Organization of American States Meeting of the Committee on Hemispheric Security Washington, 23 October 2007 Latin America & the Caribbean Forging Partnerships in Preparing for and Responding to Natural Disaster in Latin America & the Caribbean Delivered by: Gordana Jerger Deputy Regional Director United Nations World Food Programme Latin America and the Caribbean Regional Bureau

About WFP Forging Partnerships in Preparing for and Responding to Natural Disaster in Latin America & the Caribbean WFP in Latin America Emergency Preparedness and Response OAS & WFP- Forging Partnership 1.Analysis and Knowledge on Disaster Reduction, Mitigation and Management / Emerging Issues – Contribution to Public PoliciesAnalysis and Knowledge on Disaster Reduction, Mitigation and Management / Emerging Issues – Contribution to Public Policies 2.Operational Preparedness: EPR Knowledge, Capacities and Systems DevelopmentOperational Preparedness: EPR Knowledge, Capacities and Systems Development 3.Operational Coordination and Support in Disaster ResponseOperational Coordination and Support in Disaster Response

/2007 WFP at a Glance WFP is the United Nations frontline agency in the fight against global hunger and the largest humanitarian agency worldwide Founded in 1963; Governed by an Executive Board, consisting of 36 Member States of the United Nations and FAO Relies entirely on voluntary contributions Decentralized structure: some 80 country offices, 6 Regional Bureaux, 9 liaison offices, 5 support offices and HQ in Rome Double mandate - operations aim to: meet emergency needs support economic & social development WFP works to put hunger at the centre of the international agenda, promoting policies, strategies and operations that directly benefit the poor and hungry

/2007 The Reality of Hunger Over 850 million people worldwide face hunger, more than the populations of USA, Canada and the European Union combined Over 52 million people suffer from hunger and undernutrition in LAC Hunger and undernutrition are the main cause of mortality in the region Natural and man-made disasters perpetuate the intergenerational hunger cycle

/2007 WFPs Strategic Objectives Save lives in crisis situations, protect livelihoods and enhance resilience to shocks Support the improved nutrition and health status of children, mothers and other vulnerable people Support access to education and reduce gender disparity in access to education and skills training Strengthen countries and regions capacities to establish and manage food-assistance and hunger reduction / eradication programmes

/2007 Programme Categories WFP operates through various four programme categories: Emergency Operations (EMOP) Protracted Relief and Recovery Operations (PRRO) Development Operations (Development Projects and Country Programmes) Special Operations All WFP operations are funded on a voluntary basis

/2007 WFP in Figures, 2006 Operational activities in 78 countries 88 million beneficiaries including 59 million children Of these, 64 million beneficiaries in emergency and recovery operations Total expenditure: US$ 2.9 billion A total of 4 million metric tons of food delivered by land, sea & air Total number of employees: 12,000 3,200 international and local NGOs partners

/2007 WFP in Latin America & the Caribbean Field network 12 country offices 33 sub-offices over 1,000 partners incl. national and local counterparts 6 million beneficiaries on average / year Regional Bureau in Panama

/2007 Strategic Focus in LAC TWO MAIN PILLARS: Advocacy and Support to Governments in Eradicating Child Chronic Undernutrition (i.e. the hunger side of Millennium Development Goal 1) Disaster Preparedness and Response - enhancing resilience through capacity development efforts and initiatives at the national and regional level The impact of disasters compounds the pre-existent vulnerability, perpetuating the cycle of hunger and food insecurity Cross-cutting aspects Strategic alliances with national and regional institutions and international organizations (OAS, SICA, CDERA, ISDR, UN, OPS, AGCI, White Helmets) Public policy development and standard setting initiatives Emphasis on institutional capacity development at local, national &regional level

/2007 WFP s Areas of Excellence in Emergency Preparedness and Response (EPR) in LAC Extensive presence at field level (knowledge of local context) Public policies on food security and nutrition At the heart of the UN System in emergencies Food security analysis and nutritional surveillance systems Vulnerability analysis and risk mapping (VAM) Early warning, contingency planning, operational response Logistics management and coordination Development of innovative IM systems

