Food, fertilizer, pumps, trucks ... emergency needs of 20 countries.

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The following summary reports were prepared by OEOA on the basis of information gathered by United Nations system representatives in the countries concerned, in consultation with host Governments and local representatives of major donor programmes.

The number of people severely affected by food shortages is based on information provided by Governments concerned and on field observations. Food requirements listed are not solely for those severely affected beneficiaries, but also reflect the deficit in the known minimum import requirements of each country.

Angola: Unmet needs total $33.7 million, with emphasis on northern, central and southern provinces.

Sharp decreases in rainfall in January 1985 now seriously affect the prospects for the next harvest in the central and northern provinces. Consequently total food-stocks already largely insufficient as a result of the 1981 severe drought and adverse climatic conditions in subsequent years continue to cause concern. Disruption of communication and marketing structures caused by the political/military situation also continues and, to a great extent, still prevents a satisfactory recovery from the effects of the 1981 drought.

In the northern, central and southern provinces, the number of people severely affected by food shortages is estimated at 500,000.

It is expected that, despite average rainfall in most of the country, the forthcoming harvest will not cover the country's 1985/86 food consumption needs because of structural problems and civil strife.

During the 1984 drought, many farmers were forced to eat, or because of civil strife never produced, much of the seed needed for the 1985 agricultural campaign.

About 50 per cent of all deaths in Luanda are due to acute diarrhoea complicated by measles, acute respiratory infections, malaria and tetanus. The severity of infectious diseases and high death rates are in part further complicated by severe malnutrition.

Contrary to common belief, Angola is not warm and humid year round; during winter, temperatures can drop to below 10 degrees centigrade. Provincial meteorological stations have recorded winter temperatures of 3.3 degrees in Cuando-Cubango, 8.0 degrees in Bie and, 7.9 degrees in Huila and Huambo. The cold poses particular difficulty for displaced populations who are often malnourished and living in flimsy temporary shelters.

Burkina Faso: Unmet needs total $68.2 million, especially for northern provinces. Although late rains allowed the planting of off-season cash crops and some food crops in various lowlying areas, this has not significantly reduced the overall cereal deficit. In several areas, particularly in the north, complete crop failures have been reported. Throughout the country, some 500,000 people are seriously affected.

As a result of continuing food shortages over a number of years, there has been a marked deterioration in the health and nutritional status of the population in general and of vulnerable groups in particular. Cold nights and early mornings during the forthcoming rainy season will, unless vulnerable groups are provided with shelter materials and blankets, contribute to a further deterioration in their health.

Continuing deterioration of railcars and locomotives and lack of maintenance are serious problems affecting rail transport. By road, if trucks are available, capacity is about 2,000 tons per month. Lome is a small port, therefore shipments have to be well timed to prevent delays occurring.

Chad: Unmet needs total $125.4 million countrywide.

Continuing drought and political and military disturbances have resulted in extremely unfavourable crop projections. Aggregate production is expected to be about one half of consumption. Lake Chad has shrunk to one tenth of its 1960 volume, with surface water reduced from an average of 35,000 square kilometres to 2,500-3,000 square kilometres. The Chari river's flow has been reduced from an average maximum at peak flood times of 3,400 cubic metres/second to 780 cubic metres/second during the 1984 rainy season.

Agriculture has also been disrupted by the forced migration of many farming communities, displaced both because of drought and civil strife and now entirely dependent on international aid assistance for survival. The population of the capital, N'Djamena, has swollen with some 70,000 additional displaced people. An estimated 1,000 people per month, mainly children, are reported dying of malnutrition and related diseases; this number will increase as the dry season advances. Of the total population of 4.4 million people, over 1.5 million are reported to be seriously affected by the current drought and military situation.

An intensive feeding programme for 500,000 children over a six-month period, involving 15,300 tons of high protein commodities, has been initiated with WFP assistance and new commitments are imminent.

Several agencies and NGOs are already helping people to resettle and to grow their own food. These efforts must be expanded considerably; all recent missions to Chad to assess the plight of the farming population have concluded that the next harvest--at the end of 1985--will be practically non-existent unless major support is provided in the form of seeds, basic agricultural tools and appropriate technical assistance.

The cumulative effects of war and drought require immediate, widespread intervention in the fields of health and nutritional recuperation to guarantee the survival of the most vulnerable groups. The rehabilitation of the medical infrastructure destroyed during past conflicts requires urgent programming for reconstruction of key hospitals, health centres, dispensaries and infirmaries.

Mali: Unmet needs total $159.5 million, especially for Timbuktu, Gao and Mopti.

As a result of drought "of unprecedented duration and magnitude", six administrative subregions of Mali have been severely affected. Major reductions in agricultural output and extensive damage to pastures and domestic cattle have been particularly severe in the regions of Timbuktu, Gao and Mopti, which suffered most in 1984.

Aggregate food production of cereals is expected nationally to be far below average. In some cases the harvest is expected to be 50 per cent below normal. More than 1.2 million people, 50 to 60 per cent of the population of affected areas, are severely affected, with 95,000 of these forced to migrate from their farming communities in search of assistance.

Mauritania: Unmet needs total $41.6...