Welcome to the fifth issue of the SENAC e-letter!

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1 The AssessorNo.5 November 2006 SENAC monthly E-letter - Strengthening Emergency Needs Assessment Capacity Update on progress to improve the quality and transparency of assessments Welcome to the fifth issue of the SENAC e-letter! The e-letter provides an update on progress made to enhance WFP's emergency needs assessment practice. This issue covers the month of October and events coming up in November. The e-letter provides links to online material. All the documents can also be found at For a printable version of the e-letter, click on: The Assessor No.5 November 2006 For a copy of the first four e-letters, go to: For more information about SENAC and how it fits into the Emergency Needs Assessment Implementation Plan, click on: Overview of the Emergency Needs Assessment Implementation Plan WHAT'S NEW? Executive Briefs Two new executive briefs are available which cover the findings of the Comprehensive Food Security and Vulnerability Analysis (CFSVA) in the following countries: O East Timor (December 2005) O Mali (December 2005) An executive brief is also available on the Joint Needs Assessment in the Great Lakes region. O Great Lakes: Burundi, Rwanda, Tanzania (March-April 2006) If you want to prepare or adapt an Executive Brief for an Emergency Needs Assessment or a CFSVA, please contact caroline.chaumont@wfp.org, SENAC Communications Officer, for assistance. 2. Emergency Needs Assessments Emergency Food Security and Nutrition Assessment in Darfur: Preliminary results of the WFP FAO/UNICEF joint needs assessment conducted in October in Darfur found that 70 percent of war affected Darfurians are food insecure (46 percent severely), which is only slightly down from 74 percent last year. 80 percent of IDPs in camps are food insecure. They are worse off than other IDPs as it is more difficult for them to raise animals, access land and obtain wage labour. The overall malnutrition situation has stabilised in 2006, despite decreased availability of nutrition feeding centers. However, 13.1 percent of children under five still suffer from malnutrition, just below the emergency level of 15 percent. Food assistance remains essential and there is no prospect for any decline in the level of food assistance required. For security and access reasons, the assessment was based on a sample of households from the 3.7 million people who are affected by conflict but live in accessible areas, out of the total of 6.8 million people in Darfur. The situation is probably worse in the inaccessible areas. The assessment report is now being finalised. Team leader: agnès.dhur@wfp.org WFP/FAO Joint Needs Assessment in DRC: The three week assessment (September - October) concluded that an estimated 1.9 million people will be in need in 2007 in the six most highly food insecure provinces of the country. It recommends that the programme re-focus its activities on six priority geographic areas where food insecurity is highest because of conflicts and chronic poverty: Nord Kivu, South Kivu, Katanga (north and central), Equateur, Ituri (district) and Maniema. The programme should also target the most vulnerable groups by order of priority (first priority group: IDPs, malnourished children, pregnant and lactating women, children affected by conflict and

2 returnees; - 2nd priority group: adult and children former child soldiers, children in UNICEF-targeted schools; - 3rd priority group: food insecure populations who are physically isolated in the 6 priority provinces). Approximately 65 percent of food assistance in the priority areas should target IDPs and returnees. Other recommendations include: local purchases where possible, pre-positioning of strategic stocks, participating in rapid assessment and response mechanisms in collaboration with OCHA and UNICEF, and regularly updating disaggregated estimates of IDPs and returnees. A VAM baseline study (CFSVA), currently under preparation, will help further refine targeting. The assessment report is now being finalised. Team leader: darlene.tymo@wfp.org Other major assessments recently completed: O Emergency Food Security Assessment (EFSA) in Timor Leste (October). Report being finalised. Contact yvonne.forsen@wfp.org for O