US embassy cable - 04ROME2196

UNCLAS  ROME 002196 
 
SIPDIS 
 
 
FROM U.S. MISSION IN ROME 
 
STATE FOR AS/PRM DEWEY, AS/IO HOLMES, PRM/P, EUR/WE, EUR/NE 
AND IO/EDA BEHREND/KOTOK 
USAID FOR DA/USAID SCHIECK, AA/DCHA WINTER, AA/AFR NEWMAN, 
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 
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, UN 
SUBJECT: ANNUAL SESSION OF THE WORLD FOOD PROGRAM EXECUTIVE 
BOARD, ROME, MAY 24-26, 2004 
 
REF; (A) 03 ROME 3607 
 
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SUMMARY 
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1. The WFP Annual Session for 2004 took place against the 
backdrop of the positive Sudanese signing of the Naivasha 
Protocols (GOS-SPLM/A), and an unprecedented level of 
displacement and violence in Sudan's Darfur region. Coming 
off a record level of total support in 2003 (U.S. dollars 
(USD) $2.6 billion in support of its operations worldwide), 
confirmed contributions this calendar year are a more modest 
USD $585 million to date, with a present shortfall of USD 
$1.47 billion (i.e., $1.3 billion for relief operations and 
$153 million for development activities.) UNICEF Executive 
Director Bellamy and Jan Egeland, UN Under Secretary-General 
for Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) addressed the Board, as did 
Frederick W. Schieck, USAID Deputy Administrator. On policy, 
the Board approved the concept that WFP will mainstream 
nutrition in its programs, advocacy and partnerships, 
including meeting micronutrient deficiencies through the 
distribution of appropriately fortified foods. WFP's Audited 
Biennium Accounts (2002-2003) received an unqualified 
opinion from its External Auditor. Finally, in 2003, food 
aid channeled multilaterally reached a record level of 49 
percent of global food assistance (nearly 5 million tons 
against a overall total 10.2 million tons delivered - all 
spigots), making WFP (at 4.6 million tons) the world's 
predominant food aid handler. End summary. 
 
--------------------------------------------- ------------- 
Report of the WFP Executive Director on Current and Future 
Strategic Issues 
--------------------------------------------- ------------- 
 
2. After welcoming UNICEF Executive Director Bellamy and Jan 
Egeland, UN Under Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs 
(OCHA),  Jim Morris commented: "if you are poor and  hungry, 
2004  is  not  likely to be a good year. If your  family  is 
chronically  hungry and not the victim of war or  a  natural 
disaster,  the  outlook is worse. We continue  to  face  the 
ongoing issue that most of the people who are vulnerable  to 
hunger  and  malnutrition are not the victims of  huge  high 
profile  conflicts, but 90 percent of the  people  who  lose 
their  lives  every day to hunger, do so in some  back  road 
situation--totally unnoticed by the media. 
International prices for food, for major commodities, have 
continued a steady climb upwards. Agricultural economists 
are predicting a historic growth in demand for food, so a 
donation to WFP will buy markedly less food today than any 
time since the mid 1990s." 
 
3. Morris talked about the imperative need to expand WFP's 
donor base, and specifically mentioned generous commitments 
this year from China, India, South Africa and Malawi. 
Morris, noting the visit of USAID's Deputy Administrator 
Schieck, commended the US Food for Peace program's fiftieth 
anniversary, describing it as the largest single 
humanitarian program in history. He noted that it has fed 
hundreds of millions of people over the last 50 years, 
saving lives and offering opportunity. He also paid tribute 
to Ambassador Hall and Kansas Senator Pat Roberts, who were 
honored in early May with the Fight Against Hunger Award by 
the U.S. Friends of WFP. 
 
 
4. Morris spoke of hunger-related meetings with President 
Chirac (France), President Lagos (Chile), President Lula 
(Brazil), and President Toledo (Peru). He mentioned a new 
letter of intent with the Clinton Foundation related to 
providing food to HIV-positive families, and a partnership 
with the International Paper Company ("Coins for Kids") that 
will produce several million dollars for feeding school 
children around the world. He ended by commenting that WFP 
had launched a student campaign against hunger in the United 
States with President Bush's niece leading the effort; and 
he spoke of Oprah Winfrey, and how she took her team to 
Africa last December and saw firsthand WFP's work. 
 
