WFP Regional Bureau for Asia and the Pacific - 2016 SPRs RBB 2016 SPRs by country | Page 683

Standard Project Report 2016
Maritime Safety Authority, local church networks, the National Disaster Centre and logistics sector partners to
conduct its distributions and ensure that the operational situation on the ground was as efficient as possible.
Annual Food Purchases for the Country (mt)
Commodity
Local
Rice
Regional/International
Total
- 4,713 4,713
Total - 4,713 4,713
Percentage - 100.0%
Implementation of Evaluation Recommendations and Lessons
Learned
During the Immediate Response Emergency Preparedness Operation (IR-PREP) period, WFP evaluated the food
security situation by relying on information obtained from the Church Partnership Programme, agricultural research
affiliated with the Australian National University, and consultations with government and humanitarian partners. In
light of accruing evidence that the food security situation was deteriorating, the United Nations Resident
Coordinator's Office, National Disaster Centre (NDC) and WFP worked together to launch the mobile Vulnerability
Analysis and Mapping assessment (mVAM), which included Papua New Guinea (PNG)'s first systematic and
country-wide data collection of El Niño effects on food security.
The main lesson learned from the IR-PREP was to ensure that the food security situation is monitored,
well-documented with observations from multiple sources—in this case from academia, humanitarian partners, and
government actors—and analysed and shared with decision-makers. An additional lesson learned was that logistics
and food security coordination mechanisms enhance the flow of information and help to address operational
bottlenecks.
Following the IR-PREP and release of mVAM findings, an appeal for international assistance was never officially
issued. Despite the efforts of WFP and the greater humanitarian community, WFP rice did not reach
drought-affected areas until June 2016, almost a full year after the first food shortages were reported. The
Government of PNG provided food assistance to those most affected starting September 2015, but food security
conditions continued to deteriorate well into 2016. WFP operated in the country through a specific invitation by the
NDC to assist in the Government's national drought response efforts. Given this limited scope, WFP was unable to
respond earlier but successfully reached the populations that remained most vulnerable in 2016.
WFP recommends that the Government's work with humanitarian partners to re-evaluate its threshold for declaring
that international assistance is needed so as not to delay the deployment of life-saving assistance. WFP
recommends that the Government share best practices in emergency response at the national and local
administrative levels. WFP found that some local actors (e.g. Provincial Disaster Committees) were fully engaged
with humanitarian partners, while others were much less active or non-existent.
Many humanitarian agencies on the ground had significant operational capacity but acknowledged that much of
their scope was limited to Port Moresby, the capital city. The One UN system has highlighted that a strengthened
field presence for resident agencies could enhance monitoring and response capacity in case of an emergency.
Interagency collaboration could also be strengthened as there were gaps in information sharing among
humanitarian organizations and partners despite the UN-wide promotion of inter-agency fora.
WFP conducted an internal lessons learned on its emergency operation and identified ways to strengthen its
information and communications technology, logistics, administrative services, security, and internal programme
support for the next response. WFP also noted that the procurement costs for fortified rice from local suppliers were
high; additional lead time is needed for government clearances for cheaper international suppliers. WFP believes
that there is sufficient capacity of government agencies in-country to manage basic food security needs. Therefore,
WFP did not and does not intend to establish a dedicated country office or maintain food distributions in PNG.
Papua New Guinea, Independant State of (PG)
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