Summary of New Appeal for DPR Korea

Summary of New Appeal for DPR Korea 5959.00
(1 April 1998 through 31 March 1999)

Synopsis

Project Number/Title: DPRK 5959 "Emergency Assistance for Vulnerable Groups"

1. BACKGROUND AND RATIONALE FOR PROVIDING ASSISTANCE

In the summer of 1997, DPR Korea was affected by a severe drought. Low rainfall during critical stages in the crop development cycle resulted in a drastically reduced harvest, in particular from the rainfed maize growing areas. In addition to the drought, rice crops in coastal areas were damaged by tidal waves brought by typhoon Winnie in August. These calamities followed two successive years of extensive flooding which had already severely set back agriculture and compounded underlying food production problems in the country.

An FAO/WFP crop and food supply assessment mission which visited DPR Korea in October - November 1997 estimated the overall output of maize at around 1.14 million tons, more than 50 percent lower than would have been expected under favourable weather conditions. Although the rice production suffered less with an estimated paddy production of around 2.35 million tons, or 1.52 million tons of milled rice, the domestic supply of grain will for the third year in succession fall far short of needs.

The FAO/WFP assessment is based on a mid year 1998 population of 23.2 million. The minimum annual cereal consumption is 100 kg/caput of rice plus 67 kg/caput of maize to meet 75 percent of the daily calorie intake. This amount of cereals would provide approximately 1,600 kcal/day/caput out of a total requirement of around 2,130 kcal. In addition to this minimum cereal requirement, there is also a need to ensure that the population receive adequate quantities of protein and fats from other foods.

To arrive at the import requirements, not only cereal used as food but also grains needed as animal feed, seed and other uses as well as estimated losses are considered.

The mission assessed the import requirement for 1997/98 at 1.95 million tons. Commercial imports, including cross border trade with China, mostly on barter terms, were provisionally estimated at 700,000 tons, resulting in a need for some 1.25 million tons as emergency and programme food aid. Deducting pledges already in the pipeline, the unmet requirement is just over one million tons. Assuming that a quantity of some 360,000 tons may be contributed bilaterally, the quantity included in operation 5959 is about 658,000 tons as specified in section 9.

As a comparison it may be mentioned that for the period January-November 1997, WFP has recorded the arrival of about 720,400 tons of food aid. Of this amount 40 percent is WFP food with the remaining 60 percent provided on a bilateral basis, including also contributions from the IFRC and NGOs. During December an additional 100,000 tons of food aid are scheduled to arrive in the country, bringing the total for 1997 to about 820,000 tons.

In the past it appears that food was reasonably equitably distributed throughout the population through institutional structures such as the Public Distribution System (PDS). However, with the economy under severe strain from natural disasters aggravating more fundamental problems in the agricultural sector and the country unable to finance necessary food imports, there are signs that food consumption is becoming more polarized in the society as people are increasingly forced to rely on a variety of alternative mechanisms to meet food needs. Quantities received through the PDS are now generally insufficient for a healthy and active life and distributions have become irregular. People with no alternative means of obtaining food, or cash or tradeable assets to spend in emerging private markets, are highly food insecure.

A general observation is that marginal land on hill sides are increasingly deforested in order to open up new land for cultivation. Yields are normally low and the environmental damages considerable. It is reasonable to assume that increased soil erosion and the ensuing silt deposits in the rivers have increased the probability of future flooding even in fairly moderate rainfall years.

2. GOVERNMENT POLICY/ACTIONS

The Public Distribution System (PDS) is the central mechanism through which all basic foods should be provided to the entire population. Prices are heavily subsidized. Only collective farm workers and their families, totalling about six million, are ineligible to receive rations through the PDS. They receive their annual food grain allocations in one instalment immediately after the harvest. The ration system through the PDS used to be highly sophisticated with a multi-tiered system of food allocations related to the demands of work. Because of the crop shortfalls, rations have over the last few years been drastically reduced with low allocations to everyone regardless of type of work.

