This record is a partial extract of the original cable. The full text of the original cable is not available.

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 ROME 000001 
 
SIPDIS 
 
FROM U.S. MISSION IN ROME 
 
                       UNCLASSIFIED 
 
PAGE 02        ROME  00001  01 OF 02  020616Z 
ISLAMABAD FOR DART 
TASHKENT FOR DART 
ASHGABAT FOR DART 
GENEVA FOR RMA NANCE KYLOH 
USUN FOR LSHESTACK 
USEU FOR KFULLER AND KDEBLAU 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: EAID EAGR AORC PREF EAGR AORC PREF EU WFPO UN EU EAID WFPO UN AFGHANISTAN
SUBJECT: IDENTIFYING FOOD NEEDS IN AFGHANISTAN:  NOW 
AND IN THE FUTURE 
 
REF:  ISLAMABAD 6723 
¶1.  SUMMARY.  U.S. MISSION/ROME OFFICERS MET ON FRIDAY, 
DECEMBER 28 WITH THE U.N. WORLD FOOD PROGRAM (WFP) 
ASSISTANT EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR (AED) AND DIRECTOR OF 
OPERATIONS, MOHAMMED ZEJJARI.  AS WINTER FOOD NEEDS IN 
AFGHANISTAN ARE BEING MET BY WFP'S CURRENT OPERATION 
(ALMOST 120,000 TONS DISPATCHED IN DECEMBER), ITS 
FUTURE PROGRAMMING IS DISCUSSED.  THE WFP AND THE U.N. 
FOOD AND AGRICULTURAL ORGANIZATION (FAO) ARE WORKING 
TOGETHER TO FORM A FOOD SECURITY ASSESSMENT UNIT FOR 
AFGHANISTAN.  U.S. MISSION REQUESTS WFP TO CONDUCT 
SURVEYS IN A FEW DISTRICTS IN ORDER TO SPOT-CHECK THE 
VAM FINDINGS.  WFP'S AED REGISTERED USG CONCERNS AND 
WILL FOLLOW-UP WITH HIS STAFF AFTER THE HOLIDAYS.  END 
SUMMARY. 
 
------------ 
BACKGROUND 
------------ 
                       UNCLASSIFIED 
 
PAGE 03        ROME  00001  01 OF 02  020616Z 
 
¶2.  AS REPORTED IN REF TEL, WFP'S VULNERABILITY AND 
ANALYSIS MAPPING (VAM) UNIT FOR AFGHANISTAN IS IN THE 
MIDST OF EXPANDING ITS OPERATION.  WFP AND FAO HAVE 
BEEN DISCUSSING WAYS IN WHICH TO CREATE A FOOD SECURITY 
ASSESSMENT UNIT (FSAU) THAT WOULD COMBINE THE EXPERTISE 
OF EACH AGENCY AND FOLD IN THE ELEMENTS OF THE VAM INTO 
THE NEW UNIT.  IN MID-NOVEMBER, FAO SENT TO ISLAMABAD 
THE PERSON WHO HEADED THE FOOD SECURITY SURVEILLANCE 
UNIT IN KOSOVO, FRANCESCO DEL RE.  WFP/ISLAMABAD 
PROVIDED HIM WITH A DESK IN ITS BUILDING, AND HE WORKED 
VERY CLOSELY WITH THE HEAD OF THE VAM UNIT.  AFTER TWO 
WEEKS, HE COMPOSED A PROPOSAL THAT WAS SHARED WITH WFP 
SOON AFTER HIS DEPARTURE.  AS WAS DONE IN KOSOVO, THE 
ACTIVITIES OF THE VAM AND NEW ACTIVITIES BROUGHT TO 
BEAR BY FAO WOULD BE UNITED UNDER ONE ROOF, ONE 
MANAGEMENT STRUCTURE, AND UNDER THE NAME OF THE FSAU. 
 
¶3.  IN THE MEANTIME, WFP HEADQUARTERS (HQ) WAS READYING 
TO SEND ANOTHER PERSON TO HEAD THE VAM UNIT IN 
ISLAMABAD AND HE ARRIVED AT POST ON DECEMBER 15.  IN 
ADDITION, A NEW WFP COUNTRY DIRECTOR FOR AFGHANISTAN 
BEGAN MID-NOVEMBER.  IN THE LAST FEW WEEKS, THE 
FORMATION OF THE FSAU SEEMS TO HAVE SLOWED.  AS OUR 
GOVERNMENT IS INTERESTED IN LEARNING AND UNDERSTANDING 
MANY FACETS OF AN AFGHAN'S LIFE AS IT RELATES TO 
HIS/HER ABILITY TO FEED HIS/HER FAMILY, THE IMPORTANCE 
OF COMBINING THE STRENGTHS OF BOTH AGENCIES AND WORKING 
TOGETHER TO GATHER AND ANALYZE THE INFORMATION REMAINS 
EXTREMELY IMPORTANT AS WE MOVE FROM THE EMERGENCY PHASE 
TO REHABILITATION AND RECONSTRUCTION. 
                       UNCLASSIFIED 
 
PAGE 04        ROME  00001  01 OF 02  020616Z 
 
¶4.  U.S. MISSION/ROME OFFICERS LAVELLE AND DAVIS MET ON 
FRIDAY, DECEMBER 28 WITH WFP'S ASSISTANT EXECUTIVE 
DIRECTOR AND DIRECTOR OF OPERATIONS, MOHAMMED ZEJJARI, 
TO REVIEW CONCERNS AS WE MOVE FORWARD TO THE NEXT PHASE 
OF WFP'S OPERATION IN AFGHANISTAN. 
 
------------------ 
COMBINED EFFORTS 
------------------ 
 
¶5.  MISSION OFFICER DAVIS OUTLINED THE PROGRESS MADE 
BETWEEN WFP AND FAO IN ESTABLISHING THE FSAU AND 
EXPLAINED THAT BOTH AGENCIES HAVE STRENGTHS TO BRING TO 
SUCH A UNIT.  SUCH STRENGTHS BECOME EVEN MORE ACUTE 
WHEN THE FORCES ARE COMBINED.  A PAUCITY OF DATA EXISTS 
FOR AFGHANISTAN, AND WE NEED TO USE EVERY TOOL AT OUR 
DISPOSAL IN GATHERING AND ANALYZING INFORMATION THAT 
SERVES TO GUIDE THE USG AND OTHER DONORS, AS WELL AS 
THE U.N., IN ITS PROGRAMMING. 
 
                       UNCLASSIFIED 
 
                           UNCLASSIFIED     PTQ9854 
 
PAGE 01        ROME  00001  02 OF 02  020616Z 
ACTION EUR-00 
 
INFO  LOG-00   NP-00    AGRE-00  AID-00   AMAD-00  CIAE-00  WHA-00 
      SRPP-00  EB-00    UTED-00  TEDE-00  INR-00   IO-00    NEA-00 
      NSAE-00  OES-01   OIC-02   TEST-00  SA-00    FMP-00   PRM-00 
      SAS-00     /003W 
                  ------------------524B3F  020623Z /38 
R 020528Z JAN 02 
FM AMEMBASSY ROME 
TO AMEMBASSY ISLAMABAD 
AMCONSUL KARACHI 
AMCONSUL PESHAWAR 
AMEMBASSY NEW DELHI 
AMEMBASSY ANKARA 
AMEMBASSY ALMATY 
AMEMBASSY ASHGABAT 
AMEMBASSY DUSHANBE 
AMEMBASSY TASHKENT 
INFO SECSTATE WASHDC 1457 
USEU BRUSSELS 2490 
USMISSION GENEVA 
 
AMEMBASSY PARIS 
USMISSION USUN NEW YORK 
 
UNCLAS SECTION 02 OF 02 ROME 000001 
 
SIPDIS 
 
FROM U.S. MISSION IN ROME 
 
                       UNCLASSIFIED 
 
PAGE 02        ROME  00001  02 OF 02  020616Z 
ISLAMABAD FOR DART 
TASHKENT FOR DART 
ASHGABAT FOR DART 
GENEVA FOR RMA NANCE KYLOH 
USUN FOR LSHESTACK 
USEU FOR KFULLER AND KDEBLAU 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: EAID EAGR AORC PREF EAGR AORC PREF EU WFPO UN EU EAID WFPO UN AFGHANISTAN
SUBJECT: IDENTIFYING FOOD NEEDS IN AFGHANISTAN:  NOW 
AND IN THE FUTURE 
 
¶6.  MISSION OFFICERS CONGRATULATED WFP ON ITS 
TREMENDOUS ACHIEVEMENT IN MOVING LARGE QUANTITIES OF 
FOOD INTO AFGHANISTAN, BUT CAUTIONED THAT ONCE WE 
EMERGE FROM MEETING THE WINTER NEEDS, USAID WILL BE 
LOOKING CLOSELY AT WFP'S DECISIONS ON HOW FUTURE FOOD 
NEEDS ARE DETERMINED AND HOW FOOD IS PROGRAMMED.  THE 
OFFICERS POINTED OUT THAT IT WOULD BE IN WFP'S 
INTERESTS TO HAVE ANOTHER AGENCY INVOLVED IN THE 
DETERMINATION OF NEEDS. 
 