/2007 UN Humanitarian Response Depots (UNHRD) and LACERN Network Latin America and the Caribbean Emergency Response Network GHANA BRINDISI DUBAI PANAMA Ecuador Barbados El Salvador MALAYSIA LACERN

Logistics Support Floods - May 06 Logistics Support Floods - Dec 06 Logistics Support Floods – May 07 Needs Assessment Frosts in Highlands - Aug 07 Logistics Support & Assessment Earthquake – Aug 07 Logistics Support & Needs Assessment Hurricane Felix - Aug 07 Assessment Support Floods - Nov 06 Logistics Support Floods - Feb 05 Logistics Support Hurricane Dean - Aug 07 Needs Assessment Hurricane Stan - Oct 05 EPR Capacity Development Activities & Emergency Preparedness and Response, EFSA Training Warehouse and Commodity Management Training Central America Preparedness Workshop Food Security and Nutritional Surveillance Workshop EFSA Training EFSA training Warehouse and Commodity Management Training EFSA Training WFP Strengthening Capacities in EPR

/2007 WFP s Responses to Natural Disasters LAC, WhenCountry / EventPeople Reached January 2005Bolivia – Drought525,000 January 2005Guyana – Floods20,000 April 2005Cuba – Drought636,400 April 2005Cuba – Hurricane109,800 April 2005Peru – Frosts81,200 September 2005Honduras – Hurricane149,000 October 2005El Salvador – Hurricane Stan & Volcanic Eruption181,000 October 2005Guatemala – Hurricane Stan160,000 October 2005Nicaragua – Hurricane and Rat Plague16,500 May 2006Suriname – FloodsTechnical assistance December 2006El Salvador – Seismic Swarm9,000 February 2007Bolivia – Floods90,000 August 2007Peru – Earthquake100,000 August 2007Belize & Jamaica – Hurricane Dean10,500 September 2007Nicaragua – Hurricane Felix80,000 TOTAL2,160,400

/2007 HURRICANE DEAN AUGUST 2007 Support to Latest Emergencies: Hubs Activated, Governments Engaged, Roster Staff Deployed HURRICANE FELIX SEPTEMBER 2007 PERUVIAN EARTHQUAKE AUGUST 2007 Recent Response Operations in support to LAC Countries Functioning hubs and triangular cooperation

/2007

OAS & WFP - Areas of Potential Collaboration in EPR 1.Analysis and Knowledge on Disaster Reduction, Mitigation and Management / Emerging Issues – Contribution to Public Policies Disaster Risk Reduction and Mitigation Disaster Preparedness and Response in Emergencies Food and Nutritional Security in Emergencies Climate Change Issues

/2007 OAS & WFP - Areas of Potential Collaboration in EPR 2. Operational Preparedness: EPR Knowledge, Capacities and Systems Development Disaster Early Warning Systems Contingency and Operational Planning Logistics Capacity Assessments Vulnerability Analysis and Mapping (VAM) Food and Nutrition Monitoring Systems Hazard and Risk Mapping systems and services Emergency Needs Assessments Information Management Training, Capacity building, Simulations and Best practice

/ Operational Coordination and Support in Disaster Response Emergency and Recovery Needs Assessments Food Security Emergency Response and Rehabilitation Operations Logistics Coordination and Commodity Tracking (Food and Non-Food) Information Management Civil-Military Interface, Support and Coordination OAS & WFP - Areas of Potential Collaboration in EPR

Organization of American States Meeting of the Committee on Hemispheric Security Washington, 23 October 2007 Latin America & the Caribbean Forging Partnerships in Preparing for and Responding to Natural Disaster in Latin America & the Caribbean Delivered by: Gordana Jerger Deputy Regional Director United Nations World Food Programme Latin America and the Caribbean Regional Bureau