The PDS is used by WFP as a channel to reach selected target groups. In such cases, the Programme monitors the receipt of WFP commodities by district-level PDS centres and their distribution to beneficiaries. Records kept at the centres are available to WFP. In view of the current shortfall of food for general distribution through the PDS, and the Government's limited resources for commercial imports, bilateral programme food aid in support of the population at large will also be required.

3. OBJECTIVES OF WFP ASSISTANCE

The overall objective of the WFP assistance is to prevent the present food shortage from developing into a famine situation.

More specifically, the intention is to:

• maintain and /or improve the health/nutritional status of children, expecting women, nursing mothers, handicapped people and hospital patients and;
• support agricultural rehabilitation and reconstruction through food-for-work activities.
  

4. BENEFICIARIES

The following population groups will receive food assistance under this operation:

• All children under 5 years of age in nurseries, numbering about 1.8 million, will receive full rations.
• All children aged 5 and 6 years in kindergartens, numbering about 800,000, will also receive full rations.
• All 1.6 million primary school children 7 to 10 years of age and 0.8 million secondary school children aged 11 and 12 years will receive a daily snack.
• Orphans, up to 17 years of age, numbering 10,000 and living in children's centres, will receive full rations.
• Some 10,000 physically/mentally handicapped people cared for in institutions will receive full rations.
• Hospitalized patients will receive full rations. Based on available information it is assumed that about 30,000 hospital beds are available. Assuming an average stay of three weeks, the number of patients receiving WFP rations during a year would be around 500,000.
  

For all the above groups, the gender distribution is expected to be equal.

• 450,000 pregnant women/nursing mothers will receive supplementary rations for six months before and six months after giving birth.
• Half a million workers participating in food-for-work activities will receive a family ration for themselves and two dependants (spouse and one additional relative), it being understood that most children will be included in one of the previously listed categories.
  

The strong focus on children is due to the fact that they are the most vulnerable; shortage of food leads to nutritional deficiencies which not only increase morbidity and mortality but also inflict lasting damage on their physical and mental capacity. A recent nutritional assessment by a team led by WFP with the participation of FAO, UNICEF and SCF (UK) involved the measurement of about 4,000 children. The methodology applied in the assessment was not based on random sampling. In spite of this, it was, however, possible to draw some conclusions, for instance that there are areas in DPR Korea with high rates of malnutrition. The data indicated that not only malnourished children were at risk but that nearly all other children must be considered similarly vulnerable, although to a lesser degree. A high prevalence of stunting encountered in the measurements and a shift of the height-for-age distribution suggested that nearly all the children had suffered from food deficits for a considerable period of time.

The assessment revealed in the surveyed institutions high rates of malnutrition (wasting), particularly in the age group of 6 to 24 months. A special intervention is designed to provide this particular group in the nurseries (estimated to be ten percent of the total) fortified high energy biscuits in addition to their regular ration. The children will consume these biscuits as snacks in between the main meals, thus increasing their food intake. The supply of a special biscuit will facilitate targeting.

According to UNICEF, birth weight may at present be decreasing. It is assumed that this trend reflects a declining nutritional situation of the female population of childbearing age. The proposed intervention of supplementary rations for pregnant women and nursing mothers is intended to remedy this threat to the welfare of new born children and their mothers.

As women in DPR Korea are expected to give birth in clinics, they are all registered and their pregnancy carefully monitored. Targeting of this group should not, therefore, cause any practical problems.

Food-for-work activities have been included in previous phases of the DPR Korea emergency assistance. Such activities will be further expanded to provide employment mainly for peri-urban and rural non-agricultural workers in underutilized industrial sectors. Elderly people are normally cared for within the family. The ration provided under food-for-work is based on the assumption that participating workers have one elderly relative in the household.

5. MODE OF IMPLEMENTATION

The Flood Damage Rehabilitation Committee (FDRC) and the Ministry of Food Administration (MFA) are the executing agencies for the implementation of the operation. The MFA is responsible for the handling, storage, transportation and distribution of the commodities. The FDRC liaises with the WFP Country Office with regard to the planning, implementation and overall management of the various activities.

