P 201543Z MAR 09
FM AMEMBASSY ABIDJAN
TO SECSTATE WASHDC PRIORITY 5008
INFO ECOWAS COLLECTIVE PRIORITY
AMEMBASSY DAKAR PRIORITY 
NSC WASHDC PRIORITY
JOINT STAFF WASHDC PRIORITY
USEU BRUSSELS PRIORITY
USMISSION USUN NEW YORK PRIORITY 
USMISSION UN ROME PRIORITY 
USMISSION GENEVA PRIORITY 
SECDEF WASHDC PRIORITY

UNCLAS ABIDJAN 000186 
 
 
DAKAR FOR OFDA/WNARO RDAVIS AND FFP 
ACCRA FOR USAID/WA 
GENEVA FOR RMA AND NKYLOH 
NSC FOR CPRATT 
NEW YORK FRO TMALY, DMERCADO 
USAID FOR USAID/A, AFR/AA/AFR/WA 
USAID FOR DCHA/AA, DCHA/FFP, DCHA/OTI, DCHA/CMM 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: EAID PHUM PGOV PREL EAGR SOCI IV
SUBJECT: MALNUTRITION IN NORTHERN COTE D'IVOIRE UNDERSCORES 
ONGOING HUMANITARIAN NEEDS 
 
REF: A. 08 ABIDJAN 279 
     ¶B. 08 ABIDJAN 214 
 
¶1. (U) SUMMARY:  The absence of a functioning government in 
the north of Cote d'Ivoire and ongoing insecurity in the west 
are having increasingly negative effects on the resident 
populations.  A SMART survey conducted in July 2008 revealed 
that the global acute malnutrition (GAM) rate in northern 
Cote d'Ivoire was 17.5 percent - a level above the 
internationally-recognized emergency threshold of 15 percent. 
 
¶2.  (U)  A joint World Food Program (WFP) and Food and 
Agricultural Organization (FAO) study found that food 
insecurity was also a problem in western regions of the 
country.  In addition to political instability, there are 
many reasons for the malnutrition problem that recently 
surfaced in the north, including sharp increases in the price 
of basic food staples on the regional and world markets and 
dramatic livestock losses.  The UN issued a Critical 
Humanitarian Needs Appeal for Cote d'Ivoire in January 2009 
that specifically cites nutrition and food security in the 
north as an area of special need.  During recent trips to the 
north, local officials and NGOs have highlighted the 
malnutrition problem to Ambassador and DCM and pleaded for 
USG assistance.  Embassy Abidjan believes we should assist to 
the extent possible and asks that USAID/Office of U.S. 
Foreign Disaster Assistance (OFDA) and USAID/Food for Peace 
(FFP) explore how we can respond to this new need, while also 
continuing support for vulnerable populations most affected 
by food insecurity in the west.  END SUMMARY 
 
 
POVERTY RATES HAVE SKYROCKETED SINCE 2003 
----------------------------------------- 
¶3.  (U)  The rebellion that split Cote d'Ivoire in half in 
2002 severely disrupted economic activity in certain sectors 
and regions of the country: as a result, many Ivoirians 
witnessed a precipitous decline in their standard of living. 
Residents of the north were particularly affected, since most 
government services withdrew completely, and markets and 
ports in the government-controlled south became virtually 
inaccessible to them.  Studies done in conjunction with the 
most recent Poverty Reduction Strategy Paper (PRSP) show that 
the national poverty rate - defined as those living on less 
than 650 CFA (or approximately 1.30 USD) per day - increased 
dramatically from 10 percent in 1985 to 38.4 percent in 2002 
to 48.9 percent in 2008.  The poverty rate is even higher in 
rural areas and now stands at 62.5 percent. 
 
