UN food agency needs security guarantees for aid workers in besieged enclave, says director

The UN’s World Food Programme has the resources to end starvation in Gaza, but requires security guarantees, executive director Cindy McCain has told The National.

“We have food supplies at the border and will be able to scale up to feed 2.2 million people across Gaza. But we must have security guarantees and sustained access to deliver safely,” Ms McCain said on Thursday.

Food supplies in Gaza have drastically decreased since the war began in October last year.

Aid workers have reported signs of starvation in the northern and central areas of Gaza, and experts say the spread of disease in overcrowded camps of displaced people could be as deadly as the fighting.

Aid convoys are also being denied access to Gaza’s north, meaning civilians can go without food for days.

Ms McCain said the WFP has delivered just five convoys to the north so far this year. “This is nowhere near enough for a crisis of this magnitude.” The WFP was able to provide assistance to almost one million Gazans last month, but “it’s still far below the frequency and quantity of aid that’s necessary”, she added.

The UN estimates that 300,000 people in northern Gaza are largely cut off from aid and at serious risk of famine. But the entire population of the enclave faces severe hunger, Ms McCain said. Resolving this crisis requires the unhindered entry of humanitarian aid and support from the private sector, she added, calling for more “entry points for aid and for safe passage and distribution throughout Gaza”.

Ms McCain said aid efforts are limited by the lack of border crossings and the complex vetting process for lorries at the border. Even when aid enters the enclave, “efforts to set up service points are hampered by bombardments and constantly shifting battle fronts”.

This not only endangers the lives of civilians in Gaza, but also aid workers aiming to help them through the crisis.

The WFP has had to find new ways to co-operate with local partners, including find

ing safe sites for distribution, channelling wheat flour into bakeries so they can resume production, and distributing food supplements to prevent malnutrition in children.

The WFP is requesting $314 million in funding that will let it continue its work in the Palestinian territories until the end of April. Otherwise, Ms McCain said, its operations will face collapse. “The WFP is being forced to drastically cut the size and scope of food, cash and nutrition programmes in around half of its operations because of a major drop in funding,” she said.

Before the war, severe funding shortfalls forced the agency “to suspend assistance for 60 per cent of WFP food aid recipients in Palestine, leaving only 150,000 people receiving reduced rations”.

In the long run, this will lead to the WFP “only helping the hungriest people, which is in turn more expensive and potentially dangerous to the health of millions”, she said.

Ms McCain praised Gulf states for their work with the WFP.

“The GCC leaders and partners have been steadfast supporters and have helped the WFP to continue responding to emergencies, and to support and empower the most vulnerable populations quickly and efficiently,” she said.

Efforts to set up service points are hampered by bombardments and constantly shifting battle fronts

CINDY McCAIN Executive director, WFP