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Key messages
• WFP reached more than 320,000 people with direct assistance and indirectly benefitted over 424,000 people with assets, capacity and services.
Throughout 2023, WFP faced many challenges that impacted the food security and nutrition of a growing number of individuals in vulnerable conditions in Ecuador. These challenges ranged from violence, insecurity, economic downturn, extreme weather events, political instability and migration flows. In May, the President dissolved the National Assembly until a new president assumed office in December after elections held in August and October. The cumulative impact of this political instability was a deterioration in the socioeconomic situation, culminating in three hours of daily power outages for two months due to energy shortages across the country.
In this complex setting, WFP began implementing the new country strategic plan (2023-2027), aligned with the Government's priorities, focusing on crisis response, resilience-building, climate change adaptation and logistic services for national institutions and the humanitarian community. Despite a 28 percent reduction in financial expenditures compared to 2022, WFP implemented 80 percent of its 2023 implementation plan, contributing to Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 2 (Zero Hunger) and SDG 17 (Partnership for the Goals), as well as SDG 5 (Gender equality), SDG 13 (Climate Action) and SDG 16 (Peace, Justice and Strong Institutions).
In 2023, WFP assisted 78,540 Ecuadorians and 247,796 food-insecure migrants and refugees through one-time cash-based transfers (CBT), food kits in border areas and six-month CBT. In response to funding constraints, WFP made adjustments by reducing the number of people assisted and CBT values. Continuing its commitment to supporting local governments and communities, WFP prioritized anticipatory actions and emergency preparedness and response (EPR).
After floods hit the Esmeraldas province in June, WFP and the Government provided 200,000 hot meals in temporary shelters and distributed commodity vouchers over 45 days. Moreover, in collaboration with the Ecuador Risk Management Secretariat, WFP trained 975 government staff and communities in EPR. Anticipating potential impacts from the El Niño phenomenon, WFP developed a coordinated operations plan and engaged with the Government and local authorities.
With private funding, WFP benefitted 1,135 children and 151 smallholder producers through the home-grown school meals programme in Carchi province's rural schools. The positive outcomes of the joint efforts with the Ministry of Education and the local Government of Montufar led WFP to collaborate with the local governments of Santa Elena and La Libertad to establish additional home-grown school meals programmes in these two cities for 2024. Furthermore, WFP participated in the Advisory Council for the Prevention and Reduction of Stunting [1], contributing to the national dialogue on malnutrition. Additionally, WFP assisted the Ministry of Health by revising guidelines and actively participating in initiatives concerning the intersection of HIV/AIDS and nutrition. Employing artificial intelligence, a specialized chatbot was developed to share information and address questions on nutrition, HIV/AIDS and sexual and reproductive rights.
Under South-South Triangular Cooperation, WFP collaborated with China, the Catalan Agency for Development Cooperation and United Nations agencies which led to the support of 3,166 smallholder farmers across seven provinces (Azuay, Manabí, Imbabura, El Oro, Guayas, Los Ríos and Loja) with the Rice and Duck Farming Project and the Joint Programme on Gender Transformative Approaches for establishing sustainable agricultural livelihoods in communities with returning migrants. These initiatives promoted sustainable agrifood practices and enhanced income levels with a specific focus on women smallholder farmers.
Furthermore, through the Binational Climate Change Adaptation project between Ecuador and Colombia, financed by the Adaptation Fund [2], WFP enhanced the adaptive capacities of communities vulnerable to climate change. In 2023, WFP provided access to water to 2,500 families and restored over 12,000 ha of mangroves and ancestral forests using community-led approaches. Involving the Awá Indigenous and Afro-Ecuadorian populations near the Colombian border was key to ensuring the sustained success of these initiatives.
By WFP’s corporate disability inclusion commitments, WFP prioritized individuals with disabilities within initiatives focused on migrants. Rigorous assessments of shelters and dining halls were conducted to identify accessibility challenges, leading to structural modifications, such as installing ramps and adapting the size of toilets. With the United Nations Development Programme, WFP surveyed contracted hotels to ensure their adaptability for people with disability, thereby enhancing accessibility for all. Within the school meals programme, WFP promoted inclusion through awareness, training and parental guidance to create school environments that recognize and embrace all diversity, including persons with disabilities.