Attachments
Overview
WFP implemented the fourth year of the Country Strategic Plan (CSP) 2019-2024 which helped to provide life-saving assistance to camp-based refugees and continued the shift towards strengthening national capacity by building systems[1] to achieve sustainable development goal (SDG) 2: Zero Hunger. WFP reached a total of 289,587 people (49 percent women) with 56 percent of its annual needs-based plan funded. This included 11,292 persons with disabilities, and a combination of 9,802 metric tonnes (mt) of in-kind food, USD 8,183,252 in cash transfers to improve their food security and nutrition, and capacity strengthening. These activities benefited lead farmers, refugees, asylum seekers and returnees hosted in refugee camps and reception centres. The number of people reached increased by six percent from 2021, owing primarily to an increase in the number of WFP supported schools[2] and an influx of asylum seekers in 2022.[3] WFP contributed towards SDG target 2.2 by strengthening the capacity of 35,085 beneficiaries to improve their food security and nutrition status through social and behaviour change communication, agriculture and nutrition-sensitive training, provision of agricultural inputs, and community-led poverty reduction solutions. In line with WFP’s commitment to achieving SDG 17: Partnerships for the Goals, WFP maintained its capacity to support the Government and its partners to prepare for and respond to crises by strengthening existing national disaster management structures.
In addition, WFP provided technical assistance to 2,573 government and partner staff to strengthen institutional capacity and improve national food and nutrition security. WFP also provided capacity strengthening and technical support to 127,409 smallholder farmers (47 percent women) to promote production, reduce post-harvest losses and increase access to markets.
WFP activities are aligned with the Government’s National Strategy for Transformation (2017-2024) and the United Nations Sustainable Development Cooperation Framework (2018-2024). While food insecurity had increased slightly according to the 2021 comprehensive food security and vulnerability analysis, the prevalence of stunting among young children continued to decline.[4] As part of the efforts to fight malnutrition, WFP continued supporting the Government to strengthen the capacity of healthcare professionals and improve national nutrition surveillance systems. WFP also supported the launch of the Scaling Up Nutrition Business Network in Rwanda.
Further, WFP signed a memorandum of understanding with the Local Administrative Entities Development Agency to enhance the national social protection system and advance the implementation of climate-sensitive and shock-responsive social protection. Technical assistance was provided in designing a shock-responsive social protection programme, by enhancing the targeting, data and community feedback management systems, and designing climate-sensitive public works. WFP worked with the Ministry in charge of Emergency Management to strengthen preparedness planning across technical sectors, including completing the emergency preparedness capacity index exercise, and engaged national emergency responders in trainings and simulations.
WFP strengthened its collaboration with the Ministry of Education to advocate for school feeding. Engagements included the Transforming Education Summit at the 77 session of the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA 77), the Ministerial Taskforce Meeting of the School Meals Coalition in Finland, and the Africa Green Revolution Forum summit. The latter provided an opportunity to discuss the role of school feeding in promoting enhanced nutrition and food systems transformation, championed by Rwanda's first lady to increase sustainable access to better diets and nutrition. With the nationwide roll out of the national school feeding programme (NSFP) in 2021, WFP has been supporting the Government to develop a national school feeding strategy, including a financing strategy focusing on sustainable and innovative solutions to support the NSFP in the first decade of implementation.[5]
WFP's regional IGNITE innovation hub (nurturing innovations for food security and climate resilience) collaborated with Impact Hub Kigali in the launch of the ‘IGNITE food systems challenge’, seeking to fund innovative ideas from businesses and cooperatives to support sustainable food systems. Two digital initiatives were piloted, the "Farm 2 Go application" and SheCan, a crowd-sourced digital blended financing platform used by WFP to collect aggregate data at the individual farmer level and leverage savings groups among rural women. To increase the participation of women in its food-for-assets programmes, WFP, furthermore, established mobile daycare centres, allowing women to participate in livelihood activities.
Rwanda continued to experience significant price increases[6] mainly associated with the effects of the ongoing Ukraine crisis on the global economy.[7]