Global factors shaping the future of food aid: the implications for WFP

Food aid is a key component of a humanitarian response but its use in other programming contexts is subject to numerous criticisms. Even in humanitarian emergencies food aid is often late, unreliable and out of proportion to other elements of the response. Three major factors will shape the future of food aid. First, mechanisms of food aid governance are being reviewed and may undergo major changes—particularly the Food Aid Convention now that hopes have diminished for an Agreement on Agriculture at the World Trade Organisation. The second significant factor is donor agency trends. Overall levels of food aid have dropped fairly steadily in recent decades and there are several discernible trends in resource allocation, procurement and the use of food aid. The third factor is an emerging body of best practice that will define acceptable standards of food aid programming in the future.     

A tool to aid emergency managers and communities in appraising private dam safety and policy

Issues concerning dam safety and equitable sharing of catchment run-off are receiving more attention throughout the world. This paper assesses these matters in the context of Australia, and the need for policy responses. Landholders often overlook the common law obligation to review/design dams to current standards because of high costs, leaving them vulnerable to litigation if their dam fails. The paper reports on an innovative spillway design/review procedure, applicable to southeast Australia, but transferable to any region worldwide. Dam safety policy models and guidelines derived from international best practice are linked to the procedure and intended to aid government decision-making. The procedure minimises costs to landholders and provides an acceptable level of safety assurance to downstream communities. Also discussed are recent surveys testing community attitudes to the procedure and implemented dam safety and water allocation policies. These further guide any government wanting to implement this'integrated engineering and community partnerships'approach to preventing potential disasters due to private dam failure and achieving sustainable and safe water storage and use.     

Food acquisition during the African drought of 1983–1984: A study of Kenyan herders

In 1983 and 1984, drought spread across the northern rangelands of Kenya and herders in lowland Samburu lost substantial portions of their livestock. Food aid arrived when 50 to 75% of the cattle had already died, and after poorer pastoralists were hungry enough to sell their remaining productive animals. No pastoralists died of the immediate effects of the drought, but many were so impoverished that their longer-term prospects for remaining as herders look dim.
This essay discusses the timing and content of famine relief as it applies both to Samburu and other food-stressed areas. It focuses on the process of food acquisition during the northern Kenyan drought itself. The more "indigenous" food strategies of herding, hunting and gathering offered limited benefits. Equally, however, commercial channels for procuring food proved inadequate. Herders could not reliably sell animals to obtain cash for purchased food, nor were the grain and sugar staples always available even when cash was on hand. Lacking means to provide for themselves, Samburu came to depend on varied kinds of handouts.     

气候变化对东北地区粮食生产的影响及对策响应

东北地区粮食生产是国家粮食安全战略的重要保障,近年来受气候变化等因素的影响,东北地区粮食生产的不稳定性与风险性加大,积极响应气候变化对粮食生产的影响已成为稳定东北地区粮食生产的内在要求。本研究从东北地区气候变化特征出发,对主要粮食作物的生长发育、产量、种植制度与布局、粮食生产潜力等方面综合分析气候变化对东北地区粮食生产的影响。结果表明：(1)东北地区日照时数明显减少,降水量呈下降态势,气温显著升高。(2)东北地区旱涝灾害发生频率增加,病虫灾害累计发生面积增大,低温冷害事件明显减少。(3)气候变化改变东北地区主要粮食作物的生长发育,促进种植界限北移东扩,粮食生产潜力有明显提升但存在区域差异性,总体而言,气候变化有利于东北地区粮食生产。针对气候变化对东北地区粮食生产的综合影响,基于粮食产前、产中、产后视角,提出适应气候变化稳定东北地区粮食生产的响应策略,对于保障东北地区粮食安全具有重要意义。     

Determining the future policies for disaster management in the southwest pacific

There are still deficiencies in the delivery of disaster aid and the overall policies need further re-examination. This paper looks at the particular circumstances of the island nations of the Southwest Pacific. In their context, dependence on outside help for counter-disaster management is recognised, but in the light of the present economic, social, cultural and political characteristics of these countries, it is concluded that aid donors should shift the emphasis of their activities to the promotion of a greater self-help approach in the individual countries, as against the provision of emergency material aid from outside. The extent to which this policy could be adopted depends on the local resource base. Rather than relying mainly on emergency ad hoc aid delivery following each disaster, it is considered that donors would improve the disaster response through the previous provision of advice, training and funds. This would facilitate the growth and development of internal counter-disaster organizatons, and assist countries to make their own decisions on the timing and nature of the aid required. Such a policy could also meet concerns that arise about external interference.     

