evaluation of general food distribution in northern uganda: gulu ...

through off loading of food from trucks, maintaining distribution grounds tidy and scoopingfood rations from bags. NRC has facilitated the organisation of Food ManagementCommittees (FMCs). FMCs compose village leaders and camp management who spearhead communication with NRC, undertake conflict resolution and manage complaints inrelation to the food distribution. The FMCs have in some cases developed into powerfulcommunity organisations and advocates of food and camp related issues, and IDPs have aspace to voice their concerns in a concerted effort. Working closely with the FMCs,delegating responsibility and entrusting them with authority has also given NRC a platform toact with the necessary leverage. This approach has been fundamental to increasingefficiency in distribution of food and minimizing conflicts. Wit h substantial organisedparticipation, as well as supervision of volunteers, spillage and wastage is low. Moreessentially it has increased ownership of what could otherwise be perceived as anundignified process 64 .6.4 But Does Everybody Get a Share – Getting the Numbers Right?Where the main and most frustrating concerns and challenges appear in terms of efficientand well-covered food assistance however is in establishing the correct number ofbeneficiaries and thereby requesting for the equivalent amounts of food from WFP storages.The revalidation and verification exercise, which is supposed to register and confirm thenumber of people entitled to food has by all stakeholders including all NRC staff, volunteersand not least IDPs been highlighted as the most troublesome activity to date.IDPs are eligible to food rations upon registration and receipt of a ration card. Without agenuine card, food will not be provided. However, due to technical and methodologicaldeficiencies in the registration and verification process as well as some degree ofmanipulation and squandering by IDPs the situation looks like this: (1) There areunregistered IDPs who need food (2) There are registered IDPs who do not appear on theWFP registry (3) There are IDPs who are registered and on the registry, but without food andfinally (4) there are unregistered IDPs with ration cards 65 .In sum it means that thousands of eligible IDPs have in long periods of time not beenreceiving their entitled food aid. NRC has put much effort i nto capturing some of the missedtargets through a home grown ‘coupon’ intervention, where many of those left out werepicked up in a second registry and are now back onto the WFP list. The problem in Kitgumwas reported down sized to 2-4% missed targets.One of the main problems in the verification process has been the outsourcing of the datacollection and data entry process to different organisations. Hence in Gulu and Kitgum,whereas NRC has been in charge of organising, grouping and distributing food and ‘tickingoff’ people on the print lists from WFP, other organisations have been involved in making thehousehold/family head counts through door-to-door visits and even other organisations havebeen tasked with the data entry into the WFP registry, whi ch eventually makes up the list ofeligible beneficiaries. Many ‘managers’ involved in a single process has resulted ininconsistencies, errors and missed targets. Particularly the data entry was highlighted as notbeing meticulous enough, leaving out seve ral members of a household, although they hadinitially been identified as recipients of food.64NRC also highlights their aptness to respond quickly and flexibly to the floods in Northern Uganda in August and September2007, where WFP decided to use airdrop of food in four camps in Amuru and five camps in Kitgum as a result of impassableroads and bridges. Although this airdrop operation has been criticised by some stakeholders/donors for being too expensive andunnecessary considering the scope of people reached and the limited effects of the floods in the Acholi sub-region, NRCthrough its mobilisation of FMCs on the ground to some degree controlled an otherwise chaotic situation at the drop grounds.65 From NRC Advocacy Strategy for GFD.22