WFP NEEDS $155 MILLION FOR RWANDA/BURUNDI REGIONAL OPERATION
Press Release
WFP/1028
WFP NEEDS $155 MILLION FOR RWANDA/BURUNDI REGIONAL OPERATION
19960205 ROME, 5 February (WFP) -- The World Food Programme (WFP) today said it needs an additional $155 million to continue providing relief assistance to some 2.4 million Rwandan and Burundi refugees, returnees and internally displaced people.The United States has already pledged 100,000 metric tons out of the total requirement for 1996 of 358,000 tonnes, leaving a shortfall of 258,000 tonnes, the agency said.
In the new appeal for the Great Lakes region of central Africa, the WFP focuses on the return of refugees, their reintegration into their country of origin and rehabilitation activities, which include repairing the economic and environmental damage caused by the refugee crisis in the region.
"Voluntary repatriation is a priority for the refugee assistance programme", said Yohannes Menegesha, WFP Regional Manager for East and Southern Africa.
The WFP plans to assist returnees to Rwanda and Burundi with food packages; they will each receive a two-month supply of food at the transit centres. Under the Programme's regional approach, food required for returnees will be diverted from refugee feeding programmes as people repatriate.
Last year some 200,000 refugees, including those forcibly expelled by the Zairian authorities, returned to Rwanda and Burundi. Although the repatriation in the last quarter of 1995 fell far short of expectations, the WFP and other agencies are optimistic that a significant number of refugees will return in 1996.
Relief assistance will be required form some 1,920,000 Rwandan and Burundi refugees still encamped in Zaire, United Republic of Tanzania and Burundi prior to possible repatriation. The WFP will also provide assistance to some 520,000 displaced people and other vulnerable people in the region.
While vulnerable populations will continue to require emergency assistance in Rwanda, over 65 per cent of WFP activities in that country will be aimed at rehabilitating war-shattered infrastructure and promoting agricultural recovery.
To ensure that food reaches distribution sites, the WFP plans to rehabilitate roads, ports and railways in Burundi, Zaire, Uganda and the
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United Republic of Tanzania at an estimated cost of $7.9 million. The WFP rehabilitation projects will have long-lasting development impact through the planned investment in transport infrastructure.
In 1995, the WFP was responsible for feeding more than 3 million Rwandan and Burundi refugees and internally displaced people, who needed over 50,000 tonnes of emergency food each month at a daily estimated cost of $1 million. Contributions to WFP feeding operations came from the United States, European Union, Canada, Germany, Japan, Netherlands, United Kingdom, Denmark, Italy, Belgium, Sweden, Switzerland and Australia.
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