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India

WFP India Country Brief, August 2018

Attachments

Highlights

WFP provides capacity building and technical assistance to Government of India (GoI) safetynets reaching 800 million people.

Severe floods affected the south Indian state of Kerala due to unusually high rainfall during JulyAugust 2018. Large scale relief operations are being coordinated by Indian government

WFP India’s operations are fully funded for the next six months thanks to a strong partnership with the Government of India.

Operational Updates

  • The Country Strategic Plan (2019-23), approved in principle by the Government, is posted for presentation at WFP’s November 2018 Executive Board.

  • In collaboration with the Ministry of Consumer Affairs,
    Food and Public Distribution, WFP is organizing a workshop on mainstreaming fortified rice in the Public Distribution System (PDS) on 14 September.

  • The WFP supported Central Project Management Unit contributed to the planning awareness and Information Education & Communication (IEC) campaign for the Ministry of Food, Consumer Affairs and Public Distribution for improved uptake by the beneficiaries. It will play important role in empowering beneficiaries, supporting Fair Price Shop operators in delivering services, and strengthening governance, thereby contributing to food security.

  • WFP submitted a detailed scope of work for implementing data analytics-based Management Information System for Targeted Public Distribution System in state and central government. It includes overview of key system requirements and list of priority Monitoring values, analysis, analytics and KPI based alerts for effective Management Information System (MIS).

  • At national level, with ratification from the Technical Advisory Committee, work is progressing on a Food Security Atlas in collaboration with the Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation.

  • In Dhenkanal district of Odisha, in August, government school meals were fortified with minerals and vitamins for children aged 6-14 years. 135 tons of fortified rice and 3.41 tons of Micronutrient Powder (MNP) were distributed in the schools in August. Data collection for the end line evaluation of the project has started.

  • WFP initiated preparatory work for a transparency portal in partnerships with Ericsson. A request for proposals for hiring vendors is shared with the state government. Preparations for setting the baseline are currently ongoing.

  • The Food Security Atlas developed as a part of institutionalization with in the state government of Odisha is in final stages of printing and is likely to be released in September followed by a SDG 2 strategic planning workshop based on the findings.

  • In Kerala, the pilot project on fortification of take home rations (THR) to improve micronutrient malnutrition is being scaled up by the Government of Kerala (GoK) under the supportive supervision of WFP. Hiring of vendors for state-wide scale up is on-going. 10.35 tons of fortified THR has been produced in August. The Kerala floods have affected the distribution of the fortified THR. The end evaluation to assess the performance of the project as well stalled due to recent state-wide Kerala floods.

  • Kerala experienced exceptional floods with huge losses of life and property. WFP is actively contributing to undertaking the assessments for nutrition and food security sector and volunteering in the relief operations under the umbrella of UN-Hub.

  • As part of WFP’s partnership with the Government of Uttar Pradesh (GoUP), WFP is continuing support to TPDS end-toend computerization. The grievance redressal system is reviewed and recommendations for improvement provided.

  • WFP supports the Department of Basic Education, Government of Uttar Pradesh in piloting mid-day meal fortification in Varanasi district. The micronutrient composition and project evaluation methodology are approved by the Technical Advisory Group Committee.