Attachments
In Numbers
USD 5.5 million six months (August-Jan 2025) net funding requirements, representing 81% of total requirements.
30 smallholder farmers trained on essential agribusiness skills.
63,884 people assisted in January-June 2024.
Operational updates
• In July, WFP Lesotho commenced the implementation of the new five-years Country Strategic Plan (CSP 2024-2029) that marks a strategic shift for WFP, transitioning from direct implementation to strengthening systems and providing technical assistance to the Government to enhance its capacities to manage and implement national programmes. As the technical partner of choice, WFP aims to enhance climate-resilient food systems, human capital, social protection and emergency preparedness and response, while prioritizing women and youth and other groups at risk. This CSP is aligned with all three pillars of the 2024–2028 United Nations Sustainable Development Cooperation Framework and the Government’s economic and institutional transformation for private sector-led jobs creation and inclusive growth.
Crisis response
• The Government of Lesotho declared a national food insecurity disaster due to the El Nino induced drought, effective from 12th July 2024 to 31st March 2025 and has asked support from the multi-sectoral partners and stakeholders in developing a National Response Plan to address the high levels of food insecurity in the country. The Lesotho Vulnerability findings indicate that the number of food-insecure people are estimated at 700,000 (a third of the population).
• In response to the declaration, WFP is in the process of consolidating plans to assist 266,900 people for a period of six months (October 2024 to March 2025) targeting rural areas of the most hard hit six districts (Qacha’s Nek, Maseru, Mohale’s Hoek, Quthing, Berea, and Thaba Tseka) in which 25 to 40 percent of the population needs humanitarian assistance. WFP will work with the Disaster Management Authority at national and district levels to identify eligible people for support and employ community based participatory verification exercises to ensure the right people receive assistance.
Emergency preparedness
• WFP, in collaboration with the Disaster Management Authority, held a two-day workshop for the launch of phase II of the European Union funded Regional Urban Preparedness (RUP) project titled “Fostering Community Resilience in Southern Africa by Strengthening Urban Preparedness Systems”. The workshop aimed to provide a comprehensive overview of key achievements in phase 1 of the project and the vision for phase II that focuses on four key pillars: urban readiness, vulnerability, targeting, and knowledge sharing. Building on the crucial insights gained in the first phase, the two-year project endeavors to enhance the capacity of the Disaster Management Authority and partners to improve coordination and collaboration for preparedness and response activities in urban areas.
• WFP participated in the workshop held by Africa Risk Capacity (ARC) and Africa Risk View to enhance the government’s ability to plan, prepare for, and respond to extreme weather events and natural disasters through effective disaster risk management and financing solutions. During the workshop, the National ARC Customization Technical Working Group, with support from the ARC Secretariat, conducted the customization process, building on the successful training held in June. The customization process involved inputting different vulnerability data available for Lesotho into the drought risk model.
School feeding
• As part of the South-South and Triangular Corporation initiative, WFP, in collaboration with UNICEF, supported the Ministry of Education and Training and the Ministry of Agriculture and Food Security’s mission to Malawi for an exchange on the design, planning, implementation and monitoring of a home-grown school feeding programme that integrates WASH, child protection and health interventions.