EFSA/In Depth Assessment in Côte d Ivoire to prepare for the next PRRO (September - October). Report being finalised. Contact anne-claire.mouilliez@wfp.org for O EFSA in Sri Lanka (October). Report being finalised. Contact yvonne.forsen@wfp.org for O EFSA in Uganda (October). Contact ernest.mutanga@wfp.org or naouar.labidi@wfp.org for O EFSA in RoC (July-August). Report being finalised. Contact mark.gordon@wfp.org or naouar.labidi@wfp.org for O EFSA in Djibouti (October). Report being finalised. Contact mark.gordon@wfp.org for O EFSA in Tanzania refugee camps (October). Report being finalised. Contact mark.gordon@wfp.org or scott.ronchini@wfp.org for O Long rains Assessment in Kenya (July-August). Contact joao.manja@wfp.org or allan.kute@wfp.org for O WFP/UNHCR Joint Assessment Mission (JAM) in refugee camps in Chad (October). Team leader: gon.myers@wfp.org. O Crop Harvest Assessment in Mauritania (October). Contact mamadou.diouf@wfp.org for O Crop Harvest Assessment in Burkina Faso (October). Contact geert.beekhuis@wfp.org for O Crop and Food Supply Assessment Mission (CFSAM) in South Sudan (October). Contact daniel.molla@wfp.org for O Nutrition assessment in Burkina Faso (October) report being finalised. Contact margot.vendervelden@wfp.org for Major upcoming or ongoing assessments: O Annual Needs assessment in Sudan (1-21 November). Contact daniel.molla@wfp.org for O EFSA in Rwanda refugee camps (September - October) report being finalised. Contact kiganzi.nyakato@wfp.org for O UNHCR/WFP JAM in Rwanda (November - December). Contact kiganzi.nyakato@wfp.org or emmanuel.safari@wfp.org for O UNHCR/WFP JAM in Sudan (November). Contact daniel.molla@wfp.org for O UNHCR/WFP JAM in Algeria (November). Contact romina.woldemarian@wfp.org for O UNHCR/WFP JAM in Tanzania (November). Contact juneval.kisanga@wfp.org for O Crop and Food Supply Assessment Missions (CFSAM) in Ethiopia (7 November to 3 December). Contact pierre.lucas@wfp.org for O CFSAM in North Sudan (November - December). Contact daniel.molla@wfp.org for O Meher Assessment in Ethiopia (November to early December). Contact melkam.endale@wfp.org for O CFSAM in Ethiopia (13 November to 8 December). Contact melkam.endale@wfp.org or naouar.labidi@wfp.org for O JAM Follow up in Togo for extension of the Regional Emergency Operation (November). Contact edouard.nizeyimana@wfp.org for O Joint Food Security and Self-reliance Assessment in Ghana (6 November - 2 December). Contact: geert.beekhuis@wfp.org for O Market profile in Burundi (on-going). Contact evaline.diang'a@wfp.org or dekha.sheikh@wfp.org for

3 3. Pre-crisis information Finalised Comprehensive Food Security and Vulnerability Analysis (CFSVA): O East Timor (December 2005) report available, click on East Timor CFSVA or on East Timor CFSVA Executive brief. Contact: tarek.elguindi@wfp.org O Mali (December 2005) report available, click on Mali CFSVA or on Mali CFSVA Executive brief. Contact: moise.ballo@wfp.org O Rwanda (March - April 2006). Report being finalised and will be officially launched by the government in the coming weeks. Contact: nyakato.kisangi@wfp.org O Tanzania (December 2005). Report being finalised. Contact: juvenal.kisanga@wfp.org Ongoing CFSVAs: O Sudan (May - June 2006) waiting for data from the government. Contact:daniel.molla@wfp.org O Laos (September 2006) Data collection ongoing, data analysis scheduled for late November-early December. Contact: stein.vikan@wfp.org O Democratic Republic of the Congo (October 2006 to June 2007) preparatory work on-going. Contact: naouar.labidi@wfp.org or scott.ronchini@wfp.org O Occupied Palestinian Territory (September) report being written. Contact: jacqueline.frize@wfp.org O Urban Liberia (on-going). This urban food security and nutrition survey will complement the Comprehensive Food Security and Nutrition Survey recently finalised and conducted by the Government of Liberia with the support of the humanitarian community that covered the rural and semi-urban context. Contact: claudia.ahpoe@wfp.org Upcoming CSFVAs: O Zambia: starting in the coming months. Contact: sibi.lawsonmarriott@wfp.org O Mozambique: work is ongoing with the national Vulnerability Analysis Committee to develop the best indicators to analyse food security in the context of Mozambique. Contact: sylvie.montembault@wfp.org