¶4.  (U)  Since the signing of the Ouagadougou Political 
Agreement (OPA) in March 2007, the country has made progress 
towards peace and stability, and travel between government 
and rebel-controlled zones has expanded considerably.  But 
many of the issues that sparked the conflict remain 
unresolved.  Security remains fragile due to limited progress 
on the demobilization of militias in the west and Forces 
Nouvelles soldiers in the north.  High unemployment, ethnic 
tensions, and land disputes continue to pose serious threats 
to social cohesion and internal stability.  In 2008, dramatic 
increases in global food prices let to violent street 
demonstrations in Cote d'Ivoire, during which at least one 
person was killed and scores injured (see reftels).  The GoCI 
temporarily suspended duties and taxes on basic food products 
to keep prices at a reasonable level for Abidjan residents. 
The government has depended on international organizations 
like the World Food Program (WFP), the Food and Agriculture 
Organization (FAO), and NGOs to assist most rural 
populations, especially in the Forces Nouvelles controlled 
zones. 
 
 
FOOD INSECURITY LEADS TO HIGH RATES OF MALNUTRITION 
--------------------------------------------- ------ 
¶5. (U)  Cote d'Ivoire is the largest importer of rice and 
wheat in West Africa.  From August 2007 to August 2008, the 
price of rice increased by 134 percent in the north and 50 
percent in the west, hitting the two areas that were already 
the most fragile, and further impacting food insecurity. 
Maize prices witnessed a 100 percent increase in the north 
and a 50 percent increase in the west.  The dramatic price 
increases of these basic staples on the regional and world 
markets has meant that humanitarian organizations such as the 
WFP, which purchases commodities for distribution, cannot 
reach as many families as in the past.  Additionally, the 
collapse of cotton companies in the north that provided 
credit for essential agricultural inputs (i.e. fertilizers, 
seeds, tools) led to a drastic decrease in household food 
production just as prices were skyrocketing, which severely 
reduced families' purchasing power. 
 
¶6. (U)  In addition, dramatic livestock losses in the north 
in recent years have compounded the problem.  A study 
conducted by the FAO Emergency Unit in November 2008 
confirmed that in several northern regions of Cote d'Ivoire, 
nearly 75 percent of livestock had died from lack of quality 
veterinary care and the misuse of black market medications 
that flooded the north after the government withdrew in 2002. 
 The northern town of Ouamelhoro, for example, had 11,424 
head of cattle in 2005.  In 2008 however, that number had 
fallen to 2,857.  Losses like these have produced a double 
whammy on the north: dramatic decreases in meat and a 
devastating loss of crop production capacity, as cattle are 
commonly used to till the land.  To take the case of 
Ouamelhoro, the livestock losses translated into a 69 percent 
drop in the amount of land cultivated for crops.  On a recent 
trip, DCM was told that women have now stepped in to try to 
fill this gap as the cultivators of the land. 
 
¶7. (U)  Current high rates of acute malnutrition in northern 
Cote d'Ivoire are directly linked to these factors.  A July 
2008 SMART (Standardized Monitoring Assessment of Relief and 
Transitions) survey jointly conducted by the WFP, the United 
Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF), and the GoCI's National 
Nutrition Program (PNN) found that the global acute 
malnutrition (GAM) rate of children under age five in five 
northern regions of Cote d'Ivoire was 17.5 percent.  13.5 
percent were moderately malnourished, and 4 percent were 
severely malnourished.  A follow-up study conducted by 
Medecins Sans Frontieres - Belgium in Bouna and Odienne found 
that the GAM rate was 23.9 percent in children age six months 
to five years.  GAM rates over 15 percent are deemed 
"critical" by World Health Organization (WHO) international 
standards and require immediate action.  In August 2008, a 
joint WFP-FAO study found that 12 percent of the population 
in the northern region of the Savanes were severely food 
insecure and 15 percent of the western region of Moyen 
Cavally were moderately food insecure. 
 
