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Cablegate: Darfur - Emergency Food Security and Nutrition Assessment

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
-------

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.

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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

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