Food Security Monitoring Systems (FSMSs): (various funding sources) O Burundi: The system is fully functioning. Contact: evaline.dianga@wfp.org O Haiti: Third round of data collection ongoing. Contact: jeancarel.norceide@wfp.org O Ivory Coast: The first three rounds of data collection have taken place. A synthesis of the report is being prepared combining key findings and trends. Contact:anne-claire.mouilliez@wfp.org O Afghanistan: The system is functioning. A second round of data collection is ongoing. The September 2006 bulletin is available online. Contact: ahmadshah.shahi@wfp.org O Darfur: First data collection early next year. Contact: daniel.molla@wfp.org O Mali: a meeting with partners will take place mid-november to select the sites. Contact: moise.ballo@wfp.org O Mauritania: Work is ongoing to harmonize the methodology with the Commissariat of Food Security. Contact: papamoussa.ndoye@wfp.org O Chad: The third round of data collection took place in October. Results ready in November. Contact: ibrahima.diop@wfp.org O Burkina Faso: Discussions are ongoing with the Ministry of Agriculture, France and the EU to develop an FSMS. Activities to start in early Contact: paola.dossantos@wfp.org O Rwanda: initial groundwork is underway for a nutrition monitoring system, which will fit into the framework of the FSMS, which will be set up in the coming months. Contact: kiganzi.nyakato@wfp.org O Uganda: the FSMS covering the North East of the country should be launched by the end of the year. Contact: mark.gordon@wfp.org or juvenal.kisanga@wfp.org For information on pre-crisis studies and monitoring systems, contact joyce.luma@wfp.org, ODAV Chief 4. Methods and tools Dietary Diversity and Frequency study: As part of WFP s objective to improve its needs assessment methods, SENAC is exploring the use of an indicator that could adequately estimate the severity of household food insecurity. The approach developed so far, called the Household food consumption approach uses dietary diversity (food

4 group items consumed) and food consumption frequency (how often the food items are consumed) as indicators of food insecurity. SENAC is tendering a study to fine-tune the approach and address remaining issues. The study will clarify which are the most appropriate food groups or individual food items that best identify food insecurity and vulnerability; review the benefits and limits of applying given weights to food groups or food items; examine the seasonality of dietary diversity, food consumption and acquisition patterns; and ascertain the validity and feasibility of applying a unique cut-off to the dietary diversity and food consumption data to describe the household food security situation in all countries, population groups and crises. For more information, contact agnes.dhur@wfp.org, SENAC Methodology Specialist or simon.renk@wfp.org, Assistant Programme Officer. Cash in emergencies and transition: The report of a three-day technical meeting on cash transfers, organised by ODAN and PDPS (Social Protection and Livelihoods Service, Policy Division) in Addis Ababa in early October is now available. On the basis of several pilot projects conducted by WFP, the workshop reviewed how ENAs can best assess the suitability and comparative advantage of cash transfer options, discuss the relative impact of cash transfer and food aid on household food security and the institutional/operational issues to be considered during the design and implementation of cash schemes. Some of the insights are: cash may be more appropriate when markets work adequately, when food is available and affordable, and prices are stable and predictable. Also, cash transfers are usually spent primarily on food. The workshop acknowledged several knowledge gaps (for example on scaling up, nutritional impact, exit strategies, delivery mechanisms and complementarity between food and cash). Next step: an Interim Directive on cash transfers will be developed to help design and implement additional cash pilot projects. For more information, contact anette.haller@wfp.org, ODAN Programme Adviser. Composite Global Vulnerability Index: ODAV is working on a Composite Global Vulnerability Index based on several independent indices such as country socio-economic situation, national response capacity, food consumption levels, health situation, child vulnerability, disasters and avian flu risk, poverty and income distribution. This index provides a ranking of countries in terms of their overall vulnerability and could be useful for identifying and prioritizing countries that may be at high risk of food insecurity and vulnerability. For more information contact, arif.husain@wfp.org, VAM Officer. 