5. USAID Food for Peace Director Lauren Landis recognized 
WFP Executive Director Jim Morris for his efforts on behalf 
of the world's hungry poor, as highlighted by his recent 
trips to Sudan's Darfur region, eastern Chad, Haiti, Peru, 
Brazil and the United States (where he addressed the Senate 
Foreign Relations Committee and the UN Security Council). On 
Darfur, Landis commented that the United States is extremely 
concerned that an estimated 300,000 people could perish in 
the Darfur region over the next nine-months.  She urged: a 
cease-fire agreement fully implemented by all parties; that 
the GOS stop the jingaweit atrocities and allow 
international monitoring; complete humanitarian access to 
Darfur; significant funding from all donors; NGOs with 
capacity on the ground to respond; and a strong and vigorous 
United Nations able to move quickly on humanitarian 
assistance. 
 
6. On sub-Saharan Africa, Landis commented that in June the 
G-8 will be meeting in the United States, and the issue of 
more effectively preventing famine will be on the agenda. 
Ending hunger and famine in the Horn of Africa (particularly 
Ethiopia) will receive special attention. It is clear that 
each time famine strikes, the number of hungry and destitute 
rises, along with the toll of human suffering and disease. 
To rectify this, the Ethiopian government needs to undertake 
substantial policy change (and has begun to do this) and the 
donor community needs to address the underlying causes of 
famine. The U.S.G. hopes to work with WFP and their UN 
partners in support of actions that better track potential 
famines and streamline responses. For 2005, USAID's 
development assistance request alone for Ethiopia is over 
$80 million. 
 
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Annual Performance Report for 2003 
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7. WFP food assistance reached 104.2 million of the world's 
poorest by effectively delivering 4.6 million metric tons of 
food aid (plus an additional 1.4 million tons to Iraq 
through Oil-for-Food resources) to some 81 countries. USD 
$2.6 billion in contributions were confirmed, including 
donations from the private sector, which jumped from $3.8 
million in 2002 to $29 million. The report conveyed that WFP 
has begun to seriously implement results based management 
(RBM), including delineation of corporate indicators for 
WFP's management priorities. But WFP caveated that it would 
require four-to-five years to make RBM function efficiently. 
 
8. USDEL commented favorably on WFP's increased emphasis on 
seeking out contributions from recipient countries, in 
 
 
particular that WFP offices in China, Bangladesh, Laos, 
Nepal and Honduras were able to negotiate local 
contributions. Moreover, the Government of Honduras 
contributed USD $3 million to school feeding efforts. USDEL 
recognized that five donors contributed to WFP for the first 
time in 2003: Cameroon, Kuwait, Malawi, the Marshall Islands 
and Monaco. 
 
9. On HIV/AIDS, USDEL noted that United Nations agencies 
need to commit themselves to reviewing their emergency and 
development programs in areas of high HIV prevalence through 
the "lens" of HIV/AIDS. In particular, UN partners need to 
come together in establishing standard indicators and 
methods for incorporating HIV/AIDS in food security, crop 
and vulnerability assessments. 
 
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Nutrition Issues 
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10. The Board approved the concept that WFP will mainstream 
nutrition in its programs, advocacy and partnerships, 
including meeting micronutrient deficiencies through the 
distribution of appropriately fortified foods. In 
emergencies, WFP will systematically analyze nutrition 
problems and define the most appropriate responses based on 
up-to-date knowledge and best practices. Nutrition 
programming in emergencies will pay more attention to 
underlying causes of malnutrition, not just actual outcomes 
during crises, and seek to build links with longer-term 
development activities. 
 
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Transition from Relief to Development 
------------------------------------- 
 
11. UNICEF Executive Director Carol Bellamy spoke on the 
final report of the UNDG/ECHA Working Group on Transition 
Issues, particularly in the transition from conflict to 
peace. It has been estimated that 40 percent of countries 
emerging from conflict relapse into conflict; in Africa, the 
figure is 60 percent. Aid can play a role in helping 
countries to make the transition from conflict to peace, but 
it is essential to have a coherent strategy that unites the 
actors engaged in the various aspects of the transition 
process. The Board encouraged WFP, as the UN's largest 
humanitarian actor, to remain engaged in the process. 
 