The Ministry of Public Health (MPH) assists in the implementation of the components involving nursery children, the younger children at children's centres, and the pregnant/nursing women. The Ministry of Education (ME) is involved in the operation's components referring to children in kindergartens and schools as well as children aged five and over at the children's centres, while the Ministry of Labour is responsible for the welfare of handicapped people. The Agricultural Commission coordinates activities under the food-for-work component.

The establishment of project implementation units in the technical ministries, implementing WFP activities is proposed. These units would be used for technical consultation regarding project implementation and given responsibilities for reporting, in particular with regard to technical outputs.

Food allocations to institutions are based on enrolment records. Receipts by the institutions and utilization are monitored in connection with visits by WFP Emergency Officers from either a nearby sub-office or the Pyongyang main office.

Pregnant women/nursing mothers will at their visits to the clinic pick up a voucher for rations to cover their needs until the next scheduled consultation. The vouchers will be redeemed at the local PDS centre. WFP Emergency Officers will have access to records both at the clinics and the PDS centres.

A workplan is agreed upon in advance for each food-for-work activity by WFP and the Government. A contract is drawn up specifying the activity, number of workers and workdays needed and the required food quantities. WFP Emergency Officers visit regularly and confirm the satisfactory completion of the work before final payment. Food is distributed through the local PDS centre, where ledgers are kept, listing participants, the rations and quantities received.

Previously institutions and food-for-work participants received their WFP food from the PDS centres. This will continue under this new operation. However, before the Letter of Understanding is prepared, possibilities of delivering food directly to the concerned institutions will be assessed. This could prove cost-effective, in particular for those commodities (blended foods and biscuits) which may partly be produced locally, see further section 7. This is not a new concept. Under the old system food was delivered directly to schools from "Children's Bakery Factories". A similar system was used (and still operates in Pyongyang) to deliver special foods to nurseries and kindergartens.

The number of WFP staff required for the execution of this operation (46 international plus 60 national staff) has been agreed to between the Government and WFP prior to the signing of this submission. The intention is to have staff in place by the time the first shipment is called forward.

Ten percent of the commodities in this operation will be kept in a WFP-managed warehouse in Pyongyang to be directed to special food aid relief activities of NGOs, approved and recognized by FDRC, and also serve as a buffer stock to avoid breaks in the flow of food to the various components of the WFP programme. Although discussions concerning the management arrangements for the warehouse have not yet been completed, budgetary provisions have been made for possible additional staff needs.

Linked to the staff deployment is the establishment of WFP sub-offices. Currently operational are the offices in Sinuiju, Chongjin and Hamhung. For the 1998 operation two additional sub-offices, in Wonsan and Hyesan, have been agreed to. International staff for the new sub-offices will be cleared, and visa issued, at least 30 days before the call forward of the first shipment to ensure that the offices are fully staffed at the time of food arrivals.

The duration of the operation is one year, from April 1998 to March 1999. This will allow the Programme to assist DPR Korea beyond the next harvest.

To ascertain the impact of the food aid programme targeted to particularly vulnerable groups, their nutritional status will be monitored through a nutritional assessment to be undertaken jointly with MPH, the Institute of Nutrition and UNICEF.

The assistance to infants and children is organized in close cooperation with the MPH and coordinated with UNICEF which along with some NGOs also provides essential non-food assistance to the children targeted by WFP. Collaborative arrangements are also being worked out with UNDP, IFAD, the EC and other agencies in relation to the food-for-work schemes.

A number of NGOs contribute to the WFP operation. The Programme also monitors NGO food shipments intended for the PDS or in support of specific activities, for instance food-for-work. A Food Aid Liaison Unit has been established in the WFP Pyongyang office to liaise with NGOs interested in providing assistance to DPR Korea through WFP.