5. Capacity building Upcoming Emergency Food Security Assessments (EFSA) trainings: basic skills training will take place in Guinea Conakry (13-18 November), Zambia (18-22 December), Malawi (9-12 January), Mozambique (22-16 January). A training session is also planned for NGOs in Bonn (11-15 December). For more information on EFSA trainings, contact charisse.tillman@wfp.org, ODAN Programme Officer. Capacity Building Strategy for ODK (regional bureau in Kampala): The East and Central Africa Regional bureau is developing a capacity building and EFSA & VAM learning strategy for the region. A work plan is now being prepared (6 November - 20 December). The strategy aims to address existing assessment-related skill gaps identified recently in ODK. This region (responsible for 11 countries) covers more assessments per operation that any other region and has fewer high level assessment staff per assessment. For more information, contact naouar.labidi@wfp.org or scott.ronchini@wfp.org or charisse.tillman@wfp.org. First quantitative analysis training: ODAN and ODAV organised their first joint training to strengthen the quantitative analysis skills of staff who are frequently involved in EFSAs, CFSVAs, FSMS and related activities that require strong statistical competence. This initiative is part of the German-funded project which aims to strengthen the skills of advanced assessors. 12 field staff participated in this session that took place in Rome from 24 to 27 October. The training consisted of a recap of basic statistics and the use of the SPSS software, sampling tools and techniques, numerous analyses for continuous and categorical variables and a session on questionnaires. Future trainings of this kind at the basic and advanced levels are planned for early For more information on trainings, contact anette.haller@wfp.org, ODAN Programme Adviser.

5 6. Staff news Simon Renk has joined ODAN as a German JPO on 2 October. Simon will be involved in following up SENAC s market activities and the upcoming diet-diversity study. Simon previously worked for FAO's Investment Centre assisting Caribbean countries in preparing National Food Security Investment Programs. Simon also brings in professional experience from IFAD, the European Commission and the private sector. He holds a degree in Agricultural Engineering and a Masters in International Relations focusing on food security. Welcome Simon! 7. SENAC meetings Next SENAC Steering Committee: The 7th Steering Committee meeting that brings together members of the SENAC team and donors will take place on November in Rome. An update of the project as well the work plan for 2007 will be discussed. For more information contact, darlene.tymo@wfp.org, SENAC Senior Project Coordinator. 8. ODA Global meeting Ensuring early detection and response to food crises : the report of the first global ODA workshop that took place in July in Kampala is now available. The goal of the workshop was to harmonize and strengthen the processes and tools of the Analysis, Assessment and Preparedness Service to ensure the early detection, preparation for, and effective responses to food security emergencies. The ODA priorities for the coming months are: a process review of ODA key functions and how they need to support decision-making, ensuring effective communication in the ODA network, standardizing CFSVA, FSMS and ENAs, ensuring that early warning alerts drive preparedness actions and resource allocations across WFP, and obtaining a clearer picture of skill gaps, training needs and opportunities. For more information on the meeting, please contact, tobias.flaemig@wfp.org, ODAV Programme Officer. * If you would prefer not to receive future updates please us at odan_info@wfp.org with the subject heading "SENAC E-letter unsubscribe". For more information about 'The Assessor' contact: caroline.chaumont@wfp.org, SENAC Communications Officer.