Attachments
In Numbers
USD 43.8 million six months (Oct 2024-March 2025) net funding requirements, representing 78 percent of total requirement.
63,884 people assisted in January -September 2024
Operational Updates
Activity 1: Crisis response
• WFP, under the leadership of the Disaster Management Authority, conducted a verification exercise to confirm eligibility of individuals identified for humanitarian support. The process involved engaging communities and community leaders, particularly village chiefs, who played a key role in validating the lists. This exercise followed the targeting activity conducted in August. • WFP assessed 94 retailers across the four targeted districts to evaluate their capacity to partner with WFP in providing food assistance to targeted individuals through vouchers.
• WFP plans to assist 272,000 people, covering 39 percent of the Government appeal target, during the lean season from October 2024 to March 2025. However, the current available funding of USD 4 million will enable WFP to only assist 50,400 people for three months with both cash and vouchers in selected villages in four of the most affected districts. This leaves 221,600 of the planned vulnerable people without any food assistance. WFP needs USD 43.8 to support all the targeted people during the lean season that ends in March 2025.
Activity 2: Emergency preparedness
• WFP participated in a workshop led by the African Risk Capacity (ARC) in partnership with the Government of Lesotho. The workshop aimed to complete the customization of the Africa Risk Review tool, enabling the country’s participation in the upcoming Drought Pool 11B. During the session, the National Technical Working Group, comprising WFP, other UN agencies, government departments, and NGOs, developed a drought contingency plan and set risk transfer parameters which formed essential components of the operational framework for triggering insurance payouts when predefined thresholds are met.
• WFP conducted a regional case study titled "Advancing Last-Mile Early Warning Messages for Drought Induced by El Niño in Southern Africa" across four countries (Lesotho, Zimbabwe, Mozambique, and Madagascar) that activated anticipatory action financing upon reaching triggers for moderate and severe drought. The study aimed to provide a comparative analysis of the role of Last-Mile Early Warning Messages (LMEWMs) as an anticipatory action tool. It identified best practices and lessons learned, including optimizing stakeholder collaboration, strengthening dissemination channels, building timely partnerships, effectively translating LMEWMs, and improving overall understanding of these messages.