VZCZCXRO5262
PP RUEHMA RUEHROV
DE RUEHKH #2590/01 3041446
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
P 311446Z OCT 06
FM AMEMBASSY KHARTOUM
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC PRIORITY 5091
INFO RUCNFUR/DARFUR COLLECTIVE PRIORITY
RUEHRN/USMISSION UN ROME

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 KHARTOUM 002590 
 
SIPDIS 
 
AIDAC 
SIPDIS 
 
STATE FOR AF/SPG, PRM, AND ALSO PASS USAID/W 
USAID FOR DCHA SUDAN TEAM, AFR/SP 
NAIROBI FOR USAID/DCHA/OFDA, USAID/REDSO, AND FAS 
USMISSION UN ROME 
GENEVA FOR NKYLOH 
NAIROBI FOR SFO 
NSC FOR JBRAUSE, NSC/AFRICA FOR TSHORTLEY 
USUN FOR TMALY 
BRUSSELS FOR PLERNER 
 
E.O. 12958:  N/A 
TAGS: EAID PREF PGOV PHUM SOCI KAWC SU
SUBJECT:  DARFUR - EMERGENCY FOOD SECURITY AND NUTRITION ASSESSMENT 
PRELIMINARY RESULTS 
 
KHARTOUM 00002590  001.2 OF 002 
 
 
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Summary 
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¶1. Preliminary results of the third Darfur Emergency Food Security 
and Nutrition Assessment (EFSNA) conducted in September 2006 show 
child malnutrition rates holding steady and mortality rates 
decreasing for three consecutive years.  Stability and improvement 
were attributed to a combined effort of non-governmental 
organizations (NGOs), UN agencies, and donors to provide 
life-sustaining services despite relentless security and 
environmental challenges.  In South and West Darfur, most of the 
population assessed comprised displaced persons living in camps, 
while in North Darfur the vast majority was rural residents.  The 
assessment's results emphasized the need for continued and 
strengthened support to maintain the gains made during the past two 
years and unhindered access to reach affected communities.  End 
summary. 
 
-------------------- 
Third Annual EFSNA 
-------------------- 
 
¶2. EFSNA is an annual survey that has assessed nutrition and food 
security in all three Darfur states since 2004.  This year's survey 
was conducted during September 2006 and included the UN Children's 
Fund (UNICEF), UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), UN World 
Food Program (WFP), UN World Health Organization (WHO), and 
Government of National Unity (GNU) with technical support from the 
U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).  The main 
challenge to the study was the ongoing volatile security situation, 
which prevented access to some locations.  The UN emphasized that 
the continued flow of humanitarian assistance is severely threatened 
due to ongoing insecurity. 
 
¶3. The survey's preliminary findings show an overall stabilization 
in children's nutrition status, a decrease in mortality rates, and a 
slight improvement in food security of the 3.7 million 
conflict-affected persons receiving assistance in Darfur - both in 
camps for the internally displaced (IDPs) and in rural communities. 
In South and West Darfur, most of the population assessed was 
displaced persons living in camps, while in North Darfur the vast 
majority was rural residents. 
 
-------------------- 
Nutrition and Health 
-------------------- 
 
¶4. All indicators of child health improved in 2006 compared to 2005 
and, for a third consecutive year, mortality rates were below the 
emergency threshold in all three Darfur states.  Although children 
aged between 6 and 29 months were more malnourished and at risk than 
children aged 30 to 59 months, malnutrition rates have generally 
stabilized.  An increase in the rate of global acute malnutrition 
(GAM) in children 6 to 59 months of age from 11.9 percent in 2005 to 
13.1 percent in 2006 is statistically not significant and remained 
below the emergency threshold and significantly below the 2004 rate 
of 21.8 percent.  However, in North Darfur, pockets of higher 
malnutrition persist and require attention to be addressed 
accordingly.  Although the admission rate of malnourished children 
increased in 2006, access to therapeutic (TFC) and supplementary 
feeding centers (SFC) was reduced by almost 50 percent as compared 
to 2005, due in part to deteriorating security and NGOs phasing out 
programs.  The general health and nutrition of mothers with a child 
under five years of age improved in 2006 compared to 2005. 
 
¶5. Overall access to potable water increased from 63 percent in 2005 
to 72 percent in 2006.  Sanitation levels remained stable, with 
almost 50 percent of the population in camps and outside camps 
having one traditional or improved latrine per household, according 
to the survey's findings. 
 
------------------------- 
Agriculture and Livestock 
------------------------- 
 
¶6. The survey's results show no difference between 2005 and 2006 in 
the proportion of households engaged in crop production (51 
percent).  Survey respondents cited insecurity as the most important 
impediment to expanding farming, resulting in a decreased area under 
 
KHARTOUM 00002590  002.2 OF 002 
 
 
cultivation. 
 
¶7. The number of households holding livestock remained constant, 
except for those holding donkeys, which increased from 47 percent to 
58 percent.  The proportion of IDP households with livestock 
increased slightly from 37 percent to 41 percent.  Resident 
households with livestock increased from 64 percent to 75 percent. 
 
¶8. According to the survey's findings, 54 percent of households 
cited lack of security - defined as theft and looting of animals - 
as the most severe constraint to livestock production, followed by 
insufficient access to pastures and migration routes as noted by 37 
percent of livestock-holding households. 
 
----------------------------- 
Livelihoods and Food Security 
----------------------------- 
 
¶9. Households' main source of income is wage labor (37 percent), 
followed by sale of agricultural production (20 percent) and sale of 
firewood (15 percent).  In the survey, food security was measured 
based on food consumption (frequency and diversity of meal), food 
aid dependency, and proportion of weekly household food expenditures 
per capita compared with total weekly household expenditures. 
Seventy percent of surveyed households remain severely food insecure 
with dependency on food aid and high expenditures for food. 
 
¶10. Severe food insecurity increased in West Darfur while values for 
households in South Darfur held constant.  Severe food insecurity in 
North Darfur dropped to 58 percent, presumably due to a lesser 
dependence on food aid for resident as opposed to IDP households. 
The sample in North Darfur included a large proportion of residents 
while that of West Darfur is biased towards IDPs.  The large number 
of IDPs living in camps in West Darfur and the much lower number of 
IDPs in camps in North Darfur explain this discrepancy.  Overall, 
the level of severe household food insecurity remains high at more 
than 70 percent. 
 
¶11. The characteristics of a household with high food insecurity 
include poor access to land, low numbers of livestock, and 
collection of firewood and grass as an income source.  The 
assessment found that the major constraints to improving food 
security were insecurity, displacement, and the competition for 
income opportunities between residents and IDPs. 
 
--------------- 
Recommendations 
--------------- 
 
¶12. Based on EFSNA's preliminary findings, USAID's Darfur Field 
Office makes the following recommendations: 
 
A) Use EFSNA's final results as a critical tool for future planning 
of interventions and funding decisions to sustain gains attained 
thus far in Darfur; 
 
B) Engage donor partners in exploring, expanding, and creating 
diverse and sustainable income generating opportunities, especially 
for women-headed households and youth; 
 
C) Engage implementing partners in further analyzing the underlying 
causes of malnutrition in Darfur and continue funding specifically 
tailored nutrition programs as priority measures using a 
multi-sectoral approach; 
 
D) Support partners, particularly the UN, in expanding assessment 
areas in the 2007 EFSNA mission; and 
 
E) Support community-based nutrition interventions in order to 
address malnutrition and sustain nutrition gains. 
 
WHITAKER