I am also concerned about transportation. We know our food is getting to Djibouti, but we are less confident about the transport system of moving food from the port to the places in Ethiopia where people are most in need. Our goal has been to have sufficient trucks at the port so that 6,000 metric tons of food a day can be unloaded. In the last week, however, we have averaged an offload rate of 4,800 metric tons a day. Another issue that may impact our ability to deliver food is the security situation in southern Ethiopia, where some of the most severely affected populations live.
Armed bandits can make delivery of food extremely dangerous in some areas.
We need to make sure we have monitors to oversee the distribution of our food aid. But some of the charitable organizations that we fund to do this have been reluctant to go in to the area because of the danger involved. One organization, Medecins Sans Frontieres , was ambushed and a staff member was killed while trying to deliver assistance to a remote location. Other organizations have also encountered problems. Before I turn it over to Hugh, who has recently been consulting with the World Food Program in Rome.