Issued weekly by the United Nations World Food Programme
This report includes: A) Sudan B) East Africa: Regional, Burundi, Rwanda, Tanzania and Uganda C) Central Africa: Democratic Republic of Congo and Congo/Brazzaville D) Somalia E) Albania.

From Manuel Aranda da Silva, Chief, Technical Support Service. Available on the Internet at WFP Home Page at http://www.wfp.org/ or by e-mail from Deborah.Hicks@wfp.org (fax 39 6 6513 2837). For information regarding resources, donors are requested to contact Francesco.Strippoli@wfp.org or Aleesa.Blum@wfp.org at WFP Rome, telephone 39 6 6513 2504 or 6513 2004.=A0 Address: Via Cesare Giulio Viola 68, Parco dei Medici, Rome 00148.

PART I - HIGHLIGHTS
(Details below in Part II)

E. ALBANIA

1. Update

a) Albania EMOP extended, with change from relief feeding to food-for-work activities.

Under earlier phase of April to October 1997, some 7,500 tons food provided to institutions and vulnerable households, assisting some 600,000 beneficiaries.

b) Planned distribution of food from March to October 1998 is 1,000 tons through food-for-work to 4,185 extremely vulnerable households in mountainous northeast and among impoverished periurban population.

PART II - DETAILS

E. ALBANIA

1. EXTENSION OF ALBANIA EMOP AND CHANGE FROM RELIEF FEEDING TO FOOD-FOR-WORK ACTIVITIES

1.1 In response to the request of the Government of Albania for humanitarian assistance, a WFP emergency operation, EMOP 5830, was jointly approved in April 1997 for an initial duration of there months, to assist the parts of the population affected by the civil unrest that swept the country after the economic crisis trigged by the collapse of the pyramid schemes. The food assistance to institutions and vulnerable households, totalling some 600,000 beneficiaries, continued until October 1997. Almost 7,500 tons of food commodities were distributed over this period.

1.2 While the humanitarian crisis now appears to have been largely overcome, important needs remain among large segments of the society. An expansion of EMOP 5830 will shift from emergency food assistance to the distribution of food to extremely vulnerable households through food for work. The planned distribution of food (from March 1998 to October 1998) is 1,000 tons to a total of 4,185 households.

1.3 This rehabilitation phase will contribute to alleviating localized problems of household food insecurity, particularly in the mountainous northeast, but also among the impoverished periurban population. The programme will focus primarily on basic infrastructure projects, and a number of non-governmental organization projects have been identified for this purpose.