Overview
Within the framework of its country strategic plan (CSP) 2023 - 2026, WFP focused on supporting livelihoods, improving agricultural production, enhancing health, education and nutrition outcomes, as well as strengthening national institutions and systems. WFP is undertaking a strategic shift from direct implementation to enabling and strengthening the capacities of national and sub-national institutions to address food security and nutrition priorities. WFP's activities support the achievement of Sustainable Development Goal 2 (Zero Hunger) and 17 (Partnerships for the Goals). The CSP is aligned with the United Nations Sustainable Development Cooperation Framework for Tajikistan for 2023-2026 and the government’s national development strategy through 2030 - the overarching framework for meeting the Sustainable Development Goals.
With financial support from the Green Climate Fund, WFP and the Government of Tajikistan are rolling out an initiative to promote climate resilience in the most vulnerable districts by increasing communities’ knowledge and awareness, enhancing the government's technical capacities, and supporting diversified, climate-resilient livelihoods. Additional funding also contributed a significant scale up in cash-based transfers through food assistance for assets. Asset creation activities were implemented in 16 districts affected by climate change, disaster risks and hunger, as determined by the integrated context analysis and the 2023 Integrated Food Security Phase Classification (IPC). In addition, using digital means for capacity strengthening of young farmers through trainings, business literacy and market linkages has attracted the interest of new donors and expanded the scope for nutrition-sensitive value chains.
WFP’s school feeding programme remains its largest operational component in Tajikistan, having supported around 552,800 primary schoolchildren in 1,860 schools in 53 districts and towns across the country. WFP provided technical support to elevate school feeding as a government priority. To enhance the school feeding initiative, a cash-based model known as the Funds Transfer Pilot (FTP) was introduced. The FTP allows for the decentralized procurement of food from local traders, which is used to prepare hot meals at the schools. Local procurement also boosts the local economy. As part of this model, the Government allocated funds to 43 schools that were previously supported by WFP as a first step towards establishing a national school feeding programme. WFP is assisting an additional 17 schools within this project.
WFP is conducting advocacy and capacity strengthening actions to support the design and implementation of a government-run school feeding model. WFP further reinforced efforts toward national ownership of the programme through constant technical support in developing the legislative and regulatory framework with functional mechanisms to increase the ownership and institutionalization of the school feeding programme.
In January 2023, with financial support from the Russian Federation through WFP, the government established a National School Feeding Unit (NSFU) within the Ministry of Education and Science to manage school feeding in the country. The NSFU is responsible for training regional and sub-national Inter-Ministerial Coordination Council (IMCC) personnel and monitoring the FTP in 43 schools and advising the Ministry of Education and Science on whether the model is appropriate to be scaled up. WFP provides technical support to the ministry to run the National School Feeding Unit.
WFP implemented activities for the treatment and prevention of moderate acute malnutrition (MAM) in five districts of Khatlon and Sughd regions. The project is mandated to treat children aged 6-59 months who suffer from MAM by providing specialized nutritious food (SNF) in five target districts: Jaloliddini Balkhi, Dusti, Kulob, and Shahritus districts of Khatlon Region and Ayni District of Sughd Region, reaching 5,202 beneficiaries in over 267 primary healthcare centres (1). In addition to providing SNF, primary healthcare staff counsel beneficiaries' parents and guardians on proper infant and young child feeding practices. Furthermore, as a preventive aspect of the programme, WFP carried out social and behaviour change communication to promote healthy nutrition behaviour among the population.
WFP also responded to the food insecurity situation by providing food assistance to 205,464 people in 42 vulnerable districts from June-December 2023 to meet their urgent basic food needs. WFP supported the work of national platforms and inter-agency efforts on emergency preparedness and disaster risk reduction in coordination with the Committee of Emergency Situations and Civil Defense under the Government and enhanced the response capacity of REACT. WFP works towards strengthening the social protection system by enhancing infrastructure and strengthening the capacity of stakeholders, paving the way for the subsequent nationalization of the school feeding programme.
Furthermore, WFP continued supporting the Government and private sector in processes and partnerships for better nutrition and food fortification outcomes.
WFP prioritized gender-sensitivity in project design, implementation and monitoring, and collected and analyzed sex and age-disaggregated data. Specifically, as part of its participatory approach, WFP conducted extensive community-level consultations in targeted locations, encouraging women’s involvement in project implementing processes and greater gender equality within local community development. WFP made efforts to ensure all interventions are safe, inclusive and accountable. A protection risk assessment was carried out in preparation of the food assistance component and relevant mitigation measures were taken to address risks. Field level focus group discussions and key informant interviews were conducted with various sex, age and income groups. Results from these exercises enabled WFP and cooperating partners to design selection criteria, ensure assistance is effective and reach the communities most in-need.