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UNICEF and the World Food Programme have long disagreed about how to divvy up the responsibilities when it comes to treating the two forms of malnutrition — severe and moderate — and delivery of the different supplements used. I’ve been reporting on the situation for years, but it’s taken on new urgency in light of the over half a billion dollars USAID helped raise last year for ready-to-use therapeutic foods, or RUTFs, which treat severe acute malnutrition.
NGOs are now urging USAID to push the two United Nations agencies responsible for transforming the money into lives saved to overcome yearslong disagreements that threaten to stymie a rare financial opportunity to save more children from starvation. They argue that USAID’s donor role enables it to get the two agencies to settle their differences over roles and responsibilities and ensure the new funding is as effective as possible.
“They’re probably in the most unique position to help bring everybody to the table because they are the biggest funder,” says Maria Kasparian, executive director of Edesia, a nonprofit manufacturer of RUTFs.
But what does USAID think of this push to be a mediator? A staffer who the agency did not authorize to speak with me on the record tells me USAID is at least talking about the problems with the U.N. organizations.
“We’re in the mix with both UNICEF and WFP on a lot of these questions very, very much all the time,” the USAID staffer says.
Dear Colleagues,
ReplyDeleteDoes anyone have background and perspectives on this?
On the face of it, going by the article, this is deeply troubling. Two UN agencies in extended squabbling over who does what when it comes to a lifesaving intervention for children?
I truly hope not. Glad for more information.
Very best to all, Richard
Richard - Yes, very troubling. Teresa Welsh writing in DEVEX has pointed several times to the conflict. I believe the most complete was It's a Power Struggle" which DEVEX published in September 2020
ReplyDeleteShould the UN peacekeepers be called in?
ReplyDeleteBlessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called the sons of God!
ReplyDeleteWe used to look down on WFP. They were the truck driver that fed people. We were the intellectuals who developed integrated nutritional frameworks that fed on one. Perhaps we should get off our high horses and let them feed children.
ReplyDeleteIn my experience, WFP are generally professional and effective, more and more so, as well as increasingly thoughtful and strategic in their work. I was impressed with them even before I joined UNICEF in the mid-80s. If something needs to be worked out to get RUTF to more malnourished children, then please UNICEF take the lead to get it worked out forthwith. WFP is surely not an obstacle, and surely a capable ally.
ReplyDeleteIn the first four years of OLS (Operation Lifeline Sudan), everything except bags of maize were stored in one single storage, including the BP5 (a predecessor of RUTF), no matter who paid for it. Every NGO or UN worker inside Sudan could order anything from the warehouse. It was the UN’s responsibility to ensure that the warehouse didn’t run out of BP5, and to take it to the places where it was needed, and where it was used by the NGOs on the ground. This was long time before the so called UN reform raised its ugly head and forced complicated coordination mechanism onto the UN agencies, which anyway don’t seem to prevent or resolve the ongoing squabble between UNICEF and WFP about who is allowed to purchase RUTF and hence receive the corresponding budgets.
ReplyDeleteDuring our response to the Somalia famine, we had a local agreement/ understanding that UNICEF will respond to severe and acute malnutrition while WFP will address the needs to tackle chronic malnutrition. We did have a moment when we had difficulties with the supply chain since both WFP & ourselves had the same supplier who could not meet the requirements of both agencies!
ReplyDeleteSome years prior to that, there were capacity issues in Chad and WFP took over the full RUTF portfolio. In the Somalia situation, we also established a core three agency (WFP, FAO & UNICEF) resilience group to promote and introduce resilience investment response programmes. I do think there can be universal formula to this one.