Within the UN system coordination mechanisms have been set up to respond to the increased presence in the country of humanitarian organizations and to an expansion of the relief programmes. The health and food groups led by UNICEF and WFP respectively meet weekly. An agriculture group has also been established. Agreement has been reached on the format of monthly meetings between the Government and relief organizations represented in the country.

6. NON-FOOD INPUTS

Under this operation, food-for-work schemes aimed at agricultural rehabilitation/improvement will be supported. For a number of activities technical expertise and the provision of various non-food items will also be required. This is to a great extent expected to be supplied by the Government, by other UN agencies and by NGOs with whose programmes the WFP food inputs will be closely coordinated. In addition, a provision for non-food items has been included under the operation's direct support costs.

The vulnerable group feeding component of the operation will be supported by UNICEF in the following ways:

For the school children and the malnourished nursery children UNICEF will provide micronutrient premixes to fortify the high energy biscuits.

Pregnant women and nursing mothers will receive, in addition to the WFP food, a multivitamin/mineral supplement in a simultaneous intervention from UNICEF. Therefore, it will be sufficient for WFP to supply basic commodities, which provide energy, protein and fat.

For the feeding operations in the schools, nurseries and kindergartens, UNICEF will provide kitchen utensils, drinking mugs, cutlery and crockery.

In support of the country's double-cropping programme initiated in 1997, WFP has included under the operations's non-food items 3,000 tons of barley seeds. Details of this programme will be included in the FAO request, to be part of the UN consolidated inter-agency appeal. As the barley has to be cultivated and harvested before the planting of the main crops, contributions for the double-cropping programme will have to be confirmed as soon as possible to allow seed delivery by early March 1998.

7. FOOD AID STRATEGY

The Government will meet costs for internal transport, storage and handling of the commodities. However, WFP will reimburse the Government part of its transport costs at a fixed rate per ton against presentation of the consignment notes which will accompany every delivery of WFP commodities from the port of entry to the county level.

For each shipment under the WFP emergency operation (most of which is arriving by sea, but with smaller quantities transported by rail from China), a distribution plan is jointly drawn up and agreed upon by WFP and the Government counterparts. These plans are detailed down to the county level and target group.

The port of Nampo, which is well connected with the national road and railways network, will continue to be the main port of entry. Use of ports on the east coast significantly reduces up - country costs. However, a draft limitation of about 8.5 metres means that only smaller ships can enter. Alternatively, bigger vessels will first call at Nampo to discharge part of their cargo before proceeding to east coast destinations.

The Emergency Officers will monitor the receipts by the beneficiaries of WFP food and its utilization. In addition, they will advise on technical matters related to their work. Specific skills, such as nutrition or experience from food-for-work programmes, are, therefore, required and included in their terms of reference.

Dry take-home rations will be provided for the pregnant/nursing women and participants in food-for-work activities. All other groups will receive their rations daily, to be consumed at the institutions.

Nurseries have full kitchen facilities and special staff for food preparation. Before the food crisis, three full meals were supplied, covering total nutritional requirements. Kindergartens have also full kitchen facilities and special staff, and previously used to supply one full meal and two substantial snacks, covering most food requirements.

Schools have only water heating facilities and, until a few years ago, used to provide an early morning snack consisting of a glass of hot beverage made from roasted rice, and a portion of 100 g cake, bread or biscuit. Therefore, the present foods supplied by WFP closely resemble the previous approach and will be culturally acceptable and relatively easy to implement. Provision of fuel seems not to be a major problem.

WFP expects to import in early 1998 basic equipment for the local processing of blended foods in DPRK from imported raw materials, making use of existing factories and available skilled staff. This will considerably increase the cost-effectiveness of the programme, as the DPRK Government contributes as a counterpart provision the processing cost and energy for the manufacturing. WFP provides the raw materials.

Similarly, approaches for biscuit manufacturing are being investigated. However, for this there would be no need for equipment support. There is a considerable ready biscuit production capacity available, but idle due to lack of raw materials. In some, but not all regions, there is an additional constraint in the form of lack of energy. However, in case raw materials are made available, these factories will receive high priority for energy from the Government. The DPRK counterpart contribution will be the use of equipment, energy and manpower.

