Key messages
- WFP reaffirms its support to Bhutan, aligning its Country Strategic Plan (2024-2028) to the Government's draft five-year plan (February 2024-February 2029)
- Capacity strengthening is the focus of WFP's work in Bhutan, which helps ensure the country is resilient, food and nutrition secure, and can anticipate, prepare for, and respond to climate-related and other shocks
Bhutan graduates from the least developed country category
In December 2023, Bhutan graduated from the least developed country (LDC) category and transitioned into a lower middle-income country. Despite setbacks due to the negative social and economic impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, as well as global food, energy, finance, and climate crises, Bhutan made significant progress in realizing its development goals.1 Bhutan's graduation is a time for WFP to reaffirm its commitment and work alongside the Royal Government of Bhutan in meeting the development goals outlined in the draft 13th five-year plan with an emphasis on economic and social development, climate security, and governance.
In 2023, WFP maintained its support to the Government to strengthen capacities in food systems, resilience to climate shocks, emergency preparedness and response, and school nutrition. This was achieved through collaboration and partnership with government counterparts, international and UN organizations, and civil society organizations in line with WFP's commitment to Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 17 (Partnerships for the Goals).
To optimize the cost-efficiency and nutritional content of school meals, the School Menu Planner (SMP) PLUS tool, an online menu creation platform, was expanded to seven additional districts, meeting the target of implementing the tool in 12 districts within the current CSP period. The WFP digital tool helped boost the dietary diversity of 55,305 schoolchildren in 276 schools and increased the utilization of locally sourced food. Over 870 mt of local produce, consisting of fresh fruits and vegetables, was sold to schools by local farmer groups. Ninety percent of the smallholder farmers sold their local produce through WFP-supported aggregation systems and 80 percent of the farmers reported increased production of nutritious crops.
The SMP PLUS expansion was complemented by WFP-supported workshops for integrated food preparation training sessions for school cooks, mess-in-charges, government officials, teachers, and district officials. Going beyond safe and sanitary practices, the integrated training teaches participants cooking techniques that help retain nutrients, while also trying to reduce the use of salt and oil and introducing spices to improve the taste. WFP supported the construction of 10 school kitchens and storage units, and the refurbishment of 15 kitchens and storage units, creating an environment for the preparation and provision of healthy and nutritious school meals. WFP, in partnership with the Ministry of Education and Skills Development, Ministry of Health, and Ministry of Agriculture and Livestock, also finalized the national social and behaviour change (SBC) strategy and action plan. SBC activities were piloted in 15 schools, including two schools for children with disabilities in two districts of Thimphu and Chhukha. SBC activities sought to improve the nutritional status of schoolchildren and adolescents. The healthy diets campaign called Eat Khe-ta, Be Se-ta, (Eat Smart, Be Smart) was launched on the Ministry of Education and Skills Development and WFP-run social media account School Nutrition Bhutan with the posts viewed by 112,896 people on Facebook.
Together with the Ministry of Education and Skills Development and the Ministry of Health, significant achievements were made in meeting 2023 targets of linking more smallholder farmers to schools and improving kitchen and storage facilities. With WFP's support, the two ministries drew a contract between the farmers' groups and schools in the locality to supply agriculture and dairy products to schools.
WFP's capacity strengthening support in areas of emergency preparedness and response saw significant results, reaching more than double the number of frontline personnel compared with 2022, and building new partnerships with frontline agencies like the Department of Air Transport, while strengthening existing partnerships with Department of Local Governance and Disaster Management, De-Suung (national service volunteers), the Royal Bhutan Police, and the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP). Through these partnerships, WFP has been able to enhance the capacities of national actors and frontliners, particularly in emergency logistics and emergency telecommunications.
For the emergency preparedness and response portfolio, the support from the Global Logistics Cluster's Field Based Preparedness Project and ad-hoc funds from the Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ) proved valuable, particularly given challenges in resource mobilization. This funding enabled WFP to support completion of four emergency coordination hubs in Thimphu and carry out emergency preparedness and response reviews such as for emergency telecommunications and seismic readiness.
WFP participated in consultation workshops for the Government's draft 13th Five-year Plan (2024-2029), Common Country Analysis, and the UN Sustainable Development Cooperation Framework (UNSDCF) (2024-2028). WFP also supported the De-Suung in developing its emergency preparedness and response strategy, working towards WFP's commitment to SDG 17. WFP's support to the National School Feeding and Nutrition Programme through capacity strengthening initiatives and healthy diets advocacy, linking farmers-to-schools for food and nutrition security, market access, and climate-resilience agriculture worked towards WFP's commitment to SDG 2 (Zero Hunger) and SDG 13 (Climate Action).