MANAGEMENT OF
FOOD AND NUTRITION RESPONSES
IN EMERGENCY
MoUS RELEVANT TO FOOD/NUTRITION PROGRAMS
UNHCR/WFP: Intervention mandates, needs assessment,
registration, logistics, distribution, monitoring & reporting,
coordination mechanisms.
UNHCR/WHO: cooperation in coordinated contingency
planning, development of joint methods for assessing health
& nutrition situation, development of guidelines & training
materials, development of applied research, & integration of
beneficiary health care activities within national (host
country) health services.
UNICEF /WFP: needs assessment, monitoring, &
evaluation of services in nutrition, health care, water,
sanitation, child protection, & other social services.
UNICEF provides therapeutic foods and nonfood
items, emergency shelter, nutrition monitoring, &
selective feeding operations.
WFP/FAO: monitor food security & early warning
possible food crises; assessment of food situations
crises with long-term effects on production & supply;
& provision of emergency & recovery needs .
SPHERE 2004 MINIMUM STANDARDS FOR
FOOD AND NUTRITION IN EMERGENCIES
Standards available for:
1. Food Security
2. General Nutrition Support & Correction of Malnutrition
3. Food Aid Planning & Management
Food Security Standards
General Food security: access to adequate & appropriate
food & non-food items to ensures survival, prevents erosion
of assets and upholds their dignity.
Primary Production: Primary production mechanisms are
protected & supported.
Income & employment: Where IGAs & employment are
feasible livelihood strategies, people have access to
appropriate IGAs to generate income & contribute to food
security without jeopardising resources on which livelihoods
are based.
Access to markets: Safe access to market goods & services
is protected & promoted
General Nutrition Support and Correction of Malnutrition
•All Groups: Nutritional needs of the population are met.
•At-risk groups:Nutrition & support needs of at-risk grps met
•Moderate malnutrition: Moderate malnutrition is addressed
•Severe Malnutrition: Severe malnutrition is addressed.
•Micronutrient Malnutrition: Deficiencies are addressed.
Food Aid Planning and Management Standards
Ration planning: Rations for GFD meet food deficits.
Appropriateness & acceptability: Food basket items are
appropriate & acceptable to recipients & can be used efficiently
at hh level.
Food quality & safety: Food is of appropriate quality & safe
for consumption.
Food Handling: Storage, preparation & consumption are safe
& appropriate at all levels.
Supply Chain Management: Food aid resources managed,
using transparent & responsive systems.
Targeting & Distribution: F/distribution method is responsive
transparent, equitable & appropriate to local conditions
EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT
“the organization of capacities & resources to meet
threats to the lives and well-being of refugees/IDP
and other affected populations
Capacities: planning, staffing, structure, systems,
procedures, guidelines, information flow,
communication, decision-making & support)
Resources: availability of the right resources at the
right time
Distinguishing features of management in emergency
•The lives and well being of people are at stake;
•Reaction time is short;
•Risk factors are high & consequences of mistakes or
delays can be disastrous;
•There is great uncertainty;
•Contingency planning &other preparedness activities are
crucial;
•Staff & managers may be stressed due to, e.g, security
problems & harsh living conditions;
•There is no single obvious right answer.
EMERGENCY PREPAREDNESS (CONTINGENCY PLANNING)
Steps in contingency planning:
•
1.
Hazard & risk analysis: list hazards/events that threaten
food security and/or implementation of ongoing assistance
operations.
•
2.
Contingency priontization: assess probability & likely
outcome of each hazard & select those for which specific plans
should be prepared (e.g. the most probable and the worst-case).
•
3. Scenario building: for each contingency, describe (use
assumptions ) likely outcomes & situation that would be faced.
•
4.
Contingency plan preparation: define what agencies need to
do to respond to each scenario and how the response would be
organized (see elements)
•
5. Preparedness actions & updating the plan: take specific actions
to enhance preparedness; review analysis & plan(s) regularly, &
Describing a scenario Make specific planning assumptions:
Location(s)/area(s) that are expected to be affected;
No.& characteristics of people expected to be affected;
Impact on production, markets & access, coping ways;
Likely depletion rate of household stocks;
Period during which assistance may be required;
Assistance actions expected from governments & others;
Availability and capacities of implementing partners;
Expected constraints on logistic/delivery systems;
Security situation and any constraints on movements.
Elements of contingency plan: For each scenario, define:
Programme strategy: objectives, beneficiaries, types of
intervention, rations & relief needs.
