Attachments
Highlights
After the very narrow results of the plebiscite on the peace deal with FARC guerilla group in October, a renegotiation phase took place in order to find points of convergence with the opposition leaders and reach a final peace agreement. In November, the Colombian government and the FARC signed a revised and final peace deal, which was approved by Congress. In the coming weeks the rebels will leave their camps, relocating to a set number of sites throughout the country. From there, the groups will disarm under the watch of United Nations inspectors and then begin a new life as civilians.
WFP Assistance
WFP's strategy in Colombia complements the government's peacebuilding efforts and aims to build government capacity by strengthening social programmes, which will improve the food and nutrition security of conflict-affected populations. Based on lessons learned and in consultation with the Government, donors and other partners, WFP is reorienting its strategy in Colombia through a strategic review process. Important shifts include the transition from humanitarian assistance to longer-term solutions for recovery. Thematic priorities include resilience-building, capacity strengthening, gender and nutrition sensitive programming with a focus on dispersed rural areas and vulnerable and marginalized ethnic groups.
As of today, WFP has adopted innovative approaches to assist vulnerable displaced, confined and returnee populations and support to small farmers through e-vouchers that are redeemed at farmers’ associations.
Thus, WFP promotes the consumption of fresh nutritious foods and creates market opportunities for smallholder farmers. Additionally, through asset creation activities and trainings, WFP strengthens the resilience of communities affected by conflict and natural disasters. The Government is particularly supportive of this new approach, which is aligned with its post-conflict strategy.
WFP and partners conduct trainings on gender equality (including women's and girl’s rights, sexual and reproductive health, shared domestic responsibilities and violence against women) in addition to mainstreaming gender in all activities. Actions such as organizing food distributions closer to targeted communities and minimizing waiting time resulted in a higher participation of women. WFP activities seek to promote the leadership of women and their greater participation in oversight and accountability committees, in order to strengthen their decision-making in project design and implementation.
WFP established a committee with government partners to coordinate the implementation of the Protracted Relief and Recovery Operation (PRRO) and guarantee the complementarity of actions and ensure the flow of information. A multi-donor trust fund (MDTF) has been set up to align with the government’s social programmes, with the aim of strengthening their capacities through a wide range of food assistance tools. The MDTF complements WFP's PRRO and effectively contributes to the implementation of WFP's strategy in Colombia. WFP started the National Study on Food Security and Nutrition in Indigenous Communities (ENSANI). This study is carried out in partnership with the Colombian Institute for Family Welfare (ICBF), the National Department of Statistics (DANE) and the National Institute of Health (INS). The trust fund covers the second stage of the study. During the first stage (2015), information was gathered from four indigenous groups. In the current phase, information is collected among four additional groups.