Attachments
In Numbers
211.4 mt of food assistance distributed between January and March 2023
USD 0.23 million six-month (April 2023 - September 2023) net funding requirements, representing 2 percent of total
33 878 people assisted from January to March 2023
Operational Updates
• In January 2023, WFP distributed 191.6 mt of rice to 83 schools in Tombali and Quinara Regions as part of WFP’s school feeding programmes. In addition, from January to March 2023, WFP distributed 19.8 mt of Super Cereal Plus for the treatment of moderate acute malnutrition (MAM) in 52 health centres located in Bafata, Bissau, Gabu, and Oio.
• From 31 January to 2 February, during his visit to Guinea-Bissau, WFP’s Regional Director for the Western African Region, officially launched WFP Guinea-Bissau new country strategic plan (CSP) for 2023-2027. The document outlines WFP’s strategies to improve nutrition and build community resilience, in line with Guinea-Bissau’s national development policies and the United Nations Sustainable Development Cooperation Framework (UNSDCF) for 2022-2026. The new CSP incorporates social protection, climate change adaptation and the strengthening of nutrition, disability, HIV, and gender-sensitive programming in all areas of intervention. Under this CSP, the CO is reinitiating nutritional support for malnourished people living with HIV. The CSP also emphasises crisis response, with a stronger focus on emergency preparedness through the strengthening of national early warning systems.
• On 14 February, WFP’s School Feeding team met with the Ministry of Education, the Ministry of Health, UNICEF, the Federation of Associations for the Defence and Promotion of the Rights of People with Disabilities in Guinea-Bissau, and the non-governmental organisation (NGO) Humanity & Inclusion, to discuss mechanisms for identifying children with disabilities in WFP-assisted schools in the country. In addition to supporting the development of a methodology and criteria for the identification of children with disabilities, this multidisciplinary committee will follow and support WFP’s take-home rations programme, which encourages children to remain in the national education system.
• On 22 February, WFP’s School Feeding and Nutrition teams participated in the Joint Annual Performance Review of the 2022-2026 UNSDCF for Guinea-Bissau. On this occasion, WFP teams were able to highlight the main results achieved in 2022. The event was attended by members of various UN agencies based in the country, as well as representatives from the Ministry of Health and the Ministry of Education.
• From 14 to 17 March, WFP conducted a nutrition and healthy eating awareness campaign in communities in the Bafata, Bissau, Cacheu, Gabu, Oio, Quinara, and Tombali Regions. 11,119 people (43 percent men and 57 percent women) participated in the campaign, which aims to fight malnutrition and reduce maternal and infant mortality in the country.
• In March, within the framework of the Food Security and Nutrition Monitoring System (FSNMS/SISAN), WFP, in partnership with the Government of Guinea-Bissau, organised two best-practices sessions on food security and nutrition in Oio, which has the highest prevalence of malnutrition in the country. During a national workshop,
WFP also disseminated the findings of a food security survey conducted in March 2023 to government authorities, representatives from UN agencies, donors, and NGOs.
• In March, WFP, together with the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development, held the first meeting of the Technical Monitoring Committee for a one-year project to strengthen local farmers’ resilience by improving agricultural productivity in all sub-regions of Guinea-Bissau, in response to the negative consequences of the Russian-Ukraine crisis.
Funded by the African Development Bank (AFDB), project activities include the acquisition and distribution of climate-resilient certified seeds, support for poultry farming, and capacity building and training for farmers and producers.
• In March, WFP continued discussions with local government authorities in Cachou and Gabu Regions on scaling up resilience activities, focusing on four main components: i) the rehabilitation of rice fields and productive land, including mangrove; ii) the expansion of intensive rice production; iii) agricultural production diversification (horticulture, fishery); and iv) post-harvest technology improvement.