Attachments
Overview
Rwanda is the second most densely populated country in Africa[1], with a population of around 13.2 million people expanding at a rate of 2.5 percent annually.[2] With 16 percent of the population living in extreme poverty,[3] the country faces various vulnerabilities including land degradation, economic and weather-related shocks like floods, landslides, and droughts undermining food and nutrition security. Agriculture is the main economic activity, contributing about one-fourth of the country’s gross domestic product, and employing over two thirds of the population, with half practicing subsistence agriculture and 42 percent commercial agriculture. The dual pressures of poor and degrading soils and climate change affect the sector’s productivity: 70 percent of land is located on hillsides with limited terracing; irrigation levels are low as only 1.6 percent of agricultural operators investing in it.
WFP seeks to address the underlying causes of food insecurity and malnutrition through the implementation of its Country Strategic Plan (CSP) 2019-2024, delivering life-saving assistance and strengthening national capacity by building systems to achieve zero hunger and other sustainable development goals.
With resourcing of 93 percent against the annual requirements, WFP reached 309,000 people (51 percent women) including smallholder farmers, school children, refugees, asylum seekers, returnees and crisis-affected communities. WFP provided direct support through a combination of 4,722 MT of in-kind food and nearly USD 10 million in cash-based transfers (CBT) distributed to improve food security and nutrition. This assistance also targeted 5000 people with disabilities.
WFP also supported nearly 146,000 people to improve their food security and nutrition status through capacity strengthening activities such as social and behavior change communication, agriculture and nutrition-sensitive training, provision of agricultural inputs, and community-led poverty reduction initiatives.
In May 2023, prolonged heavy rainfall in its northern, western, and southern provinces caused severe damages due to flooding and landslides. Within 24 hours, led by the Ministry in charge of Emergency Management (MINEMA), WFP and partners were on the ground deploying logistics and food assistance to affected communities. Over five months, WFP provided 12 MT of food and USD 336,000 in cash assistance to more than 3,000 households in the six districts most affected by the floods, complementing Government efforts.
At the same time, WFP strengthened the capacity of key national institutions, reaching over 200 government and partner staff with trainings,[4] simulations, south-south learning and other activities. WFP supported the Government and partners to prepare for and respond to crises by strengthening existing national disaster management capacities and structures, thereby maintaining WFP's commitment to attaining SDG 17: Partnerships for the Goals.
WFP strengthened its partnerships with the Government to provide more effective and shock-responsive social protection and emergency preparedness and response actions. This included contributions towards the development of the new national Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Policy approved in May in the aftermath of the disasters, development of a national digitalized household emergency needs assessment toolkit, technical assistance towards the approved design of the first Government-led shock-responsive cash transfer scheme; and efforts to strengthen the social protection sector’s Complaints Management System. WFP, in collaboration with MINEMA, the Ministry of Environment, and other partners, convened the first-ever national disaster risk reduction and management conference in March, highlighting innovations and partnership opportunities, as well as actionable recommendations for advancing climate-sensitive and shock responsive social protection programming in Rwanda.
WFP continued supporting the Government in strengthening the flagship National School Feeding Programme (NSFP) reaching over 3.8 million children with daily school meals. Leveraging a multi-partite agreement with the Ministry of Education, Ministry of Agriculture and Animal Resources, Ministry of Trade and Industry and the National Child Development Agency, WFP focused on supporting revamp of the NSFP’s procurement model, aimed at cost savings and more nutritious meals, and worked to strengthen market linkages for smallholder farmers to supply the school feeding market. Complementing the NSFP, WFP is the country's second largest school meal supplier, providing over 118,000 students in 140 public schools with diversified and nutritious meals which enhanced education, food security, nutritional status, and health outcomes. WFP transitioned 108 schools to the NSFP in September 2023.
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 under the one UN joint programme on nutrition. WFP remained a key stakeholder for enhancing national food systems as co-chair of the Maize Value Chain Platform along with MINAGRI and the Private Sector Federation. The platform brings together stakeholders and practitioners to ensure coordination of activities in the maize value chain; this further strengthens WFP’s visibility and influence in the agricultural sector.