Executive Summary
In 2007, the World Food Programme (WFP) agreed to co-chair the Inter-Agency Standing Committee (IASC) Task Force on Safe Access to Firewood and alternative Energy in Humanitarian Settings (SAFE) together with the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) and the Women's Refugee Commission (which worked under the authority of InterAction). Participation in the SAFE Task Force triggered a global analysis of the protection challenges associated with the collection, provision and use of fuel for cooking — activities closely related to WFP's core mandate. As a result, WFP strengthened its commitment to work in partnership with other relevant actors to promote safe access to cooking fuel in humanitarian settings.
Following the launch of the SAFE guidance material in April 2009,1 WFP decided to undertake a series of feasibility studies in countries where fuel scarcity is negatively affecting WFP beneficiaries. The purpose of these studies is to better understand how beneficiaries, particularly displaced populations, are coping with fuel scarcity and the related consequences, to take stock of existing responses by both WFP and partners, and to propose a comprehensive approach that addresses human and environmental protection, livelihoods, food and nutrition. To date, missions have been conducted in North Darfur (Sudan), Uganda, Haiti, Sri Lanka, Kenya, Ethiopia, Chad and the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC).