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

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 06 ISLAMABAD 018810 
 
SIPDIS 
 
STATE ALSO PASS TO USAID 
USAID/W FOR A/AID ANDREW NATSIOS, JBRAUSE 
DCHA/OFDA GGOTTLIEB, MMARX, RTHAYER, BDEEMER 
AID/W FOR DCHA/OFDA 
SOUTH ASIA RESPONSE MANAGEMENT TEAM 
SOUTH ASIA EARTHQUAKE TASK FORCE 
DCHA/FFP FOR JONATHAN DWORKEN 
ANE DEPUTY ASSISTANT ADMINISTRATOR MARK WARD 
BANGKOK FOR OFDA SENIOR REGIONAL ADVISOR TOM DOLAN 
KATHMANDU FOR OFDA REGIONAL ADVISOR WILLIAM BERGER 
ROME PASS FODAG 
GENEVA FOR RMA AND NKYLOH 
NSC FOR JMELINE 
EUCOM FOR POLA/J3/J4/J5 
BRUSSELS FOR USAID PLERNER 
NEW YORK FOR TMALY 
SECDEF FOR SOLIC/PKHA, USDP/J3 
JOINT STAFF WASH DC FOR J3/J4/J5 
HQ USEUCOM VAIHINGEN GE FOR J3/J5 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: EAID AEMR ASEC MASS ECON KMDR KPAO OIIP OPRC PGOV PREL PK
SUBJECT: PAKISTAN - EARTHQUAKE: CONFUSION OVER WFP AND GOP 
DIVISION OF FOOD DISTRIBUTION RESPONSIBILITIES 
 
REF: Islamabad 17557 
 
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SUMMARY 
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¶1. On December 1, 2005 the U.N. World Food Program (WFP) and 
the Government of Pakistan (GOP) implemented a new division 
of geographic responsibilities to distribute food to 
approximately 2.3 million people in the earthquake-affected 
areas of Northern Pakistan.  The GOP requested that WFP move 
its urban-based operations from main population centers to 
Allai, Kaghan, Neelum, Lipa and other high altitude valleys 
to take advantage of WFP's logistical capacity delivering 
food in difficult to access areas.  The GOP is covering 
urban areas and rural areas easily accessible by road and 
has taken over WFP operations in Mansehra.  However, in the 
geographic areas covered by the GOP,  WFP is maintaining 
food distributions within UN High Commissioner for Refugees 
(UNHCR) tented camps, UN Children's Fund (UNICEF) tented 
schools, hospitals, and supplementary feeding programs for 
children under five and pregnant and lactating women.  USAID 
nongovernmental partners (NGOs) have expressed frustration 
that the local government has not effectively communicated 
the terms of the new agreement to beneficiaries, creating 
unmet expectations.  Despite these concerns with the details 
of food distribution responsibilities, there is currently an 
adequate supply of food in Pakistan for earthquake victims. 
End Summary. 
 
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Splitting the Caseload 
---------------------- 
¶2. At the outset of the emergency, the international 
humanitarian community took a collegial approach to 
determining areas of operation for food distribution.  For 
the most part, NGOs on the ground identified their areas of 
operation and coordinated with WFP to target beneficiaries 
and establish emergency food distributions.  In addition to 
WFP and NGO efforts, the GOP was also providing food, 
leading to some duplication of efforts. 
 
¶3. On December 1, a new agreement went into effect that 
clarified areas of responsibilities and caseloads, making 
the entire movement and provision of food more efficient and 
maximizing individual organizational strengths.  WFP is 
using a combination of land transport and helicopters to 
provide food to UNHCR tented camps and the difficult to 
access rural areas.  The GOP and the provincial governments 
are covering urban and less affected areas, as well as 
insuring that markets and commercial food distribution 
networks are uninterrupted.  WFP and the GOP are each 
responsible for providing food to 1.1 million people. 
Additionally, the International Committee for the Red Cross 
and Red Crescent (ICRC) is continuing its feeding and 
support program in the lower Neelum Valley for 150,000 
beneficiaries. 
 
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Food Operations under the New Arrangement 
----------------------------------------- 
 
-GOP Operations- 
 
¶4. The GOP is responsible for ensuring food security to 
approximately 1.1 million people living below 5,000 feet 
elevation by reactivating markets in the earthquake zone and 
launching cash compensation programs for earthquake victims 
who lost family members and/or had homes damaged or 
destroyed.  When necessary, the GOP will provide direct food 
distributions; however, to the extent possible, the GOP will 
rely solely on market mechanisms to provide food and other 
commodities at reduced prices as well as government 
subsidized stores called "Utility Stores."  The GOP is 
DCHA/FFP FOR JONATHAN DORKEN 
allocating more than 300,000 metric tons (MT) of wheat flour 
to Northwest Frontier Province (NWFP) and Azad Jammu and 
Kashmir (AJK) governments to be channeled through the 
utility stores and other market outlets.  On December 9, the 
FRC reported that there are 30 operational utility stores in 
the earthquake-affected areas and a further 12 will be 
established. 
 
-WFP Operations- 
 
¶5. WFP is assisting its caseload of 1.1 million people 
through direct food distributions and supplementary feeding 
though March 2006.  As of November 30, WFP had distributed 
23,101 MT of emergency food commodities, of which 1,924 MT 
were distributed via air transport.  This figure represents 
approximately 25 percent of the overall 101,000 MT required 
to feed the WFP caseload. 
 
¶6. Through cooperating partners, WFP is providing blanket 
one-month food rations of 96 kilograms per six-person family 
to 751,221 people living above 5,000 feet elevation and 
other difficult to access areas in AJK and NWFP.  Of this 
total, there are an estimated 441,221 beneficiaries in AJK 
and 310,000 in NWFP.  WFP has sub-offices in Muzaffarabad, 
Bagh, Ghari Habibullah, and Batagram. 
 
¶7. In addition to the general food distribution, WFP is 
providing or will provide food in UNHCR tented camps for up 
to 250,000 persons who have lost their homes, means of 
livelihoods, and income and are now living in tents in 
rural, urban, and semi-urban areas.  In facilities supported 
by UNICEF and the U.N. World Health Organization (WHO), WFP 
is providing hospital feeding for up to 5,000 patients. 
 
¶8. To support the nutritional needs of children, WFP is 
providing fortified blended cereal along with the general 
food distribution for children aged 6 months to 5 years.  In 
affected villages and tented camps, these children are 
receiving wheat soya blend (WSB) as a supplementary ration, 
and WFP has the capacity to reach up to 150,000 
beneficiaries.  WFP is also conducting emergency school 
feeding for 150,000 primary school children in UNICEF- 
supported tent schools.  In tented and open air schools, 
UNICEF/WFP-supported schools that were destroyed, and 
selected government schools that were destroyed, children 
are receiving high energy biscuits and dates. 
 
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WFP's Winter Logistics and Pipeline 
----------------------------------- 
 
¶9. WFP will continue to provide rations through March 2006 
by helicopter in snow-covered inaccessible areas and by 
truck to accessible UNHCR camps, school feeding sites, and 
supplementary feeding programs.  WFP has deployed 46 mobile 
warehouse tents with a total capacity of approximately 
23,000 MT, utilized for food storage as well as for non-food 
item pre-positioning.   All NGOs and agencies assisting in 
the earthquake relief effort have free access to mobile 
warehouse storage.  An additional 22 mobile warehouse tents 
are in the pipeline and will be used to strengthen the 
logistics capacity of WFP and its cooperating partners. 
This is particularly valuable as it supports the ongoing 
effort to establish storage points as close as possible to 
beneficiary populations. 
 
¶10. According to the USAID/DART Food for Peace Officer 
(FFPO), the WFP food commodity pipeline is quite healthy. 
WFP is currently distributing 2,400 Metric Tons (MT) of 
vegetable oil provided by USAID/FFP.  An additional 
USAID/FFP donation of 2,490 MT of vegetable oil is currently 
being finalized.  Presently, sufficient wheat exists in 
country to allow WFP to draw down its needs.  Per reftel, 
the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) offer of a USD 12 
million contribution to replace wheat used by WFP provides 
reassurance that WFP operations will continue beyond the 
winter. (Note:  Although the WFP food commodity pipeline is 
healthy, WFP does not yet have the necessary funds to cover 
associated costs, such as road transportation and 
distribution, to continue its obligation through April 2006. 
The USAID/DART, in collaboration with the US Mission in 
Pakistan, continues to work with the GOP, donors, UN 
agencies, ICRC, and NGOs to address this important need. 
End note.) 
 
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Confusion over Division of Responsibilities 
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¶11. The new division of food assistance responsibilities 
makes good use of the respective operational capabilities of 
WFP and the GOP since WFP is delivering food to the most 
difficult to reach areas and the GOP is supporting areas 
that are easier to access.  However, preliminary field 
reports suggest some difficulties with the handover process. 
NGOs have expressed frustration over the fact that the GOP 
has not effectively communicated the division of 
responsibilities to beneficiaries, leading to confusion 
among the population and unmet expectations. 
 
¶12. In Mansehra, where WFP has handed over food assistance 
responsibility to the GOP, NGOs are particularly frustrated 
with the closure of WFP's office, which has left the 
logistics, food and nutrition, and information technology 
clusters without leadership.  WFP is now handling NWFP 
operations from Ghari Habibullah but cluster meetings are 
still held in Mansehra.  Field staff from some of WFP's 
cooperating partners are also concerned that the GOP has not 
yet taken over food distribution in several areas in 
Mansehra since WFP's departure. 
 
¶13. In one example of NGO frustration, in Bagh District, 
AJK, USAID implementing partner GOAL was providing food and 
shelter assistance in eight union councils prior to the 
shift in operational areas.  As parts of Bagh District now 
fall under the GOP's operational area, GOAL ceded food 
responsibilities in five of the union councils to the GOP. 
However, GOAL is still implementing USAID shelter projects 
in these five union councils.  As GOAL is still present, but 
no longer providing food, GOAL's community mobilizers are 
receiving complaints.  GOAL reported that even the local 
Bagh Administrator and military representatives were not 
aware of the shift. 
 
¶14. According to the USAID/DART FFPO, the disconnect between 
the decision to divide food aid areas and the local 
governments' knowledge of this decision is fairly universal 
in both NWFP and AJK.  At a December 9 food cluster meeting 
in Islamabad, humanitarian agencies recommended to the FRC 
that the GOP raise community awareness via radio campaigns. 
At the meeting, the FRC representative seemed surprised by 
NGO statements that local government and GOP military 
representatives on the ground were not aware of the new 
agreement.  He stated that although the local government 
should spread the message at the district level, the FRC 
Commissioner could also make a radio address. 
 
¶15. The USAID/DART FFPO is currently in Mansehra, and is 
meeting with a range of humanitarian actors to assess the 
food situation and address questions raised regarding food 
distribution responsibilities. 
 
CROCKER