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Welcome to Cluster 6 - Food Security section of the UN Iraq Web Portal.

The purpose of this section is to provide information on activities related to Food Security, undertaken by the United Nations and its partners. 

General information on the Cluster

Food security in Iraq:

In Iraq, years of war, sanctions, and a dysfunctional economy have created an environment where food insecurity persists for a large part of the population. All Iraqis have been receiving a monthly food entitlement for the last 13 years through the so-called public distribution system (PDS) and a large part of the population is totally dependent on the ration.

The Ministry of Trade (MoT) is responsible for the distribution of the PDS rations to the population through a network of 44,000 food agents. Since 1996 food items have been sourced through the Oil-for-Food Programme. WFP’s emergency operation after the war ended in May 2003 involved the procurement of 2.1 million mt of food in six months and has ensured the continuity to the PDS chain of supply. WFP support to the PDS continued in 2004 with the procurement of 1.6 million mt of food commodities and capacity building initiatives for MoT staff. This ensured the continuation of the targeted food rations for all Iraqis, thus preventing the deterioration of the population’s nutritional status.

How Food Security is taken into account in the 2004 UN strategy for Iraq?

The UN’s country team strategy for assistance to Iraq in 2004 builds on the findings of the UNDAG/WB Needs Assessment exercise presented at the Madrid donors conference in October 2003. The UN Strategic Plan, presented at the Abu Dhabi donors conference in February 2004 is based on a system of 10 clusters, which includes Food Security.

What are the major challenges?

The Food Security cluster involves a long-term challenge to ensure sustainable food security for the most vulnerable groups among the Iraqi population. The cluster focuses on the promotion of efficient ‘safety nets’ and the provision of technical assistance to counterparts in managing the PDS.  

What are the activities the Food Security Cluster will carry out in 2004?

A number of activities are currently ongoing to ensure that the goals are met. They include the following:

•  A collaboration between WFP and the World Bank to address the issue of food security and the protection of the most vulnerable groups in the context of a PDS reform;

• ntroduction of ‘Safety Net’ activities, including the implementation of WFP-promoted school feeding and supplementary feeding projects;

• Poverty and food security assessment and analysis by the Vulnerability Analysis and Mapping Unit (VAM) of WFP to ensure identification and appropriate targeting of the most vulnerable in terms of food security.

IThe WFP/VAM Baseline Food Security Study, carried out in partnership with the Ministry of Planning and Development Cooperation/Central Statistic Office and the Ministry of Health/Nutrition Research Institute, indicates that 25 percent of the population would become food insecure without the PDS ration. At present, some 11 percent is food insecure even with the PDS.

Based on the finding of the study, WFP, together with MoH and MoE has recently launched a new project, aimed at establishing safety nets (supplementary feeding, school feeding) targeting the most vulnerable to food insecurity. The project will concentrate on districts where extreme poverty and malnutrition rates are particularly high. The food aid will be complemented with training and capacity building in food security and vulnerability analysis. The project will target 3.4 million beneficiaries and will cover activities until end of August 2005. The entry point for WFP’s intervention will be two national programmes already existing in Iraq, the Targeted Nutrition Programme (TNP) and the National Tuberculosis Programme (NTP). WFP will collaborate closely with UNICEF and WHO which are also supporting these two programmes.

Partners of the Food Security Cluster:

WFP, FAO, UNICEF, WHO, the World Bank, Iraq’s Ministry of Planning and Development Cooperation, the Ministry of Health, Ministry of Education, NGOs and major donor countries are partners in the cluster, which is managed  by WFP. The cluster is also working very closely with other clusters in the area of Health/Nutrition, IDPs/Refugees, Poverty Reduction, and Education.

Cluster Manager:   Tarek El Guindi
Email address: tarek.elguindi@wfp.org

Deputy Cluster Manager: Marcello Lada--Jada
Email address: Marcello.Ladio-Jada@wfp.org

Documents
Library of Food Security related information - containing repots, assessments and related information.

Food Security Sector Coordination Meetings Minutes

Note!  Questions / suggestions concerning the content of this section can be directed to the UNAMI Office in Amman through the feedback form
 

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