¶8. (U)  Although a SMART survey has not been conducted in the 
west, the WFP-FAO study confirms that food insecurity is also 
problematic in the west.  Although the area is much more 
conducive to agricultural production, heavy fighting in the 
west in 2002-2003 destroyed infrastructure and produced large 
numbers of internally displaced persons (IDPs).  The appeal 
issued by the UN in January 2009 states that between March 
2007 and September 2008, humanitarian agencies recorded the 
voluntary return of approximately 70,000 IDPs in the west but 
notes that the return has not been without constraints and 
obstacles.  A non-functional judicial system allows for 
widespread impunity and the continued presence of armed 
militias makes the security situation fragile.  Simmering 
disputes over land between the indigenous population and IDPs 
often turn violent.  In some cases, the indigenous population 
has blocked returnees from returning to their fields for more 
than 18 months, effectively holding their livelihoods hostage 
and further exacerbating food insecurity.  Humanitarian 
presence and support for social cohesion and reintegration in 
the west continues to remain critical. 
 
 
HUMANITARIAN EFFORTS 
-------------------- 
¶9. (U)  Given that the level of acute malnutrition in certain 
regions of Cote d'Ivoire currently exceeds the WHO's 
emergency threshold level of 15 percent, the international 
community needs to provide a robust response.  Since 2007, 
however, international humanitarian assistance in general, 
and to the food crisis in particular, has been weak.  Many 
humanitarian organizations have been obliged to reduce their 
activities due to insufficient funding, as many donors 
wrongly assumed or believed that Cote d'Ivoire's humanitarian 
needs had been met.  WFP, for example, had to close several 
of its offices, including some in the north and west, where 
the need is greatest.  Since January 2008, the exorbitant 
rise in the price of basic food staples has also meant that 
WFP has needed 40 percent more funding just to cover its 
initial, proposed budget.  WFP has had to scale back many of 
its programs and is thus unable to fully support families 
with malnourished children or the return of IDPs.  WFP's 
Humanitarian Air Service, which operated flights from Cote 
d'Ivoire to Guinea, Liberia, and Sierra Leone to support the 
movement of the humanitarian community, was terminated at the 
end of February due to lack of funding. 
 
¶10. (U)  In a March 3 meeting that Poloff attended at the 
United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian 
Affairs (OCHA), the Interagency Humanitarian Coordination 
Committee (IAHCC) discussed the UN's Central Emergency 
Response Fund (CERF) allocations.  Cote d'Ivoire received 2 
million USD from CERF/New York and the IAHHC discussed how 
best to apply this money.  It was decided that one half would 
go toward addressing malnutrition in the north , to be 
divided among UNICEF, FAO, and WFP, and the other half would 
focus on reintegration efforts for returning IDPs in the 
west.  These are the two priority areas of intervention 
outlined in the 2009 UN Critical Humanitarian Needs Appeal 
for Cote d'Ivoire.  WFP, FAO, and UNICEF have also directly 
appealed to both Embassy Abidjan and USAID/OFDA and USAID/FFP 
in Dakar for assistance.  USAID/OFDA recently signed a grant 
with FAO's Emergency Unit for agriculture coordination and to 
improve knowledge about nutrition and how to grow nutritious 
foods in the north. 
 
 
COMMENT AND ACTION REQUEST 
-------------------------- 
¶11. (U)  Embassy Abidjan supports the appeal for additional 
assistance to address the high rates of acute malnutrition in 
the north and asks that USAID Washington explore what 
contributions the USG can make to help alleviate this urgent 
need.  The GoCI, which still does not have full control of 
the north, does not have the resources to address the 
problem.  Given Cote d'Ivoire's recent history of conflict 
and the clear link between food security and internal 
stability, as highlighted by the 2008 demonstrations, 
supporting food security programs in Cote d'Ivoire remains 
essential.  Embassy Abidjan also requests continued USAID 
support for humanitarian assistance for FY 2009, particularly 
assistance which can address the food insecurity problem in 
the north and west. 
 
 
NESBITT