Deborah Saidy is the Director of the New York Liaison Office of the United Nations World Food Program since 2006. She has been working for the World Food Program for ten years, serving in South Africa, Uganda and the organization’s Rome headquarters.


1/ My first question is the following: why this organization?

Well, I am American who was living overseas for nearly 25 years, from 1981 to 2004. During that time I was living in many countries where I saw the WFP in action. For example, I was working with an NGO in Southern Sudan in the early 1980’s and WFP was active there. A few years later, I worked in Ethiopia for four years with the US Agency for International Development and again saw WFP assisting people affected by the drought. I was always very impressed it was a very results oriented- type of organization. It had people on the ground in some of the most difficult and remote areas of countries, where people are often the most vulnerable. So it just seemed like a very field oriented organization and that appealed to me.


2/ My research at Global Action on Aging is focused on older persons caught in armed conflicts and emergency situations. The World Assembly on Aging adopted in 2002 the Madrid Plan of Action on Ageing. This plan declared that in emergency situations, such as natural disasters, older persons are especially “vulnerable” and should be identified as such. I know that the WFP is one of the only organizations of the UN that gives older persons the specific status of “vulnerable.”

-I would like to know how the World Food Program is implementing procedures for assisting older persons? How does it guarantee equal access to them for food?

What is important to understand is about 90% of our activity is humanitarian and 10% is development. We are really working with people who are living in very difficult circumstances.  So whether it is the result of a conflict situation or because of natural disasters, people affected by or recovering from crises form the majority of those we are assisting.  And whether it is displacement because of armed conflicts or whether it is a natural disaster that hit, these kinds of situations don’t discriminate in terms of people’s age or gender. The tsunami, for example, affected everyone who was living in certain areas of the numerous countries hit by the disaster.  Among those people who lost their lives or were displaced, at least temporarily, and without any kind of support network were: young people,  people who were middle aged and the elderly.  So in that sense, when we go into an area that has been affected by a crisis we are not going in with a preconception of who is affected. We try to understand what the dynamics are, what the coping mechanisms are. And certainly if there are households that are headed by the elderly which are vulnerable we would just include them in our assessments and  in our overall operations. At the community level, there is solidarity between generations: young people may help deliver food to the elderly if they are not able to move away from their homes. In Southern Africa, Lesotho, Swaziland, where the impact of HIV/AIDS is very severe, some surveys have noted that households headed by the elderly are among those which are food insecure. Some grand-parents have to act as caretakers for their grand-children orphaned by the crisis.
 

 -Could you tell me a little bit more about the Emergency Needs Assessment (ENAs) the WFP conducts?

The Emergency Needs Assessment (ENAs) is a way to determine the different types of food insecurity and assistance requirements. It is a means to know who is vulnerable, who is not. It is essential for us to use the best information available to target who needs to receive food and to determine the duration of time that support will be required.
 

3/ Recently I read an article from IRIN, reporting some food cuts for HIV positive people in Burundi. It was decided that HIV positive people are not automatically vulnerable because of their disease. Guillaume Foliot, the program manager for WFP told IRIN: “the fact of being HIV positive in itself does not make one vulnerable -many people can carry on working and can purchase food, whereas people in northern Burundi (who are worst affected by food insecurity) sometimes have literally nothing to eat.”

This statement seems contradict some WFP principles. As WFP’s Regional Director for Southern Africa Amir Abdullah said, “anti-retroviral therapy is not effective on an empty stomach.”

It poses the very difficult question of defining the “vulnerable”- how does the WFP manage this? Facing situations as in Burundi where the lacks of food and funding are so great, how does the WFP give the priority to some people even among the “vulnerable”? What criteria are used to determine who are the most in need?

It is a true dilemma. The resources available are used to provide for those most in need.We know that adequate nutrition is an important component of effective anti-retroviral treatment. What my colleague may mean is that some HIV/AIDS affected people may have money to buy food whereas some people not affected by HIV/AIDS could have literally no resources at all to meet their basic food needs.  The latter constitute the priority. We provide assistance based on food insecurity, not HIV/AIDS status. But it is a real challenge in terms of severe funding shortfalls. Some people could really need aid and we are not able to help them. For instance, in Zambia, we have to scale back on some of our assistance activities because of lack of funds.

 

4- In North Korea, a dramatic humanitarian crisis is occurring. The issue of starvation is raised. How does the WFP tackle this situation, especially with diplomatic complications when North Korea rejected the aid?

We have been active in North Korea for the last 10 years. It has been one of WFP’s largest operations, assisting as many as 6 million people some years ago. Currently, our program there tries to help 1.9 million people. It is a challenging environment, for sure, but whatever the political situation, if the food needs exist, our staff is working to address them. Our main focus is not on the political situation but rather the fact that we are unable to presently meet the needs of all vulnerable populations due to severe underfunding.

 

5/ In October 2006, a WFP article from reported that because of funding shortage 4.3 million southern Africans were facing food crises.

How does the fundraising work? Who are the major donors, UN country members? Private donors? You must face many political issues in your fight against hunger. For instance, corruption in developing countries could lead to the following situation: that a government creates or amplifies a food crisis in order to receive international help and uses this help towards completely different gains. Does this happen?

In 2007, the WFP plans to feed 77 million people, which will require about 3 billion dollars. Our big challenge is definitely to mobilize the level of resources required. We are 100% voluntarily funded. The bulk of our contributions come from Member States. We really try to continue to expand this donor base. From 2002 to 2006, that base grew from 56 to 92 Member States. Beyond the donations, it is really a sign given by those who donate of their commitment in terms of collective responsibility to tackling the hunger challenge. Also, we receive some contributions from the public and the private sector as well. Some companies offer their help not only by cash but also with expertise, such as TNT in the Netherlands or the Boston Consulting Group.

About the situation of corruption, you have to remember that when there is an appeal to the international community for assistance, this usually comes not only from the Government but from also the partners who are working in that country. There are established needs assessment processes to determine the numbers of people affected in any particular situation.  In fact, we are working together with UNHCR, UNICEF, FAO and others on needs assessments. The partnership with NGOs is a major one too. On the ground the WFP is working with about 2,200 NGOs. Our staff is on the ground, moving with the food to the affected areas, monitoring the aid.  Our logistical capacities are huge. We have trucks on the roads, planes in the air, boats on the seas at all times. We are present in the affected areas as well to ensure that the food reaches those who need it most.   
                                 

6/ What about WFP's work in armed conflict situations. How does the organization manage the insecurity? How does the organization cope with the complications, such as food convoys stopped by rebels?

This is a real challenge. Security conditions affect many organizations, not just WFP.  Today, situations in Sudan, in eastern Chad, in Somalia are very challenging. The WFP takes as many reasonable precautions as it can. All of our staff undergo security awareness training. It is not only international staff but also our national staffs who face very high risks too. Situations can be really frustrating; when, sometimes, we are unable to reach people with desperate needs.
 

7/ How would you answer critics who claim that because of the emergency situations, the WFP may create some long term dependence- the food assistance destroying local agricultural productions?  

Let’s take a drought situation, in Ethiopia or Somalia, for example.  We are facing immediate food aid needs. The reality is that emergencies need quick responses. Of course, a long term approach is also essential. It is not an either/or situation. That’s why it is important to work together with other actors such as FAO, which focuses more on the long term agricultural production. It always should be a two-track approach: meet the immediate needs and also support efforts to strengthen long term agriculture production and livelihood issues. But the fact is that while in emergencies the first priority is to provide immediate relief to people who face starvation, tackling global hunger requires a sustained commitment. And this issue needs to be tackled if we want to reach the Millennium Development Goals.