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Financial and budgetary matters 
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12. WFP presented its consolidated financial statements for 
the 2002-2003 biennium. WFP's External Auditor (the UK's 
Comptroller and Auditor General) provided an unqualified 
opinion supported by comments and recommendations. The 
External Auditor commented that WFP's accounts were in a 
premier league with a few select other UN organizations. He 
noted that WFP was now producing the biennium financial 
report six months earlier than previously, which 
demonstrated progress in "real-time" accounting. External 
Auditor commented that, with decentralization, the role of 
WFP's regional bureaus had not yet been properly defined, 
 
 
and that (in his opinion) more extensive use could be made 
of WFP's internal oversight mechanisms, notably the Office 
of Inspector-General and Internal Audit. 
 
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Post-delivery losses 
-------------------- 
 
13. WFP Secretariat provided updates on major commodity 
diversions and follow up actions in Bangladesh (ref A) and 
Cambodia. (Cambodia will be discussed septel.) The Board 
commented that every case of commodity hemorrhaging in 
today's constrained budgetary environment has to be swiftly 
and vigorously addressed. It encouraged the Secretariat to 
take all necessary measures to ensure that losses were 
reduced, to seek reimbursement from governments that had 
lost commodities through negligence or worse, and to 
continue to report to the Board annually. 
 
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USAID Deputy Administrator Schieck's intervention to the 
Board on May 25 
--------------------------------------------- ------------ 
 
14. USAID Deputy Administrator Fredrick W. Schieck 
congratulated WFP Executive Director Jim Morris and the 
entire WFP organization for providing food assistance to 
some 110 million people in 2003, in many of the world's most 
difficult and dangerous environments. Schieck drew the 
Board's attention to the Fiftieth Anniversary of Public Law 
480. Since July 10, 1954, when President Dwight D. 
Eisenhower signed the Bill into Law, the United States has 
contributed over USD $50 billion to finance more than 367 
million tons of food aid to more than 150 countries around 
the world. (A separate U.S. PL 480 Food Aid Panel 
discussion, which also took place during the Board, is 
reported septel.) 
 
15. Schieck referred to Sudan's Darfur region where almost 2 
million people are internally displaced and in need of food 
assistance and approximately 110,000 people have fled across 
the border into neighboring Chad. (This estimate rose to 
192,500 during the week of the Board.) He noted that USAID 
continues at the forefront of sustained international 
engagement to end Sudan's long North-South civil war. 
 
16. Globally, he commented that the capacity and willingness 
of the international community to respond to humanitarian 
emergencies will continue to be stretched and commended WFP 
for their efforts over the past decade to strengthen its 
emergency response capacity. Schieck reviewed USAID's long 
involvement (since 1986) in the battle against HIV/AIDS, and 
described a variety of USAID interventions including food 
aid and nutrition counseling. Finally, he noted that USAID 
is working towards implementation of both short and long- 
term strategies which link agricultural development, trade, 
and food aid to promote food security. 
 
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Comment 
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17. In 2003, food aid channeled multilaterally reached a 
record level of 49 percent of global food assistance (nearly 
5 million tons against a overall total 10.2 million tons 
 
 
delivered - all spigots), making WFP (at 4.6 million tons) 
the world's predominant food aid handler. Moreover, WFP 
undertook 89 percent of the triangular food assistance 
transactions and contracted for about 70 percent of local 
food aid purchases worldwide. And, while the United States 
contributed a record amount to WFP this past year, a number 
of other major donors sharply increased their donations 
through WFP, as follows: Canada, more than 100 percent 
increase; United Kingdom, up 42 percent; Japan, up 40 
percent; Sweden, up 35 percent; Switzerland, up 28 percent; 
European Commission, up 16 percent; Norway up 11 percent; 
and Italy, up 7 percent. While these increases in some 
measure are attributable to the strength of other major 
currencies against the dollar and the extraordinary needs of 
this past year, they also, in US Mission's view, eloquently 
demonstrate both WFP's professional manner in reaching out 
to its non-U.S. donors, and the transparency with which it 
is operating and reporting on its humanitarian operations. 
 
18. Khartoum minimize considered. Hall 
 
 
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 2004ROME02196 - Classification: UNCLASSIFIED