Discussions have started with UNICEF and NGOs about processing of preparations (cereal milk) for the treatment and follow-up of malnourished children. Again, equipment is largely available in a functional condition.

Above approaches represent a considerable reduction of cost, due to the expected counterpart contribution of the DPRK Government.

In a cooperative effort by MPH, UNICEF and WFP, comprehensive food and nutrition information material will be designed and distributed to staff in schools and institutions to provide guidance for the optimal use of unfamiliar foods, like CSB and maize flour, as well as for the approach to dealing with malnourished children.

8. PERFORMANCE MONITORING

A system for monitoring has been designed and refined during the two years of WFP operations in DPRK:

After receipt at port, attended by a WFP Port Captain (or Logistics Officer in the case of rail freights), the central FDRC informs their local offices of movements. WFP Emergency Officers, from the Pyongyang main office or one of the sub-offices, meet regularly with local Administration and FDRC officials to collect information on the food situation in the area as well as the use of the WFP food.

Institutions and food-for-work schemes supported by WFP are visited. Standard checklists are used. In addition to the recording of data on food movements and utilization, issues of acceptability, adequacy of storage etc. are dealt with.

The standard checklists allow quick checking and compilation of data centrally. Together with the situation reports from the sub-offices, they give the Country Office in Pyongyang possibilities to monitor the overall utilization of the WFP assistance and initiate any adjustments due to changing circumstances and needs in a timely manner. Samples of checklists are attached as annex 3 a) to g).

9. NUTRITIONAL CONSIDERATIONS AND FOOD BASKET

Details of the WFP emergency operation are summarized as follows:

(i) Activities:

(a) Institutional feeding (nurseries)
(b) Institutional feeding (kindergartens)
(c) Institutional feeding (schools)
(d) Institutional feeding (children's centres)
(e) Institutional feeding (handicapped people)
(f) Institutional feeding (hospitals)

1. Support to pregnant women/nursing mothers
2. Food-for-work

(ii) Beneficiaries:

1. 1.8 million children, representing all under 5 years of age
2. 0.8 million children, representing all in the age group 5 and 6 years
3. 1.6 million primary and 0.8 million secondary school children,
4. representing all in the age group 7 to 12 years
5. 10,000 orphans in children's centres
6. 10,000 handicapped people of all age groups
7. 500,000 hospital patients (30,000 at any given time)
8. 450,000 pregnant women/nursing mothers
9. 500,000 workers with one million dependants.

(iii) Period of assistance:

(a) 360 days
(b) and (c) 250 days
(d), (e), (f) and (g) 365 days
(h) 240 days

(iv) Food basket:

The WFP food is intended to meet the immediate nutritional needs of seriously affected population groups. Children in nurseries, kindergartens and children's centres will receive full rations, while school children and pregnant/nursing women will receive supplementary rations. Workers participating in food-for-work schemes will receive family rations calculated on the needs of three persons (worker and two dependants).

The ration for nurseries contains fortified blended foods to ascertain that the micronutrient needs of this vulnerable group are fully met. Malnourished nursery children, estimated to be ten percent of the total, will receive fortified high energy biscuits in addition to the regular ration.

In the kindergarten the vegetables (kimchi) and other side dishes provided by the institution in addition to the WFP ration will ascertain that the micronutrient needs of the children are met. School children will receive their micronutrient supply through the fortified CSB in the cereal drink and through the fortified biscuits. Pregnant/nursing women will get from UNICEF, simultaneously with the WFP food, multivitamin/mineral supplements.

1. Additional ration for malnourished children, estimated at 10% of total. 125 grams fortified high energy biscuit provides additional 500 Kcals.
2. The CSB will be used for a hot cereals drink.
3. Family ration based on household comprising worker and two dependants; young children receive full meals in institutions, most school children receive daily snacks. The worker will need 3,000 calories with the dependants receiving 2,000 calories each.

(v) Commodities:

Tonnages required under the eight components will be: