Attachments
Highlights
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WFP is preparing to support the victims of the m onsoon rain s that rendered thousands in need of assistance last month . Starting in December, the response will complement the Government’s assistance through general distributions to guarantee access to food . Additionally, WFP will support the Government’s Food Security Bonus programme, providing vouchers for agricultural inputs to help smallholder farmers restore their livelihoods .
USD 0,000 are needed to assist 29,000 Nicaraguans in the most affected areas . -
In order to provide much needed support to 163,000 school children through the school meals programme, WFP is urgently seeking USD 2.4 million . The funds are needed to cover food requirements of the first distribution of the year in early 2018, including rice, maize, beans, super cereal, vegetable oil, and wheat flour.
Operational Updates
• In November, WFP supported 164,000 school boys and girls living in some of Nicaragua’s poorest communities with daily school meals . For some of the children, the se mid - morning meals are the only nutritious meal that they receive in the day, thus providing much needed access to food and incentivising school attendance.
Additionally, WFP and the Ministry of Education provided trainings on food handling and storage to avoid food spoilage for the members of the School Meal Commitees, integrated by parents and teachers. The commitees play a key role in the implementation of the programme.
• With the aim of improving the food security and livelihoods of smallholder farmers, WFP continued to work with its assisted farmer organizations (FOs) to boost their productive and commercial capacities. The activities focused on productivity; sustainable agricultural practices; post - harvest handling; and strategies for enhancing commercialisation, communication, and leadership .
Additionally, under its Women Economic Empowerment Strategy, women farmers received t raining on basic accounting and financial education to promote the sound management of their production costs and sales .
• In order to strengthen Nicaragua’s emergency preparedness and response capacities, WFP supported SINAPRED in the implementation of trainings on Emergency Food Security Assessment (EFSA) . These training sessions w ere conducted in the framework of SINAPRED’s National Training Plan, provided for members of SINAPRED’s staff and extensive network of actors.
The transfer of the EFSA tool is an important step towards the inclusion of a food security approach in SINAPRED’s training plan.
Additionally, WFP supported the actualization of multi - hazard maps in two departments. This exercise serves to identify the most vulnerable areas to disasters and inform the development of response plans to ensure and effective and rapid response at the local level.
Challenges
• Despite resource mobilization efforts, the Mother and Child Health component has been severely underfunded since the beginning of the County Programme . Failing to provide assistance negatively impacts the status of nutritionally vulnerable groups.
WFP is seeking USD ,000 to cover current needs .
• HIV activities have been discontinued due to lack of funding; USD 72,000 are needed to support 1,600 patients .