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The Gambia faced the challenges of the global food crisis and lingering effects of the COVID-19 pandemic and the Russia-Ukraine crisis, climate shocks such as the irregular and heavy rains that caused flooding affecting the livelihoods of the most vulnerable. The refugee influx and internal displacement caused by the insecurity in the neighbouring Casamance province in Senegal was also challenging.
However, WFP continued to operate despite the challenges, delivering timely assistance to the most vulnerable while supporting the national government and communities in strengthening their capacities and resilience in line with the five strategic outcomes of its Country Strategic Plan (CSP) 2019-2022.
In the 4th year of the implementation of the CSP, WFP reached more than 200,000 vulnerable Gambians, 52 percent of whom were female. The CSP has since been extended for one additional year (01 January 2023 - 29 February 2024) to be aligned with the new National Development Plan (NDP 2023-2027) of the Government of The Gambia and the new United Nations Sustainable Development Cooperation Framework (UNSDCF 2023-2027).
In 2022, WFP launched two major multi-sector, multi-year development projects: i) Gambia Agriculture and Food Security Project with the Ministry of Agriculture and the African Development Bank, supporting the home-grown school feeding; and ii) Rural Integrated Climate Adaptation and Resilience Project with the Ministry of Environment, Climate Change and Natural Resources and the Climate Adaptation Fund strengthening the climate resilience of the communities and households.
WFP, as a chair of the UN Inter-agency Disaster Management Working Group, was an active lead in the national emergency interventions and coordination in response to the displacements caused by the conflict in Casamance and the nationwide flooding.
WFP also played a crucial role in evidence generation in the food security sector. The August 2022 WFP mobile Vulnerability and Mapping (mVAM) survey results indicated that shocks such as price hikes, floods, and low agricultural production were perceived as the main amplifiers of food insecurity in the country. The National Food Security Survey 2022 was conducted through WFP’s leadership and support to the Government, timely feeding the November 2022 Cadre Harmonise exercise and the latest update (January 2023) of the Common Country Assessment informing the design of the new UNSDCF.
In 2023, WFP plans to diversify its funding sources further to meet its requirements while ensuring the quality implementation of the CSP in close collaboration with the Government and the development partners. WFP will also build on its solid evidence base to contribute to the design of the new UNSDCF and formulate its second-generation CSP that will commence in 2024.