As I celebrate my 3rd month as World Food Programme Country Connector, it in an honor to meet advocates and members of the organizations from all the United Nations agencies. Among them were Jacqueline Badcock, United Nations Resident Coordinator to the Philippines and Stephen Anderson Country Director of World Food Programme. Recently, I had the chance to interview Kenro Oshidari, World Food Programme Regional Director for Asia when he visited the country.
Kenro was born from Japan and has an MA of International Administration, School for International Training in Vermont and also had studied International Studies University of the Pacific in California, USA. Before he was appointed as the Regional Director for Asia, he was the county director of WFP Sudan from 2006 to 2009. The Sudan office is considered as the largest county office of WFP having more than 3,000 staff joining the operations.
Here’s a the transcription of our conversation:
Flow Galindez: From the 14 countries that you monitor in Asia, what particular issues in terms of food security and hunger do you in these countries? Can you mention which has severe status and which is still controllable? And how nation leaders and citizens should work about it?
Kenro Oshidari : WFP has operations in 14 countries in Asia, from Afghanistan in the west, to DPR Korea in the east, reaching over 40 million people with food assistance. Conflict remains a serious threat to food security in countries such as Afghanistan and Pakistan – where there is no peace, there can be little development, and people caught in the middle often struggle to feed themselves properly. Climate change is also taking its toll in Asia, which is the world’s ground zero for natural disasters. This means that communities need protection from weather-related phenomena – we’ve seen this to be particularly true in recent times in places such as Bangladesh, Pakistan, Nepal, Indonesia – and indeed the Philippines. Cataclysmic disasters in a first world country such as the earthquake and tsunami in Japan earlier this year underline that nobody is immune from major disasters, underlining the importance of the emergency response capacity of an organisation such as WFP. Fundamental to food security for the poorest is simply that they can afford to buy the food they need for a healthy diet – for millions in Asia this is still a daily battle, and this is where government safety net programmes are so vital. There are still far too many people living without the support of a safety net programme to protect them against total destitution.
Galindez: Before taking the role in Asia, you had been in Sudan which also reflects the whole Middle East, how do you compare it to Asia?
Oshidari: It’s almost impossible to compare the two, although hunger means the same thing all across the world to a hungry person. Perhaps the biggest difference in Asia is how often you see extreme wealth and extreme poverty side by side – one of the continent’s great challenges in a time of enormous growth is to ensure more even and equitable development across the board – and from WFP’s point of view, to ensure that no one goes hungry. Also, in Asia, despite impressive economic growth, there are more malnourished children than any other continent. Addressing child malnutrition is an immense challenge, alongside attaining general food security.
Galindez: What are the particular WFP projects that you are planning to implement among Asian nations including the Philippines.
Oshidari: At WFP we are particularly looking to explore the use of cash and voucher programmes in places where this makes sense. Food deliveries are still vital in places where it is hard to find, but where markets are functioning, it makes sense for WFP to support them. We’ve done this is many countries across the region, including in the Philippines with a voucher project delivered across the mobile telephone network for people recovering from Ketsana. We are also making great strides in the manufacture of locally-produced ‘smart’ foods – specialised nutritious products designed specifically to give young children the nutrients and vitamins they need for their optimal development. We used a ground-breaking new product known as Wawa Mum to help children affected by the Pakistan floods in 2010 and we have new foods being developed in Indonesia, Bangladesh and Timor-Leste, among other countries.
Galindez: Asian countries is a more disaster prone area, we saw what happen in Japan and Indonesia how does it affects WFP’s activity in terms of emergency like that. In terms of relief response how long does it take?
Oshidari: At WFP we pride ourselves at being able to respond immediately a disaster strikes. Our deep field presence across Asia, where we have offices and well trained staff in many of the most disaster-prone areas, means we have an unrivalled network that makes a quick and effective response possible, often within just a few hours of a disaster. We have also recently opened a new Humanitarian Response Depot in Subang, Malaysia, allowing us to store vital relief items at the heart of the region and move them quickly in times of need, as we were able to do for the Japan earthquake/tsunami with air deliveries of vital temporary storage, and office accommodation for the relief operation.
Galindez: Last, What is the current relationship of WFP to Asian countries along with the nation leaders, NGOs and individuals.
Oshidari: Building partnerships is vital to WFP’s effectiveness. Fundamentally, we are only ever present in a country at the invitation of a government, so this relationship is vital to us, especially with our line ministries in each country. Several Asian countries are also key donors to WFP, including Japan and South Korea. We have also forged strong relationships with key regional bodies such as ASEAN and the Asian Development Bank, relationships that help us be a more effective partner in the Asia region. We can do nothing alone, so the network of NGOs who help deliver our food is also central to our work and one we take great care of. And we also need the wider public to understand more clearly why WFP is a vital organisation in Asia, so we’ve made a major effort to increase our online profile in particular – I’d really encourage people to visit our website www.wfp.org and also take a look at some of our amazing fundraising tools such as www.freerice.com and www.wefeedback.org .
Talking to people who really immerse themselves to the field is like a spark that will ignite the fire or passion of will keep you doing more what you are advocating. The short conversation with Kenro tells us there are more things we can do for our others who are in need. That is to go on ground and be part of that change that we keep on talking about. I am looking forward to meet the rest of WFP officers in the future especially those who went on the field.
