WFP Delivers Nutritional Boost For Somali Children

? The United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) is to begin
delivering emergency supplies of a highly nutritious, peanut-based food to
Somalia in a bid to combat the growing threat of severe malnutrition
amongst children in the war-ravaged nation.



"Children are the first to suffer when food is scarce and conditions harsh,
which is why we are taking this step to protect them from the ravages of
the very worst stages of malnutrition," said WFP Somalia Country Director
Peter Goossens. "This specialised product is expensive, but worth every
penny for its ability to save lives, particularly given the depth of
current crisis in Somalia."



The shipment of food - known by its brand name, "Supplementary Plumpy" -
arrived in Kenya over the weekend and will be moved by air and road to
Somalia, where it will be targeted at 63,800 children over the next six
months.?  This is the first time that WFP has used Supplementary Plumpy on a
large scale and it will be delivered through WFP's existing network of
feeding centres run by international, national and local NGOs.



Supplementary Plumpy -- a ready-to-eat food that is delivered in sealed
sachets -- has both curative and preventative properties.?  Trials have
demonstrated that malnourished children who take a daily dose for two
months, recover quickly, and are normally protected from?  malnourishment
for a further four months.



Somalia is in the grip of a deepening humanitarian crisis, brought on by
conflict, successive failed or poor harvests, and hyperinflation. Recent
assessments indicate critical rates of malnutrition throughout South
Central Somalia and among internally displaced populations in the North.
The median rate of acute malnutrition in 20 surveys conducted this year has
been found to be more than 18 per cent - which is well above the 15 percent
emergency threshold.



WFP is currently expanding its operation to reach 2.4 million of the 3.25
million people expected to need food by the end of the year, a 77 percent
increase since the start of the year.



This year, Somali waters have been plagued by piracy as never before, and
naval escorts have become essential to guarantee the safe passage of ships
carrying WFP food into the country. Ninety percent of WFP's food for
Somalia arrives by sea.?  The Canadian navy is just concluding its naval
escorts and the Dutch navy is due to take over escort duties before the end
of October. WFP has been further heartened by recent announcements from
both NATO and the European Union that they will be joining the effort to
safeguard food deliveries to Somalia.



"Since November we've shipped more than 137,000 tons of food into Somalia
under escort - food that is saving lives. Without the support of France,
Denmark, the Netherlands and Canada, the situation in Somalia would be even
worse right now," said Goossens.



Rampant insecurity inside Somalia remains a major obstacle to the delivery
of humanitarian supplies. However, even though aid workers have been
targeted in recent months, WFP continues to get food supplies through,
reaching 1.6 million people in September.



Donors to WFP's ongoing operation in Somalia include United States (US $205
million), Multilateral funds (US$57 million), United Kingdom (US$24
million), Canada (US$20 million), Netherlands (US$10 million), Japan (US$9
million), Italy (US$5 million), Germany (US$4.6 million), Saudi Arabia
(US$3.3 million), Norway (US$3.2 million), Switzerland (US$3 million),
(US$2.8 million), UN CERF (US$2.5 million), Finland (US$2 million), Belgium
(US$1.6 million), Denmark (US$1 million) and several others.



WFP is the world's largest humanitarian agency and the UN's frontline
agency for hunger solutions. This year, WFP plans to feed 90 million people
in 80 countries.



WFP