¶7.  NOTE.  U.S. MISSION OFFICER DAVIS IS ALSO IN 
CONTINUED DIALOGUE WITH FAO'S SPECIAL RELIEF OPERATIONS 
SERVICE (TCOR) TO ENSURE THAT FAO/TCOR IS READY TO 
PROVIDE APPROPRIATE STAFFING TO THE UNIT, AS SOON AS A 
WORKING ARRANGEMENT IS ACCEPTED BY BOTH PARTIES.  END 
NOTE. 
 
------------------------------- 
SPOT-CHECKING THE VAM RESULTS 
                       UNCLASSIFIED 
 
PAGE 03        ROME  00001  02 OF 02  020616Z 
------------------------------- 
 
¶8.  WITH THIS IN MIND, THE MISSION OFFICERS STRONGLY 
ENCOURAGED WFP TO CONDUCT "SPOT-CHECKS" IN A FEW 
DISTRICTS OF AFGHANISTAN THAT ARE CURRENTLY ACCESSIBLE. 
SUCH SPOT-CHECKS WOULD WORK TO CONFIRM THE VAM RESULTS 
THAT ARE GUIDING WFP'S DISTRIBUTIONS.  DONORS WOULD 
WELCOME SUCH CONFIRMATION, SINCE THERE HAS BEEN SOME 
CONTROVERSY ABOUT THE RESULTS.  SOME THINK THE NEEDS 
ARE ACTUALLY HIGHER, AND OTHERS THINK THE NEEDS ARE 
LOWER THAN WHAT VAM HAS DETERMINED. 
 
¶9.  ZEJJARI SEEMED TO UNDERSTAND THE IMPORTANCE OF 
TAKING THIS ACTION AS SOON AS POSSIBLE.  THE 
USAID/DISASTER ASSISTANCE RESPONSE TEAM (DART) HAS ALSO 
RECENTLY DISCUSSED THIS MATTER WITH VARIOUS WFP STAFF 
IN ISLAMABAD. 
 
------------------------ 
NUTRITIONAL ASSESSMENT 
------------------------ 
 
¶10.  AS STATED IN REFTEL, ONE OF THE FIRST PLANNED 
TASKS OF THE VAM FOR THE NEW YEAR WAS TO CONDUCT A 
NUTRITIONAL ASSESSMENT OF THE WEST (HARDEST-HIT BY 
DROUGHT), FOLLOWED BY A NUTRITIONAL ASSESSMENT OF THE 
ENTIRE COUNTRY.  SUCH A STUDY COULD ALSO SERVE TO RE- 
CONFIRM NEEDS OUTLINED BY THE VAM RESULTS.  EVEN THOUGH 
WFP HAD IDENTIFIED A NUTRITIONIST FOR THE WORK, THE 
AGREEMENT FELL THROUGH, AND WFP IS NOW RECRUITING AGAIN 
FOR THE POSITION.  MISSION OFFICERS SUGGESTED ASKING 
                       UNCLASSIFIED 
 
PAGE 04        ROME  00001  02 OF 02  020616Z 
FAO FOR A NUTRITIONIST. 
 
---------- 
COMMENT 
---------- 
 
¶11.  ZEJJARI LISTENED CLOSELY TO U.S. MISSION'S 
CONCERNS, BUT MADE FEW COMMENTS OR COMMITMENTS.  HE 
DID, HOWEVER, CLEARLY REGISTER OUR COMMENTS ABOUT WFP'S 
NEED TO JUSTIFY ITS FUTURE PROGRAMMING.  HIS SPECIAL 
ASSISTANT TOOK DETAILED NOTES OF OUR CONVERSATION, AND 
HE PROMISED TO FOLLOW-UP WITH THE APPROPRIATE STAFF 
UPON THEIR RETURN FROM THE HOLIDAYS.  U.S. MISSION WILL 
FOLLOW THESE DEVELOPMENTS CLOSELY. 
 
¶12.  MINIMIZE CONSIDERED.  HEILEMAN 
 
                       UNCLASSIFIED 
 
> 
 2002ROME00001 - Classification: UNCLASSIFIED