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24 March 2003

World Food Program Bringing Food Aid to Iraq

(U.N. agency operating with major U.S. contributions) (580)
The U.N. World Food Program (WFP) is bringing food aid into Iraq.
In a March 24 press briefing in Amman, Jordan, the aid agency reported
that 19 trucks carrying 380 metric tons of cooking oil -- to be
distributed as supplements to general food rations -- had entered the
northern Iraqi town of Erbil five days after crossing the border.
The agency also reports that approximately 3,000 people who had left
the Erbil area are returning home.
The United States has contributed $40 million to the WFP for food aid
for Iraq and has approved $20 million in additional funding for the
agency. The United States also is contributing 500,000 metric tons of
food to feed the people of Iraq, according to a March 21 U.S. Agency
for International Development (USAID) fact sheet.
WFP plans to use transportation corridors through Jordan, Syria,
Turkey and Kuwait and possibly the southern Iraqi port of Um Qasr to
get food aid into Iraq, it said.
The agency also indicated it is not seeing any massive movement of
population in Iraq's south and central provinces.
Following is the text of the WFP press briefing summary:
(begin text)
WFP Press Briefing: Amman
24 March 2003
A convoy of 19 trucks packed with food aid has rolled into the
northern Iraqi town of Erbil, five days after crossing the border.
The food -- 380 metric tons of vegetable oil -- has been offloaded at
a warehouse ready for distribution in the northern provinces.
The food will be distributed as part of the Nutrition Programme by
which WFP uses UN Oil-for-Food funds to supplement general food
rations in the three northern governorates of Dahuk, Sulaymaniyah and
Erbil.
The Programme targets some 634,000 vulnerable women children and
elderly persons.
Food handlers are still operating in Erbil, although WFP's local staff
report that the situation remains tense. The estimated 2,194 people,
who had fled Erbil to outlying towns and villages in the north, are
returning home.
Two other food aid trucks have broken down at Mosul.
INTERNALLY DISPLACED PERSONS (IDPS)
To date, WFP has not received any reports about massive movements of
population in the South and Central provinces.
The agency is currently building a more accurate picture of the IDP
situation in North Iraq.
Local authorities have reported that some 512 IDPs, who fled Mosul and
Kirkuk -- both cities controlled by the Iraqi government -- are
currently staying in schools in Soran District, together with a
further 3,359 who escaped from Erbil City itself.
Only IDPs from Kirkuk, part of Centre/South of Iraq, are being
registered at Soran. Local authorities are encouraging these people, a
total of 60 families, to move to temporary camps for shelter.
With no food aid currently reaching Erbil Governorate, WFP will draw
on its remaining stocks to allow distribution in Soran District to
help families, who are hosting relatives fleeing from other
areas/governorates.
Humanitarian corridors: Um Qasr
WFP's logistics contingency plan aims to use humanitarian corridors
through Jordan, Syria, Turkey and Kuwait to get food aid into Iraq.
The southern port of Um Qasr would provide an additional passage if it
becomes operational. However, this would depend upon the level of
trucking capacity inside Iraq and the availability of skilled staff to
handle arriving ships.
Prior to the war, some 60 percent of humanitarian aid for the UN
Oil-for-Food Programme passed through Um Qasr.
(end text)
(Distributed by the Office of International Information Programs, U.S.
Department of State. Web site: http://usinfo.state.gov)