In Numbers
1,756 people assisted in July 2022
US$41,432 cash-based transfers made
US$8.6 m six months (August 2022-January 2023) net funding requirements
Operational Updates
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The Government of Armenia expressed its interest to expand school feeding to Yerevan and thereby have full national coverage for children in grade 1-4. WFP, the Social and Industrial Foodservice Institute (SIFI), the Ministry of Education, Yerevan Municipality, and the Vice Prime Minister’s Office participated in a round table discussion on the feasibility of expanding urban school feeding in Yerevan, and on which school feeding models could be implemented.
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In Kotayk province (marz), WFP provided cash assistance to 309 kitchen helpers and cooks of 84 schools under the school feeding programme (equal to 1,545 beneficiaries, with family members).
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Headmasters and cooks (in total 211 participants) from Armavir and Shirak provinces participated in on-site and remote training courses within the framework of capacity building activities for schools.
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To enhance schools’ capacities and to ensure the continuation of school feeding activities, WFP provided support overviewing the renovation work of 70 schools across the country.
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In July, the Chinese Embassy in Armenia visited the “Green Energy for Productive Farming” project implemented by WFP in Lusakert community of the Shirak province. The government of China provided technical support through the South-South and Triangular Cooperation. Through the initiative, drip- irrigation systems and seedlings for backyard berry gardens were provided. In addition, a 20-kWh solar station was installed allowing significant savings to re- invest in agricultural development of the community.
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One of the food value chain projects has been successfully completed in Tavush province. WFP has brought farmers together in Berd community to increase the output of their small farms ensuring profitability and productivity of farming. As a result of this activity and farmers joint efforts, the cultivated land in Berd community increased by 422 percent, and the harvest yield increased by 318 percent, compared to the previous year (before the project started).
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WFP started the pilot project for testing the “food cards” service as a cash-based transfer tool in Armenia. The “Food Cards” pilot will include 500 food insecure households in Shirak and Gegharkunik provinces. The questionnaire for the pilot has been finalised and will be tested in August.
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The National Social Protection Umbrella Strategy has been put forward for public discussions among national, international, and local stakeholders. The Strategy includes a strategic goal on building the pro- activeness, resilience, shock response capacity of the social protection system. The indicators Framework of the Strategy incorporates two outcome indicators proposed and measured by WFP, including (1) the proportion of children aged 6-23 who receive the minimum acceptable diet, and (2) the aggregate value of food security among the population.