WFP Begins Food Distribution To Ebola Quarantine Areas In Liberia

The World Food Programme (WFP) has begun organizing food distributions to Ebola quarantine areas in Liberia at the request of the government. The aim of the distributions in quarantined areas is to stabilize families by giving them enough to eat so that they do not leave their homes to look for food.

WFP's first priority is to assist the medical response to the Ebola crisis, changing the traditional way food distributions are organized to minimize the risk.

In Bong County, WFP is distributing food to 897 families. Each family receives a 45 day ration of bulgur, beans, oil and a nutritious fortified cereal made with corn and soy.

"This is an area in Northern Liberia where there are high infection rates and what we are trying to do is work with the government so that food accompanies the health response. In an area like this, where we are today, where there are high infection rates we want people, the government would like people, to stay as close as possible to home so that we avoid the spread of the virus. So WFP's contribution to this effort is to provide the food so that people don't have to go to the market, they don't have to go to shop, they don't have to go to the fields they can stay home and have something to eat. So, it's support to the health response in trying to contain that spread." WFP Regional Director Denise Brown stated.

The spread of the Ebola is disrupting food trade and markets in Guinea, Sierra Leone and Liberia and in the region. In Sierra Leone, local weekly markets have been banned. In Monrovia, Liberia, the price of cassava flour more than doubled after the closure of the border with Sierra Leone, where the commodity is produced.

WFP monitoring suggests that the disruption to food trade and casual labour markets is reducing the purchasing power of households in Ebola-affected districts of Sierra Leone. Many families are already dipping into their savings.

Should the Ebola epidemic last another 4-5 months, when farmers begin to prepare their land, there is real concern that planting for the 2015 harvest could be affected. The impact of Ebola is likely to limit food access in affected communities for months to come.

SHOTLIST:
28, 29 OCTOBER 2014, GBANGA, BONG COUNTY, LIBERIA

Check point going into Bong County
Various shots, village road
Various shots, WFP food distribution
Various shots, WFP food distribution

28 OCTOBER 2014, GBANGA, BONG COUNTY, LIBERIA

Various shots, WFP house-to-house food distributions to quarantined families

SOUNDBITE (English) Denise Brown, WFP Regional Director:
"This is an area in Northern Liberia where there are high infection rates and what we are trying to do is work with the government so that food accompanies the health response. In an area like this, where we are today, where there are high infection rates we want people, the government would like people, to stay as close as possible to home so that we avoid the spread of the virus. So WFP's contribution to this effort is to provide the food so that people don't have to go to the market, they don't have to go to shop, they don't have to go to the fields they can stay home and have something to eat. So, it's support to the health response in trying to contain that spread."

DURATION: 02:24