World Food Programme (WFP)

HISTORY AND PRESENT STATUS

The WFP was established in 1961 as the Food Aid Organisation of the United Nations (UN). It became operational in 1963, and is the largest multinational food aid organisation in the world handling approximately one quarter of global food aid. Since its inception WFP has provided assistance to poor and hungry people valued at more than US$18 billion. In 1994 WFP delivered some 2.8 million metric tonnes of food aid which directly benefited more than 50 million people. An Executive Director, Mrs Catherine Bertini who began her term of office in 1992, heads the WFP. The organisation employs some 4000 staff world-wide. Its headquarters are in Rome. The supervision of the programme was vested in the Committee on Food Aid Policies and Programmes (CFA) until the end of 1995. The CFA was replaced by an Executive Board from January 1996

Although South Africa is not a member of the WFP, it contributes to various programmes.

OTHER DEPARTMENTS AND COOPERATING ORGANISATIONS

Department of Agriculture
Department of Trade and Industry
Department of Defence
Department of Health

GENERAL COMMENTS

Prior to 1993 South Africa was excluded from WFP for political reasons. Since then the Minister and Deputy Minister of Agriculture and some of their senior staff have visited the organisation's headquarters. Embassy personnel have monitored WFP meetings as observers. South Africa has contributed to one WFP programme by providing two mineproof vehicles and humanitarian aid for use in Rwanda but has not received food or services from the programme. In 2000, South Africa donated, through the WFP, funds to Eritrea, Ethiopia and Sierra Leone. During the Mozambique floods in 2000, South Africa also donated food and medicines through the WFP to Mozambique.

On the other hand, WFP has shown considerable interest in South Africa to procure goods and services needed to provide food aid to countries mainly north of our country. During the 1992 drought relief operation in southern Africa, WFP had a permanent representative at the Spoornet operations room in Johannesburg.

Potential benefits of WFP membership for South Africa are likely to include the following:

WFP has considered experience with general relief and food aid policy and has a policy affairs service dedicated to developing options for major policy directions for WFP and for food aid in general. This could be a useful source of experience for policy makers who periodically have to deal with localised relief operations including food aid, in South Africa.

WFP's experience via the organisation's main three programmes - development protracted refugees and displaced persons operations, and emergencies - would be invaluable to South African planners and field staff.

South Africans could be trained either through the WFP training programme or by being temporarily involved or employed in specific WFP exercises.

South Africa is a integral part of the southern African food aid equation and, in the long term, stands to benefit from balanced development and improved food security in the sub-region.

Membership of WFP would not only bring South African institutions closer to WFP operations; it would also help them forge closer and, hopefully, more constructive links with related agencies such as UNDHA, UNHCR, UNICEF, FAO and UNDP within the sub-region.

WFP claims to have purchased approximately US$100 million worth of goods and services in South Africa from 1993-1995. The corresponding amount for 1996 to early 1999 is 1157 million US$ of which 85% was spent on commodities and 15% on freight earned by SA transport entities. Over the last seven years WFP has thus on average spent ± 35 million US$ per year in SA. At least half of this has been used to purchase food - mainly maize and maize meal - largely destined to SADC countries. Purchases are likely to increase given the inevitable future food needs of southern Africa, the availability and competitively of some of these items in South Africa, and South Africa's strategic location from a supply point of view. Spoornet is one of WFP's major clients in South Africa.