US embassy cable - 02HARARE2467

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 03 HARARE 002467 
 
SIPDIS 
 
DEPT PLS PASS USAID 
DEPT FOR AF/S 
NSC FOR SENIOR AFRICA DIRECTOR JENDAYI FRAZER 
NSC FOR JONATHAN DWORKEN AND CINDY COURVILLE 
USAID FOR LAUREN LANDIS (DCHA/FFP); KAREN POE (AFR/SA); CWT 
HAGELMAN (AFR/SA) 
USDA FOR IRA BRANSON AND ROBIN TILSWORTH 
LONDON FOR CGURNEY 
NAIROBI FOR PFLAUMER 
PARIS FOR NEARY 
ROME FOR FODAG 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: EAID, PGOV, ZI 
SUBJECT: NEW NGOS STRUGGLE TO STAVE OFF FAMINE 
 
REF: A. HARARE 2193 
 
     B. HARARE 2342 
     C. HARARE 2403 
     D. HARARE 2372 
 
 1. SUMMARY: The mid-October accreditation of three 
additional NGOs to serve as WFP implementing partners by the 
Government of Zimbabwe is a welcome step but will do little 
to reduce the increasing levels of malnutrition in the 
country.  Wasting among children under five was close to the 
upper limit for non-drought Africa, and stunting was among 
the highest in the world, according to a study published in 
September.  Without a relaxation of grain import restictions, 
clarification on the importation of additional 
biotechnology-derived corn, and an infusion of corn into the 
country, these additional implementing partners will be 
insufficient for the fight against starvation.  (NOTE: This 
is the first in a series of regular food security and 
nutritional updates. END NOTE.) END SUMMARY. 
 
New NGOs Struggle to Set Up 
--------------------------- 
2. In October, the Government of Zimbabwe (GOZ) accredited 
three more NGOs (GOAL, CONCERN, and Catholic Relief Services 
(CRS)) to be WFP implementing partners. With the addition of 
these NGOs, 49 districts out of 57 will be serviced.  These 
new NGOs hope to be distributing food by the end of the year 
but face great logistical challenges.  Save the Children-UK, 
CARE International, World Vision, and Catholic Relief 
Services will service most remaining districts through 
bilateral arrangements.  The other WFP implementing partners 
are World Vision, Plan International, Organization of Rural 
Associations for Progress (ORAP), Lutheran World Federation 
(LWF), Help Age, Christian Care, and CARE International. 
 
3.  Political Officer spoke with country director for 
CONCERN, Mike McDonnagh about the recent accreditation. 
CONCERN, an Irish NGO, will operate in Gokwe and Kwekwe in 
Midlands province and Nyanga in Manicaland province.  They 
will feed 570,000 people with 40,000 metric tons (MT) of food 
over four months.  McDonnagh said he hoped to begin 
distributing food by the end of November but was just 
beginning beneficiary registration and hiring local staff. 
CONCERN will need to purchase and install computers in the 
field.  McDonnagh was optimistic about getting everything in 
place, saying GOZ representatives had been very helpful since 
CONCERN received accreditation. 
 
4.  Political Officer spoke with a CRS representative, Greg 
Bastion, who said CRS will distribute food to 291,628 people 
in Chegutu, Makonde, and Kadoma districts in Mashonaland 
West.  CRS is planning to distribute 4086 tons of food per 
month.  Bastion said CRS was well positioned to increase 
capacity because it was already working in country providing 
supplementary and therapeutic feeding to patients in 
hospices.  Bastion said CRS still needed at least six weeks 
to get everything in place for a successful food 
distribution.  CRS was in the process of hiring staff, 
finding warehouses and office space, procuring vehicles, and 
supplying the offices.  CRS was not as optimistic as CONCERN 
about when actual food distributions will begin but would 
only say that they would like them to begin before 2003. 
 
5.  WFP public affairs officer, Luis Clemens, told us that in 
spite of their best efforts, CONCERN and GOAL would not be up 
and running by mid-November, although hopefully by the 
beginning of December.  He also said GOAL, an Irish NGO, will 
feed 392,000 beneficiaries in Hurungwe in Mashonaland West 
province and Makoni in Manicaland province.  They will 
distribute 27,405 MT of food aid between November 2002 and 
March 2003.  GOAL has started fieldwork but has the same 
logistical issues as CONCERN. 
 
