VZCZCXRO0580
RR RUEHBZ RUEHDU RUEHJO RUEHRN
DE RUEHMR #0576/01 2891226
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
R 161226Z OCT 07
FM AMEMBASSY MASERU
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC 3406
INFO RUCNSAD/SADC COLLECTIVE
RUEHMR/AMEMBASSY MASERU 3807

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 MASERU 000576 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SIPDIS 
 
USAID/DCHA/OFDA ALSO FOR CPRATT, KLUU, GGOTTLIEB, AFERRARA; 
USAID/AFR ALSO FOR ELOKEN, LDOBBINS; 
PRETORIA ALSO FOR USAID PDISKIN, JWESSEL, HHALE, NMANGQALAZA; 
DEPT ALSO FOR AF/S; 
ROME FOR USUN 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: ECON EAGR EAID PREL SOCI LT
SUBJECT: LESOTHO: UPDATE ON FOOD SECURITY AND NUTRITION SITUATION AND 
HUMANITARIAN RESPONSE 
 
REF: A) MASERU 567; B) MASERU 403 
 
MASERU 00000576  001.2 OF 002 
 
 
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SUMMARY 
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¶1.  This cable summarizes latest estimates of food insecurity in 
Lesotho, plans for scale-up of food distribution levels in the 
coming months, and increasing concerns about acute malnutrition 
in some areas, and Post's follow up of these concerns.  Post 
recommends continued vigilance to the possibilities of rising 
acute malnutrition rates, better nutritional monitoring, and 
more effective targeting of food assistance to the most food 
insecure households. 
 
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BACKGROUND 
---------- 
 
¶2.  FOOD SECURITY CRISIS:  Reftels have described the dire food 
insecurity facing Lesotho this year as a result of widespread 
drought and crop failure and rising maize prices, exacerbated by 
underlying poverty and high HIV/AIDS prevalence.  Following five 
consecutive years of below-normal harvests, this year's has been 
the worst in decades.  The situation is exacerbated by a more 
than doubling of maize prices early this year, resulting both 
from South Africa's poor harvest, as well as rising global 
demand for maize. 
 
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CURRENT SITUATION 
----------------- 
 
¶3.  FOOD AID SCALE-UP:  As the peak of the hunger season 
approaches, the humanitarian community is scaling up food 
security interventions.  In particular, the World Food Program 
(WFP) plans to double its level of food distributions in 
October.  Distribution levels for the Consortium for the 
Southern Africa Food Security Emergency (C-SAFE) will remain the 
same but will be focused on just two districts, with WFP 
expanding its area of responsibility to include some areas 
previously covered by C-SAFE.  WFP will also alter its targeting 
strategy from focusing just on chronic illness and HIV/AIDS 
patients, to including other households identified by 
communities as being most food insecure. 
 
¶4.      NEW LVAC NUMBERS:  The Lesotho Vulnerability Assessment 
Committee (LVAC), in a report drafted in July, increased their 
estimated population of people with "missing food entitlements" 
from 400,000 to 553,000, and their estimated food access deficit 
from 19,300 MTs to 26,400 MTs.  This is still far short of the 
Crop and Food Supply Assessment's (CFSAM) estimated food access 
gap of 36,700 MTs.  (Note: Representatives for USAID, DFID and 
the EU at a recent Regional VAC meeting jointly implored the UN, 
government and other agencies participating in VACs and CFSAMs 
to work more closely together to develop better consensus 
estimates of food needs). 
 
¶5.  MALNUTRITION CONCERNS:  Two medical NGOs -- Partners in 
Health (PIH) and Medecins sans Frontieres (MSF) have reported 
rising malnutrition cases in several rural health centers in the 
past couple months.  Very little systematic, credible data is 
available, however, regarding the extent of acute malnutrition, 
and Lesotho does not have an established capacity for collecting 
such data.  However, a consortium of humanitarian agencies is 
planning to carry out a baseline nutritional survey later in 
October. 
 
¶6.  VISITS TO BOBETE AND NOHANA:  Following the reports of 
increased acute malnutrition in remote rural clinics supported 
by PIH, Charge, Emboff and USAID/Food for Peace Officer (FFPO) 
paid visits (by air) to two of these locations -- Bobete (Thaba 
Tseka district) and Nohana (Mohale's Hoek district).  The latter 
 
SIPDIS 
visit included nutritionists from Action Contra el Hambre (ACH) 
and World Vision. 
 
¶7.  PIH'S ROLE:  Since last year PIH has been providing valuable 
medical support to three remote mountain clinics that were 
previously very neglected and under-resourced, including 
full-time doctor coverage.  Several months ago they also began 
providing household food rations to HIV/AIDs and tuberculosis 
patients, as well as other needy cases identified by their 
doctors.  In the Bobete clinic, the food distributions were 
estimated to be meeting the needs of about 20% of the population 
in the Bobete catchment area. 
 
¶8.  VISIT FINDINGS:  The visits revealed a food security 
 
MASERU 00000576  002.2 OF 002 
 
 
situation similar to other drought-affected areas in the 
country.  However, the remoteness of these locations makes the 
needs more difficult to assess and address.  The communities 
reported that local household grain supplies were virtually 
depleted, and that food (particularly maize) was scarce in 
markets, and more expensive than in the past.  The failure of 
the winter bean crops has also adversely affected the dietary 
quality of many households.  The nutritional situation was not 
clear, however, as the nutritionists visiting Nohana revealed 
significant problems with the accuracy and interpretation of the 
data being collected.  Recommendations were made to PIH on how 
to improve this data collection. 
 
------------------------------- 
CONCLUSIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS 
------------------------------- 
 
¶9.  NUTRITIONAL RISK:  Although Lesotho has not had reports of 
rising acute malnutrition ("wasting") rates in past years, the 
risks of this are certainly higher this year due to: (1) the 
cumulative effects of six consecutive poor harvests; (2) the 
fact that this year's harvest has been the worst in many years; 
and (3) the big spike in maize prices (more than double last 
year's prices) that makes it difficult for vulnerable households 
to compensate for their harvest failure with market purchases. 
 
¶10.  NUTRITIONAL MONITORING:  There are no clear data on what 
the levels of acute malnutrition are, as well as the causes. 
This impedes decision making on the scale and types of response 
needed.  Nevertheless, given the widespread food insecurity this 
year in Lesotho, we need to keep a close eye on the nutritional 
situation.  The planned nutritional survey, if carried out 
effectively and quickly, can be a helpful tool for assessing the 
overall national situation, although other surveillance and 
outreach efforts are still needed to address the possibility of 
localized pockets of high acute malnutrition.  Strengthening the 
nutritional monitoring capacity of clinics such as those 
supported by PIH is therefore also important. 
 
¶11.  TARGETING:  Also, a key to preventing acute malnutrition 
will be effective targeting of the food aid resources available. 
 The clinic-based distributions being carried out to date by WFP 
and PIH have not been closely-enough linked to measures of 
household food entitlement, as HIV-status is not necessarily 
highly correlated with food access.  WFP's new targeting 
approach, focused on livelihoods, will hopefully be more 
effective at targeting the most food insecure households. 
C-SAFE will also expand its targeting by allowing some 
households that have no healthy adult member present to receive 
rations without carrying out "food-for-assets" activities, in 
order to ensure that the most vulnerable are reached. 
ANDERSON