Attachments
Overview
In November 2022, WFP’s Executive Board approved the Guinea-Bissau Country Strategic Plan (CSP) that runs from January 2023-December 2027, with a budget of USD 131 million for the full five years. The CSP aligns with WFP's corporate strategic outcomes 1-4, as well as findings and recommendations from the 2019 National Zero Hunger Strategic Review, the Government’s National Strategy for Development, Employment, and Industrial Promotion, 2020-2024, also known as Hora Tchiga, and the United Nations Sustainable Development Cooperation Framework 2022-2026.
In 2023, the first year of the CSP was marked by a tense political situation in the country. After a period of relative political stability following the parliamentary elections in June and the formation of a new government in August, the President dissolved parliament in December. Despite this situation, and the recurrent changes in ministers and senior government officials, WFP managed to reinforce its crucial relationship with the Government of Guinea Bissau.
WFP strengthened its collaboration with key national stakeholders, including the Ministries of Agriculture and Rural Development, Environment, Finance, Health, Industry, and Women, Family and Social Solidarity. WFP also intensified its partnerships with international financial institutions. This included the International Monetary Fund (IMF), which visited a WFP operation during each of its missions to Bissau during the reporting period. In March 2003, WFP signed its first agreement with the African Development Bank as part of the Emergency Food Security Support project (PAUSA, in Portuguese) implemented with the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development.
WFP also consolidated its traditional relationships with the European Union, Japan, Spain, and the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD). It also reinforced its collaboration with United Nations agencies, particularly the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF), the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA), and the Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO), under two Sustainable Development Goal-funded projects, and with the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) under the Peace Building Fund (PBF) Project.
Despite a funding shortfall of 11 percent against 2023 funding requirements, WFP reached more than 222,000 people in need. WFP distributed USD 198,627 alongside 1,622 mt of food, 940 mt of seeds, 1,150 mt of fertiliser, and 1,832 litres of insecticide.
As part of the crisis response component, WFP partnered with the Ministry of Women, Family and Social Solidarity,
UNICEF and UNFPA, to provide cash-based transfers (CBTs) to more than 10,500 people affected by severe food insecurity, malnutrition (particularly children, people living with HIV and pregnant and breastfeeding women and girls), flooding, and forest fires across the country. This helped to increase the proportion of households with an Acceptable food consumption score from 73 percent to 95 percent. WFP used this CBT activity to build the Ministry of Women,
Family and Social Solidarity's capacities across its different steps, including targeting, prioritisation, registration, mobile money payment, and reconciliation. Strengthening the capacity of the Ministry of Women, Family and Social Solidarity will directly benefit the implementation of the social protection policy and the social register.
In 2023, WFP reached 179,000 schoolchildren with school meals in 852 schools - representing 50 percent of primary schools in the country. Additionally, WFP provided take-home rations to nearly 25,000 girls in grades 5 and 6, as well as 635 children with disabilities. This encouraged their families to enrol their children and keep them in school. The home-grown school feeding programme was also an important priority, with 1,224 metric tonnes of locally produced food purchased from smallholder farmers. Despite WFP's best efforts, some school canteens were closed for several weeks due to food shortages. However, thanks to significant fundraising efforts, WFP was able to run the school feeding programme with in-kind contributions from Japan and the Republic of Korea, as well as the Global Agriculture and Food Security Program (GAFSP) [1].
WFP and the Ministry of Health continued to treat acute malnutrition and worked to prevent stunting. The reach of these activities increased from three to six regions, with a 35 percent increase in the number of people reached. A social and behavioural change communication study was completed, and a corresponding communication strategy and tools are being developed. Social and behaviour change communication tools will support awareness campaigns on good nutrition practices in local communities.
Under activity 4 and through the PAUSA project, WFP strengthened the resilience of over 48,000 smallholder farmers (52 percent women) through the provision of agricultural inputs. In December 2023, WFP signed agreements with 12 local farmer cooperatives to develop smallholder agriculture market support (SAMS) activities to fight poverty and food insecurity. Through contracts linked to the school canteen programme, WFP also provided a sustainable market and income generation for the farmer cooperatives by purchasing their production surpluses. WFP has also begun negotiations with local banks on a blended financing mechanism to strengthen the capacity of local cooperatives, to help catalyse positive change in the country's local food systems.