Implementation arrangements for: immediate response,
assessment, distribution, implementing partners,
monitoring and reporting, & external coordination
Sources of food: markets, WFP stocks, other agencies
Logistic : transport routes, storage & special operations
Telecommunications systems
Internal (WFP) management and arrangements for:
offices, staff, transport, training & security
Budget items
KEY EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT FUNCTIONS
Four (4) key functions required of relief agencies &
individuals for successful management of emergencies:
1. Leading,
2. Planning,
3. Organizing and coordinating;
4. Controlling.
All important not only during emergency response, but also in
the preparedness phase
1). Leading : “Process of creating & communicating a
vision for emergency operation, & providing a clear
strategic direction for actions even in situations of
great uncertainty and risk”.

Someone must make decisions for
implementation – the officer in charge (OIC)
2). Planning : “setting in place the process of
assessing the situation, defining immediate objectives
& longer term goals & activities to accomplish them”.
Planning must be based on detailed needs &
3). Organizing and Coordinating: This is :
“establishing systems & mechanisms to achieve
objectives, & coordinating pple & organizations to
work together, in a logical way, towards the common
objective”.
It involves selecting, training & supervising staff,
assigning & clarifying roles & responsibilities &
structuring com.& info flow.
4). Controlling : This is “monitoring and evaluating
performance in comparison with plans and initiating
changes where necessary”.
MANAGEMENT IN FOOD AID AND SFPs
1.
Food habits & consumption
Staple food should be culturally acceptable & popn. know &
can process & prepare the food . In SFP, actual consumption
must be checked in order to:
•Adapt theoretical calculation of food needs to actual needs
•Compare consumption with # of beneficiaries to control
cooking & losses of food
2). Food processing :Flour preferred at f1st stages, or local
milling capacity available (ration includes milling cost and
losses, ~10 –20. This is not considered in most emergencies!.
3). Quality control and specifications
A system should be in place for quality control to ensure GFD
ration is of good quality, safe for human consumption & meets
required specifications.
4). When Commodities are insufficient
These options may be adopted but beneficiaries must be kept
fully informed:
§
-Give equal share to all beneficiaries (i.e. reduce
rations);
§
- Give more to most vulnerable & small ration to
others;
Short term Commodity Substitution
Blended food and beans
1 to 1
Sugar and oil
2 to 1
Cereals and beans
2 to 1
Cereals for oil
3 to 1
(Not oil for cereals)
Starting & phasing out Selective Feeding Programs
Many guidelines exists!
'selective feeding (therapeutic and supplementary) is a low
priority & should only be undertaken in a life-threatening
emergency once, access to an adequate general ration have
been established...'
“SFPs are recommended for all vulnerable grps as a
preventive measure when GFD rations are inadequate, but
priority should be to restore an adequate food supply &
that preventive SFPs should only be implemented for a
short period of time.
Factors to consider as a guide in SFP:
 Nutritional assessment (Anthropometry, crop harvest
& nutritional decline in the community)
 Access to own food sources (and seasonality)
• Political and resource factors
 Composition of food basket in GFD
 GFD ration availability. SFPs not recommended if
ration is inadequate due to:
• Ration dilution because of sharing of food
• GFD agencies may delay adequate ration, increasing
error of inclusion
Registration of beneficiaries includes:
Identification : Bracelet #, name, age, sex, parents
name, address/section of camp/village.
Health indicators : Admission weight, height, W/H%,
clinical signs of maln.(oedema, vitamin deficiencies,
etc.), other medical remarks.
Attendance indicators: Admission, present, absent,
defaulter, discharged, death
Calculation of Beneficiaries
GFD: Use formula for calculating food requirements
Ration (quantity)/person/day g) x Total beneficiaries x Days
of planned distribution/1,000,000 = Total MT food required
TFP: Total = Total population <5years x % severe acute
malnutrition
Targeted SFP: Total = Total popn. <5 years x % moderate
acute malnutrition
Blanket SFPs: Depends on vulnerable groups being targeted
Calculation of facilities
Max. capacity depends on: staff levels & skills.
•TFP = 1 for every 60-100 malnourished children
•Wet SFP = 1 for every 250 malnourished children
•Dry SFP = 150-200 benef./day of distribution
•
(750 -1000 children/week)
Construction & location: Should be near health facility
using tents or local materials. There should also be
adequate safe water supply within the location.
CHALLENGES IN IMPLEMENTATION &
MANAGEMENT OF FOOD AID
•Security
•(Political) –Government clearance for areas controlled by
rebel movements
•Weather affecting accessibility of affected populations
•Adequate capacity (planning, staffing, structure, systems,
procedures, guidelines, information flow, communication,
decision-making and administrative support)
•Availability of the right resources at the right time.
•Allocation of food aid for GFD Vs restoring livelihoods