Food aid and food crisis in Sub-Saharan Africa: Statistical trends and implications*

This paper documents the rapid expansion and changes in food aid flows to Sub-Saharan Africa up to mid-1985. Trends for Sub-Saharan Africa as a whole and for the more seriously affected countries are examined, as are the comparative experiences of food aid of individual countries in the region. Table 11 lists the Sub-Saharan African countries and indicates the most seriously affected food-short countries, as defined by the WFP/FAO task force. It should be borne in mind that some practical problems exist in compiling data on food aid. These include lack of availability of reliable data, especially of most recent data; lack of common terminology and definitions; and different accounting systems. These data problems are sometimes a source of confusion. However, the basic facts are clear: food aid gradually emerged during the early 1980s as a resource too often of considerable significance to many countries of Sub-Saharan Africa. These trends were only accelerated with the crisis of 1984-1985. These facts provide a point of reference for further analysis of the sources of the crisis, its actual dimensions and consequences.     

Livelihoods,conflict and aid programming: is the evidence base good enough?

In conflict‐affected situations, aid‐funded livelihood interventions are often tasked with a dual imperative: to generate material welfare benefits and to contribute to peacebuilding outcomes. There may be some logic to such a transformative agenda, but does the reality square with the rhetoric? Through a review of the effectiveness of a range of livelihood promotion interventions—from job creation to microfinance—this paper finds that high quality empirical evidence is hard to come by in conflict‐affected situations. Many evaluations appear to conflate outputs with impacts and numerous studies fail to include adequate information on their methodologies and datasets, making it difficult to appraise the reliability of their conclusions. Given the primary purpose of this literature—to provide policy guidance on effective ways to promote livelihoods—this silence is particularly concerning. As such, there is a strong case to be made for a restrained and nuanced handling of such interventions in conflict‐affected settings.     

The health sector gap in the southern Africa crisis in 2002/2003

The southern Africa crisis represents the first widespread emergency in a region with a mature HIV/AIDS epidemic. It provides a steep learning curve for the international humanitarian system in understanding and responding to the complex interactions between the epidemic and the causes and the effects of this crisis. It also provoked much debate about the severity and causes of this emergency, and the appropriateness of the response by the humanitarian community. The authors argue that the over-emphasis on food aid delivery occurred at the expense of other public health interventions, particularly preventative and curative health services. Health service needs were not sufficiently addressed despite the early recognition that ill-health related to HIV/AIDS was a major vulnerability factor. This neglect occurred because analytical frameworks were too narrowly focused on food security, and large-scale support to health service delivery was seen as a long-term developmental issue that could not easily be dealt with by short-term humanitarian action. Furthermore, there were insufficient countrywide data on acute malnutrition, mortality rates and performance of the public health system to make better-balanced evidence-based decisions. In this crisis, humanitarian organisations providing health services could not assume their traditional roles of short-term assistance in a limited geographical area until the governing authorities resume their responsibilities. However, relegating health service delivery as a long-term developmental issue is not acceptable. Improved multisectoral analytical frameworks that include a multidisciplinary team are needed to ensure all aspects of public health are dealt with in similar future emergencies. Humanitarian organisations must advocate for improved delivery and access to health services in this region. They can target limited geographical areas with high mortality and acute malnutrition rates to deliver their services. Finally, to address the underlying problem of the health sector gap, a long-term strategy to ensure improved and sustainable health sector performance can only be accomplished with truly adequate resources. This will require renewed efforts on part of governments, donors and the international community. Public health interventions, complementing those addressing food insecurity, were and are still needed to reduce the impact of the crisis, and to allow people to re-establish their livelihoods. These will increase the population's resilience to prevent or mitigate future disasters.     

The Food and Nutrition Surveillance Systems of Chad and Mali: The "SAP" After Two Years

The "Systèmes d'Alerte Précoce" - the SAPs - of Chad and Mali have been in operation since April 1986. Their purpose is to forecast (or more realistically, detect as early as possible) food shortages in the drought-prone areas of each country. They are based on a multidisciplinary strategy, taking into account all relevant phenomena, from meteorology to nutritional status, and are implemented through the governmental networks. The present experience shows that, compared with the devastations due to famine and the cost of emergency food aid, they are not that expensive and they seem sustainable over the long term.
"Faultless" prediction is not yet the rule, but several procedures permit progressive improvement in the ability of the systems to analyse and interpret.
This paper explains the functioning process of the SAPs and presents several operational results. Additionally, it covers innovative concepts that have proved to be successful, such as the "participative information network".     

