*EPF508 05/23/2003
Text: U.N. To Distribute Food Aid to All Iraqis Starting June 1
(Has plans to feed full population through September) (740)

The United Nations World Food Program (WFP) will begin distributing food aid to the entire Iraqi population beginning June 1.

In a May 22 press release, WFP said the agency wants to have 480,000 metric tons of food available every month through September to feed all of Iraq's 27 million people.

It also will lay groundwork for the transition from a food distribution system of government rations to one that is market-based, according James Morris, WFP executive director.

WFP will help Iraq's wheat board become operational, replace or repair damaged agricultural production equipment and purchase 1.2 million tons of Iraqi wheat this year, using funds from the U.N. Oil-for-Food Program, the release said.

The United States has contributed $371 million of WFP's $491 million for emergency food aid to Iraq, according to the release.

Following is the text of the release:

(begin text)

May 22

WFP: ENTIRE IRAQI POPULATION TO RECEIVE FOOD RATION STARTING JUNE 1

NEW YORK -- Full food distribution to the entire population of Iraq will begin on June 1st, through 44,000 food agents in place across the country, the United Nations World Food Programme Executive Director, James T. Morris, announced on Thursday.

In a statement to the UN Security Council, Morris said WFP had already delivered more than 200,000 metric tons of food to Iraq, using five corridors through Turkey, Jordan, Syria, Kuwait and Iran. This is enough to feed some 14 million people -- half the Iraqi population -- for one month. From June to September, WFP's objective is to ensure that 480,000 tons of food are available every month to feed all 27 million Iraqis under the existing public distribution system.

"With the restoration of the public distribution system, we are confident that we can avoid any hunger among Iraqis," Morris said.

Earlier in the day, the UN Security Council passed a resolution which lifted sanctions and outlined plans for the post-war administration of Iraq. In his statement, Morris stressed the importance of laying the groundwork for transition from a system of government rations to a market food economy.

"WFP has supported the procurement and delivery of food commodities for public distribution during this time of upheaval in Iraq. But now we look forward to handing over these responsibilities as a new administration comes on line," Morris said.

Speaking of his impressions during his visit to Baghdad on May 11th, Morris said the issue of security for staff, warehouses, silos, mills and offices remained the biggest challenge for WFP in Iraq. So far, 28 WFP international staff are back in Iraq to bolster the work of the more than 700 national staff who remained in the country throughout the conflict. More international staff will go into Iraq as the security situation allows.

Morris said another challenge was the procurement of Iraq's wheat harvest this year. WFP has undertaken to purchase up to 1.2 million tons of grain from the harvest, using funds from the UN Oil-for-Food Programme (OFFP). But in order for it to purchase the harvest, a Grain board must be helped to function, salaries must be paid, looted and damaged equipment must be replaced or repaired and arrangements made for paying large-scale cash disbursements, in the absence of a functioning banking system.

To date, WFP has received US$491 million in donations for its emergency operation in Iraq. In addition, it hopes to raise US$947 million in food and associated costs from the OFFP. The Programme is appealing for a total of US$1.85 billion for the operation.

The United States has made the biggest donation -- with US$371 million committed so far. The UK has contributed US$53 million, Canada nearly US$14 million, Japan more than US$13 million and Italy over US$12 million.

WFP is the world's largest humanitarian agency. In 2002 WFP fed 72 million people in 82 countries including most of the world's refugees and internally displaced people.

For regular updates and background information on WFP's humanitarian operations in the Iraqi region, visit our website's Iraq Crisis section at www.wfp.org.

WFP Global School Feeding Campaign -- As the largest provider of nutritious meals to poor school children, WFP has launched a global campaign aimed at ensuring the world's 300 million undernourished children are educated.

(end text)

(Distributed by the Bureau of International Information Programs, U.S. Department of State. Web site: http://usinfo.state.gov)

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