US embassy cable - 03KUWAIT2457

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 03 KUWAIT 002457 
 
SIPDIS 
 
STATE ALSO PASS USAID/W 
STATE PLEASE REPEAT TO IO COLLECTIVE 
STATE FOR PRM/ANE, EUR/SE, NEA/NGA, IO AND SA/PAB 
NSC FOR EABRAMS, SMCCORMICK, STAHIR-KHELI, JDWORKEN 
USAID FOR USAID/A, DCHA/AA, DCHA/RMT, DCHA/FFP 
USAID FOR DCHA/OTI, DCHA/DG, ANE/AA 
USAID FOR DCHA/OFDA:WGARVELINK, BMCCONNELL, KFARNSWORTH 
USAID FOR ANE/AA:WCHAMBERLIN 
ROME FOR FODAG 
GENEVA FOR RMA AND NKYLOH 
ANKARA FOR AMB WRPEARSON, ECON AJSIROTIC AND DART 
AMMAN FOR USAID AND DART 
 
E.O. 12958:  N/A 
TAGS: EAID, PREF, IZ, WFP 
SUBJECT:  FOOD AND NUTRITION SECTOR MEETING 13 MAY 
 
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SUMMARY 
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1.  The DART attended the weekly food and nutrition sector 
meeting at the WFP office in Basrah on 13 May.  The Central 
Ministry of Trade in Baghdad, in coordination with WFP, has 
decided the first countrywide PDS distribution will begin in 
June.  The MOT is holding a meeting in Baghdad on 20 May 
with all the governorate MOT directors in preparation.  WFP 
is visiting all governorates in preparation for a June 
distribution. 
 
2.  Save the Children/U.S. is beginning vulnerable group 
feeding in Basrah governorate and has visited all seven 
Nutritional Rehabilitation Centers in Basrah city. 
International Medical Corps recently visited Maysan 
governorate and reported that about 200 families (1,000 
people) have returned to Maysan from the Kirkuk area. 
Iraqis migrating from the north and refugees returning to 
Maysan, and other southern governorates, will need to 
register at the local ration registration center to be added 
to the PDS in the new location.  End Summary. 
 
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FIRST NATIONWIDE DISTRIBUTION IN JUNE 
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3.  The Central Ministry of Trade (MOT) and the U.N. World 
Food Program (WFP) are targeting the first countrywide 
public distribution to begin in June.  The MOT wants to wait 
until June to begin this distribution because of insecurity, 
access, communications, and salary payment issues.  Even 
though the MOT had been distributing double rations for 
several months prior to the war, leading to June rations 
being provided in February, the slate will now be wiped 
clean and distributions for the actual month will begin. 
Restarting in June on a monthly cycle will ensure balance 
and equity, rather than trying to reconcile the differences 
between locations that have accumulated over the last couple 
months. 
 
4.  WFP teams are visiting all governorates to prepare MOT 
staff for the upcoming food distribution.  WFP has been 
using the month of May to provide commodities that were 
missing in the food rations already distributed, but the 
Central MOT has made a unilateral decision in Baghdad to 
stop these "catch-up" distributions during last two weeks of 
May.  Even though the full distributions will begin on 1 
June, they will take place on a staggered basis by 
governorate throughout the month.  The MOT is holding a 
meeting in Baghdad on 20 May with all the governorate MOT 
directors in preparation.  In addition, a week ago, the 
directors of mills and silos from various governorates were 
called to Baghdad to discuss preparations for the June 
distributions. 
 
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WFP ASSESSMENTS IN THE SOUTH 
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5.  About ten days ago, WFP and GOAL did a joint assessment 
of vulnerable groups and their food needs in Dhi Qar 
governorate.  Special attention was paid to targeting 
hospitals, orphanages, elderly centers, and disabled 
centers.  The results of this assessment will be 
forthcoming.  WFP and the MOT in Maysan met to discuss MOT 
office security and to create a list of office needs, such 
as equipment and furniture.  A WFP Mission took place in 
Maysan on 9 May, and a request was brought to the military 
to provide security to the MOT/WFP warehouses.  A joint 
International Organization for Migration (IOM)/WFP mission 
is scheduled this week to Maysan to assess needs of the 
internally displaced persons (IDPs) that were located.  IDPs 
from the north and returning refugees in Maysan, and other 
governorates, will need to register to update their ration 
cards. 
 
6.  In the south and elsewhere, transport costs for food 
agents have risen substantially because of the shortage of 
fuel.  The agents have passed along this increased cost to 
the beneficiaries, sometimes charging as much as 600 dinars 
for the ration (rather than 250 dinars).  Even though 
beneficiaries understand this increase, it is an obvious 
strain on households.  WFP hopes to soon provide fuel to the 
agents to counteract this problem. 
 
7.  Coalition forces made a request to the DART for rice and 
powdered milk for Al Samawah in Al Muthanna governorate, as 
it said that the local council needed these commodities to 
complete a distribution.  DART discussed it with WFP, who 
traveled to Al Samawah on 12 May and discussed the request 
with the MOT.  The MOT stated that it did not want to make 
up for the missed commodities, but focus on the June 
distribution, and WFP concurred. 
 
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NGO REPORTS 
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8.  Save the Children/U.S. (SCF/US) reported that the MOT 
warehouse in Az Zubayr is being guarded in part by local 
watchmen who are asking who will pay their salaries and 
when.  SCF/US, WFP's implementing partner for Basrah 
governorate, has requested that WFP release a one month's 
ration for distribution to 18 IDP families in Az Zubayr, two 
IDP families in Safwan, and a pensioners home and orphanage 
in Basrah. 
 
9.  SCF/US has begun working in all seven Nutritional 
Rehabilitation Centers (NRC) located in hospitals in Basrah. 
All have enough supplies to re-start operations. The number 
of malnourished children has doubled in several 
governorates, according to UNICEF.  UNICEF is bringing in 
seven metric tons (MT) of F-100 (therapeutic milk) for 
Basrah, and 5 MT for An Najaf hospitals. 
 
10.  A team from the International Medical Corps (IMC) has 
just returned from a week in Maysan governorate and reported 
that there are 200 families (about 1,000 people) returning 
to the Maysan area from Kirkuk who will have to be 
registered in the PDS to receive rations. These families 
were relocated to the north during Saddam Hussein's 
"Arabization" initiative during the early 1990's. 
 
JONES