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Bolivia

WFP Bolivia (Plurinational State of): Annual Country Report 2023 - Country Strategic Plan 2023 - 2027

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Key messages

  • WFP reached over 30,000 people with direct assistance and indirectly benefitted 4 million people through national policies and programmes.
  • WFP primarily targeted women as agents of change for natural resources and food. They produce, protect, reproduce, transport, sell and manage these resources, which resulted in a transformative shift for their communities.
  • WFP operations aligned with the Government's priorities, such as strengthening systems and generating data and evidence for decision making.

First Year of the New Country Strategic Plan (2023-2027)

In 2023, WFP implemented the first year of the new country strategic plan (CSP) 2023-2027, contributing to the achievement of Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) 2 (Zero Hunger) and 17 (Partnerships for the Goals). The new CSP covers three strategic outcomes: assistance for crisis-affected populations through cash-based transfers (CBT), support to smallholder farmers and people in vulnerable conditions by building resilience, and capacity strengthening of national and subnational institutions.

Through strategic outcome 1, WFP reached over 17,000 food-insecure people (50 percent women) through CBT in the urban areas of La Paz and El Alto as well as four rural municipalities and one Indigenous community in the department of Pando.

Under strategic outcome 2, WFP implemented activities in the Uru nation territory in the highlands of the Oruro department. Despite limited resources, WFP mobilized internal funds to build water assets in 22 municipalities, reaching over 12,500 people with CBT. Moreover, WFP assisted Indigenous Guaraní handicraftsmen and women in the Entre Ríos and Tarija municipalities by installing satellite Internet connections in rural communities and organizing an e-commerce training facilitated by the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs of China to enhance the marketing and sale of handicraft products.

Under strategic outcome 3, WFP utilized a multi-year grant from the European Union to provide technical assistance to the Government, strengthening national programmes and systems for emergency preparedness and responsive social protection systems.

Additionally, WFP conducted nutrition-based training for 100 professionals working with people living with HIV/AIDS in Santa Cruz, which accounted for over 50 percent of positive cases across the country. Educational material was delivered in 122 urban and rural establishments to continue sharing comprehensive care information. Under the same strategic outcome, WFP implemented the "Ancestral Knowledge, Natural Flavors" initiative, a communication campaign for social change started in 2023. As part of this endeavour, WFP entered into two inter-institutional agreements: one focused on dissemination with the College of Nutritionists and Dietitians of Bolivia and another for dissemination and knowledge management with the Simón I. Patiño University Foundation.

Overall, WFP integrated a gender approach across its interventions, contributing to SDG 5 (Gender Equality) and complying with WFP's Gender Policy. WFP dedicated efforts to enhance women's economic empowerment by delivering CBT alongside activities in rural areas to diversify household income sources and promote economic independence. These initiatives included organizing training sessions on associative mechanisms and skills for producing and marketing handicrafts.

In 2023, WFP invested in resource mobilization, positioning and donor relations, yielding positive outcomes from the European Union and the Russian Federation, mainly in multi-year projects. During the last week of December, WFP received a grant from the Russian Federation, earmarked for collaboration with the Government in 2024 to mitigate increases in food prices.