6.  WFP plans to increase food distributions to more than 
50,000 metric tons per month between November 2002 and April 
2003 and increase the beneficiary load to 5.9 million. 
According to the UN Relief and Recovery Unit, as of October 
15, the WFP had distributed a total of 53,047 MT of food to 
1.05 million people since the end of February.  The addition 
of CONCERN, CRS, and GOAL will increase WFP capacity by 
20,000 MT per month and beneficiaries by 1.25 million. 
COMMENT: Even if the WFP implementing partners succeed in 
setting up their relief distribution operations, they may not 
have the corn to distribute because of restrictive GOZ 
policies on grain trade and biotechnology-derived foods.  See 
Reftels C and D for a discussion of these supply constraints. 
END COMMENT 
 
7.  The WFP implementing partner and district breakdowns are 
as follows: 
--World Vision: Chiredzi, Gwanda, Matobo, Umguza, Bubi, 
Lupane, Chikomba, Wedza, Seke, Marondera, Goromonzi, Murehwa, 
Mutoko, Uzumba-Maramba-Pfungwe (UMP), Mudzi, Mt. Darwin 
--Plan International: Mutare, Mutasa 
--ORAP: Hwange, Tsholotsho, Umzingwane, Insiza 
--LWF: Shurugwi 
--Help Age: Nkayi 
--Christian Care: Chipinge, Buhera, Kariba, Guruve, Zvimba, 
Mazowe, Bindura, Muzarabani, Rushinga 
--CARE: Zvishavane, Chivi, Mberengwa, Mwenezi, Masvingo, 
Zaka, Bikita 
--CONCERN: Kwekwe, Gokwe North, Gokwe South, Nyanga 
--GOAL: Hurungwe, Makoni 
--Catholic Relief Services: Chegutu, Kadoma, Makonde. 
 
Nutritional Status to Worsen 
---------------------------- 
8.  In spite of the additional implementing partners, the 
nutritional status of the population, in particular of 
children, continues to worsen.  A September Zimbabwe 
Emergency Food Security Assessment Report prepared by FEWSNET 
and the Zimbabwe National and SADC FANR Vulnerability 
Assessment Committee (VAC) showed a worsening nutritional 
status when compared with previous studies.  (Direct 
comparison between the various studies is not possible 
because of different sampling methods, but the VAC results 
affirm a deteriorating nutrition situation nationally.) 
Approximately 7 percent of children aged 6 to 59 months 
showed evidence of wasting or low weight for height 
measurement.  Wasting reflects acute or recent nutritional 
deficits and at its most severe is linked to increased 
mortality risk.  Wasting prevalences of 5 to 10 percent are 
usual in African populations in non-drought periods.  More 
than 41 percent of children sampled were stunted, low height 
for age.  Stunting reflects the cumulative effect of chronic 
malnutrition.  Stunting prevalence ranges from 32 percent in 
developing countries to 43 percent in the least developed 
countries, according to UNICEF.  Wasting was highest among 
children aged 6 to 11 months (9.7 percent) while stunting was 
highest among the 12-23 month olds (49.1 percent). 
 
9.  Interviews by embassy political officers during field 
trips to rural areas during rural council elections and the 
Ambassador,s Midlands province trip highlight the growing 
concern child nutrition has become for the general population. 
--Manicaland: A German physician who runs a clinic where she 
treats victims of violence noted that malnutrition levels 
among children were up compared to last year.  She also said 
she had not seen the distended bellies but had noticed signs 
of wasting, kwashiorkor, redness and loss of hair, and 
scaling skin. 
--Matebeleland: Political Officers visited St. Luke,s 
Mission Hospital about 100 km north of the city of Bulawayo. 
The resident German doctor said he had witnessed a dramatic 
rise in the numbers of adults and children affected by 
malnutrition in the last two months.  In the hospital ward 
set aside for malnutrition cases, all the toddlers suffered 
from wasting and several were suffering from skin lesions and 
kwashiorkor, and at least one had reddish hair.  The doctor 
said he expected all of the children in the malnutrition ward 
to either die from HIV/AIDS, which afflicted 80-90 percent of 
the hospital,s patients, or malnutrition (See Reftel A). 
--Midlands: Chief Cyprian Malisa of Silobela in Midlands 
province told political officer that one child had already 
died in one of his areas of jurisdiction and three other 
children looked to be near death.  (See Reftel B) 
--In addition, the independent newspaper The Daily News 
reported on October 16 that two people in Binga had died 
recently of starvation, and that school children were 
fainting at their desks from hunger. 
 
Comment 
------- 
10.  COMMENT: It is unlikely that WFP and its implementing 
partners will be able to stave off widespread malnutrition 
despite their best efforts.  GOZ recalcitrance in admitting 
there would be food shortages,  accrediting NGOs to help in 
food aid distribution, and allowing free trade of grain has 
made a successful response to the crisis unlikely.  The 
nutritional level of children in Zimbabwe has undoubtedly 
worsened over the last 3-4 months, since the completion of 
the VAC survey, and may be approaching critical levels.  The 
VAC, as well as individual NGOs, plans to conduct regular 
nutritional surveys and to monitor the status of children. 
Per Reftel D, USAID/OFDA is also exploring possible USG 
support for establishing a national nutrtional sentinel 
surveillance system for Zimbabwe.  END COMMENT. 
SULLIVAN