Attachments
In Numbers
3,463 mt of food assistance distributed
USD 1.9 m cash-based transfers made
USD 10.1 m six months (January−June 2019) net funding requirements
384,057 people assisted in December 2018
Operational Updates
The National Drought Management Authority (NDMA), FEWSNET, and WFP released the latest food security outlook covering December 2018 to May 2019 based on the analysis of the October to December short rains season. Overall, rainfall was significantly below average and crop production is expected to be 70 percent of average. However, it is projected that the agricultural surplus from the long rains season, replanting of short rain crops combined with high demand for agricultural labour and above average terms of trade, will facilitate food access for vulnerable populations and delay deterioration. Stressed (IPC Phase 2) outcomes are anticipated to be widespread in the February to May 2019 period.
One of the main shifts in WFP’s Country Strategic Plan in Kenya is to implement activities that address food system challenges directly through the county governments as opposed to through NGOs. In December, WFP supported the County Government of Isiolo to plan, target and electronically register beneficiaries that will receive cash-based transfers and technical support in the coming months. After the modelling in Isiolo, WFP will support seven other county governments to conduct beneficiary targeting and registration in the first quarter of 2019. Registration is being done electronically into SCOPE, WFP’s digital solution for management of identities and entitlements of beneficiaries.
UNHCR and WFP developed a joint operational plan in 2018 to facilitate the move to unrestricted cash assistance for refugees in Kenya. This is part of WFP’s Country Strategic Plan to meet up to 70 percent of food requirements through cash in the next five years to increase beneficiaries’ self-reliance and boost the local economy. WFP will provide unrestricted cash in the first quarter of 2019 to 5,000 beneficiaries in Kalobeyei. If successful, the lessons learnt will be used to inform the scale up to 30,000 beneficiaries by the end of 2019.
WFP will roll out an interactive voice response system in the first quarter of 2019 to facilitate increased accountability to beneficiaries in its areas of operation. The system, funded by KOICA, is a two-way communication system that will facilitate sharing of information with beneficiaries and collecting their feedback and complaints in an automated way. It is expected to provide a record of all missed calls that are made to the number and play recorded messages on the various programmes being implemented by WFP. Additionally, it will provide an option for callers to leave voice messages. The helpline will be functional after office working hours, on weekends and holidays to ensure that beneficiaries can always share their feedback. Training of public health officers on food safety and quality was carried out in Baringo, Garissa, Mandera, Makueni and Wajir counties in December 2018. Handover of equipment for mini laboratories is underway. Capacity strengthening and advocacy for budget commitments by counties towards food safety and quality will continue in 2019.
WFP’s SOLVE (Supply Optimization through Logistics, Visibility and Evolution) initiative hosted a visit from the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation and facilitated high level engagement with the Ministry of Health to discuss the ministry’s health supply chain challenges and align key priorities under the Universal Health Coverage initiative. This was in addition to WFP’s continued engagement with key partners such as USAID, World Bank, DFID, Kenya Medical Supply Agency and UNFPA to discuss common supply chain challenges and possible collaborative approaches. WFP’s SOLVE initiative was established in 2017 to accelerate progress toward the Family Planning 2020 goal of enabling access to modern contraceptives to an additional 120 million women and girls.