Media messages and the needs of infants and young children after Cyclone Nargis and the WenChuan Earthquake

Infants and young children are vulnerable in emergencies. The media plays an important role in aid delivery and has a positive impact when reports are accurate. However, the media has been implicated in encouraging harmful aid in the form of donations of infant formula and other milk products. Internet‐based media reports were collected after Cyclone Nargis in Myanmar and the WenChuan Earthquake in China (2008) and examined for content related to infant and young child feeding. Common messages identified included that: babies are vulnerable; stress prevents breastfeeding; and providing infant formula saves lives. Messages rarely reported included that: artificial feeding is dangerous; and breastfeeding protects infants. This analysis suggests that current patterns of media reporting may encourage harmful aid and increase child morbidity and mortality. Aid organisations should encourage the media to report accurately on the needs of infant and young children in emergencies so as to improve aid delivery.     

长白山天池火山泥石流堆积物粒度分布及其结构维数

对堆积物的粒度进行分析,可以为研究火山泥石流的形成机制、数值模拟等提供参考数据。为了对长白山天池火山泥石流堆积物进行研究,在二道白河镇附近对长白山天池的古火山泥石流进行了勘察,取了2组共12个火山泥石流堆积物样品。对第1组进行了粒度参数法分析,得到了火山泥石流堆积物的平均粒径、分选系数、偏度和峰度,认为长白山天池火山泥石流堆积物的分选较差,沉积以粗组分为主。基于从第2组6个样品的分析可以推断,长白山天池火山泥石流主要为稀性泥石流,泥石流堆积物粒度分布较不均匀,分选较差,粒度分布接近正态分布。研究表明,粒度参数分析和结构维数计算相结合可以很好地了解火山泥石流堆积物的分选性、粒度分布情况、泥石流的类型等。     

甘肃省农业生产风险因素分析

农业生产风险主要受耕地生产潜力、播种面积、抵御自然灾害的能力及政策保障能力等因素的影响。根据甘肃省粮食产量统计资料，在甘肃省粮食综合生产能力评价研究的基础上，讨论了各类风险因素对粮食生产和粮食安全的影响，提出加强农田水利建设，提高抵御自然灾害风险的能力应是提高全省粮食综合生产能力的重要策略。     

Why Aid Agencies Need Better Understanding of the Communities They Assist: The Experience of Food Aid in Rwandan Refugee Camps

Refugee views on food aid reveal the ignorance of the international community regarding Rwandan culture, economy and politics. This ignorance carries a number of costs. On one level, the main cost is that a professional service is not carried out to the best of one's ability. Ignorance of Rwanda's North–South divide, for instance, has caused agencies to be insensitive to in-camp discrimination based upon regional identity and its impact on programme activities. On a deeper level, agency ignorance about Rwandan culture, economy and the dynamics of camp politics, reduces refugee confidence in humanitarian agencies and workers. Better information would not only result in the greater likelihood of appropriate responses to specific needs, but would also encourage greater credibility in the political arena where the ultimate stake is to see lasting peace and a dignified return of refugees to their homes.     

Epidemiological assessment of food aid in the Bosnian conflict, 1994-97

Surveys in emergency settings are important for the accountability of food aid. Four household surveys conducted between 1994 and 1997 measured the performance of the Bosnia food aid programme, covering a random sample of clusters in Bosnia and Herzegovina and the Republica Srpska. The team calculated coverage, exclusion and inclusion errors, programme misses, and under-supply. Despite intended universal coverage from 1994-96, 15, 19, and 31 per cent, respectively, did not receive food across the three-year time frame. Households categorised as vulnerable were somewhat more likely to receive food. Programme misses were rare, whereas under-supply fell from 30 per cent in 1994 to four per cent in 1997, as the availability of other food increased. Extrapolation suggested that 61 per cent of the food distributed did not reach households. The programme introduced priority categories for targeting in 1997, yet nearly one-half of the highest priority households did not receive food. Incomplete coverage and weak targeting were related to political constraints.     

The Role of Food Aid in Drought and Recovery: Oxfam's North Turkana (Kenya) Drought Relief Programme, 1992–94

Regional droughts carry the seeds of catastrophe: the immediate risk is famine; the long-term risk is destitution. Preventing both situations is an appropriate, if not essential, goal for relief agencies. In the past, responses to hunger in Turkana District (north-west Kenya) have taken the form of traditional feeding programmes. A better understanding of the boom/bust cycles in pastoralist systems has, however, produced new relief strategies. A central tenet of these strategies is the acceptance that relief aid should assume two roles: humanitarian—to overcome food deficits—and economic—to overcome 'income' deficits. Arguments in favour of a broader role for food aid are tested with a case study of a drought relief programme in north Turkana between 1992–1994. Field studies confirmed that when food aid is integrated as an asset into household resources, it can strengthen economic recovery. Ultimately, the extent to which relief operations are able to protect both people's lives and their livelihoods is the key to more sustainable development in drought-prone areas.     

From food aid to livelihoods support: rethinking the role of WFP in eastern Sudan

Despite more than 20 years of distribution of free emergency food in eastern Sudan (38 years in the case of refugees) Global Acute Malnutrition rates are currently the highest in the country. There has been no real improvement in the chronic livelihoods vulnerability that affects people in the region—particularly pastoralists. Food security must be seen from an informed livelihoods perspective. While food aid may still be required as part of transition, WFP must rethink its assistance strategy and advocate for complementarity in the efforts by development actors working across a range of sectors. Alternative models and interventions focused on the rehabilitation of markets and the development of' cargo nets' for the destitute, including cash transfers, must be developed and tested. Land tenure issues should be given particular attention. Food aid will probably remain an important element in the overall response, but its significance relative to other less developed forms of interventions should be reassessed.     

Food aid and development in southern Sudan: implications of the Comprehensive Peace Agreement for response planning

In the post-Comprehensive Peace Agreement (CPA) era a greater impact on the unacceptably high prevalence of child malnutrition is more likely to come from additional investment and attention to education, health, hygiene, sanitation and childcare practices than from expanded food aid interventions. The negligible impact of food aid on malnutrition, although most commonly challenged on the quality of needs assessments, is equally attributable to the timing of deliveries, and a dysfunctional distribution system. Comparatively few resources have been allocated to strengthen skills for assessing, analysing and understanding community priorities, local economies, and social safety nets. A more thoughtful allocation of scarce funds could have more impact if a range of alternative responses was considered. Participation in and commitment to a more independent livelihoods analytical forum would improve communication with the new government, local leaders and other partners, as well as providing a platform for reaching consensus on both humanitarian and development planning over the next five years.     

Hunger, poverty and food aid in Sub-Saharan Africa: Retrospect and potential

Frustrations and failures will continue to mount if we do not immediately summon the courage to revise the ways we think and take action-as well as maintaining essential services to support life and health … Saving hundreds of thousands … who are at risk of dying from malnutrition or infection is an immediate imperative. But it must be only one stage in the progress toward other activities, and one element in the truly comprehensive approach… The main intent of this paper is to explore aspects of the nature and evolution of poverty in Sub-Saharan Africa with special reference to food and hunger and their interaction with macro-economic policy. An attempt is made to outline the overall context within which food aid needs to be used in order to have a greater developmental impact. Following an Introductory Section I, Section II provides a sketch map of how recession and lagging food production - with cyclical weather crises superimposed - affect the human condition of poor people. Section III reviews die interaction between "standard" IMF stabilization and World Bank structural adjustment strategies and poverty/hunger. Improvements in the design of stabilization and adjustment programmes, and of the inter-relationship with them of emergency programmes, can be identified. A number turn on the broadened and more innovative or catalytic use of food aid. Section IV reviews aspects of facing a continuing series of emergencies and of designing life support programmes to facilitate rehabilitation of the households directly affected as well as of the national economies. From this base it explores a series of elements in achieving renewed development. The concluding Section seeks to explore the strengths, limitations and potentials of food aid in the context set by the previous sections. The standard criticisms of food aid appear to be overstated and/or to relate to particular modalities or approaches rather than to anything intrinsic. A number of criteria for improving the effectiveness of food aid - especially in respect to rehabilitation, recovery and renewed development - are set out.     

Corruption in emergency procurement

Corruption in emergency procurement reduces the resources available for life‐saving operations, lowers the quality of products and services provided, and diverts aid from those who need it most. ¹ 1 The paper is based on a study for a project of the Chr Michelsen Institute (CMI)'s U4 Anti‐Corruption Resource Centre entitled ‘Corruption in Emergencies’ (see http://www.u4.no ).
It also negatively influences public support for humanitarian relief, both in the affected country and abroad. This paper aims to unpack and analyse the following question in order to mitigate risk: how and where does corruption typically occur, and what can be done? Suggested strategies reflect a multi‐layered approach that stresses internal agency control mechanisms, conflict‐sensitive management, and the need for common systems among operators.     

华北1743-1744年与1876-1878年旱灾中的政府粮食调度与社会后果对比

以《清实录》等清代档案文献为主要历史信息源,挑选华北地区清代盛期(1743-1744年)和晚期(1876-1878年)分别发生的两次典型旱灾,对灾害气候背景和灾情、政府措施(特别是政府主导的跨区粮食调度)、社会后果(人口迁徙和动乱)等信息进行整理并分别对比,可以发现1743-1744年旱灾期间政府的粮食调度体现出粮食数量大、来源渠道广、调度效率高等鲜明特点,并取得了良好的社会效果;而1876-1878年旱灾则反之,粮食数量及来源有限,且转运效率极低,由此引发严重社会后果。这种转变,发生在主要余粮产区农业凋敝、南北粮食运道(大运河)阻断、漕运及仓储制度衰败的时代背景之下,重灾区空间分布带来的交通通达性差异,也在客观上影响了粮食调度的效率。