on ocean 
transport costs 
--------------------------------------------- ------------ 
 
11. The Board approved, on a limited basis, the exceptional 
measure adopted by the Executive Director in October 2001 to 
exclude the cargo preference contributions for ocean 
transport from United States contributions. The Board's 
approval is limited to the biennium 2002-2003 ending 
December 31, 2003, and does not constitute a precedent for 
WFP's future treatment of donor contributions. This topic 
will be further discussed septel. 
 
--------------------------------------------- -------------- 
Summary report of the thematic evaluation of the protracted 
relief and recovery operation (PRRO) category 
--------------------------------------------- -------------- 
 
12. The Board decided that, at its annual session in 2004 
(May), it would examine the measures taken by WFP to 
strengthen PRROs and render a decision on the process to be 
followed. USDEL commented that this evaluation points to a 
number of weaknesses including targeting, assessments, 
monitoring and evaluation (M&E) systems, untimely 
introduction of recovery strategies, limited WFP staff 
capacity, insufficient access to beneficiaries, etc. This is 
of particular concern insofar as, against a 2002-2003 PRRO 
category estimated outlay of USD 777 million, WFP projects a 
2004-2005 estimated PRRO expenditure of USD 2.0 billion (a 
ratcheting up of USD 1.29 billion). Simply, the identified 
programming shortfalls potentially increase WFP's risks in 
the area of results based management. USDEL concluded that 
serious attention by senior management was required to 
 
 
address the wide range of shortfalls noted. 
 
--------------------------------------------- ---------- 
Information note on the Special Operations (SO) program 
category 
--------------------------------------------- ---------- 
 
13. The Board indicated that it would re-examine this topic 
at its Annual Session in May 2004. USDEL noted WFP's 
commitment at the UN's Fifth Session of the High Level 
Committee on Management (HLCM)(New York, June 12-13, 2003), 
to accept the responsibility of administering air transport 
service for UN agencies in humanitarian, and "other" 
activities that are not directly or specifically for 
peacekeeping, with effect from January 1, 2004. We suggested 
further clarification of WFP's and other UN agencies' roles 
following the HLCM's decision, and encouraged information on 
this decision and its implications to be disseminated 
throughout the UN and donor community. 
 
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Other Issues 
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14. USD 210.1 million in protracted relief and recovery 
operations were approved as follows: Armenia, USD 11.56 
million; Nepal (Bhutanese refugees), USD 7.6 million; 
Cambodia, USD 46.88 million; Indonesia, 115.37 million; 
Sudan (Eritrean refugees), USD 15.52 million; and Republic 
of Congo, USD 13.16 million. Each PRRO approval discussion 
is being reported septel. Development programs valued at USD 
23.42 million were approved for The Gambia (USD 6.92 
million) and Benin (USD 16.5 million) were approved and are 
also being reported septel. 
 
15. WFP provided an update on its response to the HIV/AIDS 
pandemic. As of December 2003, WFP had HIV/AIDS-related 
activities in 41 countries: 30 in Africa, six in Latin 
America/Caribbean, four in Asia and one in Eastern Europe. 
Their paper reviewed partnership strengthening; program 
policy, coordination and support; country-level HIV-related 
 
 
programming; assessment and program monitoring; technical 
policy and operational research; HIV/AIDS advocacy; and the 
WFP workplace and HIV/AIDS. Two research papers with the 
International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI): a) 
HIV/AIDS and Food Crises: RENEWAL in Africa; and b) 
Rethinking food aid to fight AIDS - were handed out. Note. 
UN High Commissioner for Refugees Rudd Lubbers addressed the 
Board at its opening session and strongly endorsed WFP 
efforts linking food and nutrition in fighting HIV/AIDS and 
urged national governments to include refugee populations in 
their AIDS-related strategies. End note. 
 
16. WFP's operational guidelines on the donation of foods 
derived from modern biotechnology were accepted by the Board 
without debate. 
 
17. The Board endorsed an information note on WFP's security 
upgrade program, including its headquarters, to enable the 
effective and efficient conduct of WFP activities while 
ensuring the security and safety of staff as a high 
priority. Executive Director Morris reported that WFP has 
added four regional security advisors (bringing the total to 
six), and is recruiting additional security personnel in the 
field to be deployed in Indonesia, Somalia, Ethiopia, Ivory 
Coast, Yemen, Colombia and Chechnya. Moreover, WFP is 
recruiting a Head of Security to be located in Rome. Note. 
Currently, security issues are handled by WFP's Management 
Services division. 
 
18. On the policy for staff recruitment and geographical 
representation of member states, the Board was generally 
supportive of the Informal Methodology used by WFP to 
establish appropriate geographic and gender representation 
among international professional staff. This occurred 
despite lengthy interventions of a number of developing 
countries led by India. WFP announced that it was 
undertaking this year a strategic management review of its 
human resources policy. Executive Director Morris announced 
that WFP was planning to offer medical insurance coverage to 
national employees worldwide. 
 
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Personal Comment from Ambassador Hall 
------------------------------------- 
 
 
19. In my intervention to the Board, I informed them that "I 
had just returned from a 5-week, 7-state, speaking tour 
across America, where I spoke with retired executives and 
students, with those concerned about international hunger 
and those new to the issue.  They were all moved to want to 
do more.  Most people feel that way when they are confronted 
with the startling reality that 24,000 people die every day 
from hunger and related diseases. All of us around this 
table need to continue our efforts, within our various 
spheres of influence, to get out the message that we can do 
something about this problem of hunger.  In order to reach 
more of the 842 million people who are chronically hungry, 
we have to be relentless in trying to generate the political 
will to cut hunger in half by 2015." 
 
20. For my small part, I will be leading a "Hunger Tour to 
the Horn of Africa" in April.  As we approach the twentieth 
anniversary of the Great Famine in Ethiopia, I want to bring 
others to see first-hand the problems of hunger and the 
solutions that give us hope. 
 
21. Minimize considered. Hall 
 
 
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 2004ROME00815 - Classification: UNCLASSIFIED