Attachments
In Numbers
294.705 mt of food assistance distributed (for August and September)
USD 3.29 m cash distributed to crisis-affected people
215,990 people assisted in August 2020
Operational Updates
Under its cash assistance for the COVID-19 response, WFP reached 36,311 households (181,555 people) with cash assistance by the end of August 2020. WFP and the Ministry of Community Development and Social Services (MCDSS) initially targeted 180,000 people residing in low-income and highdensity urban areas of Lusaka and Kafue, with a plan to scale up to reach 656,000 people in four districts (Lusaka, Kafue,
Livingstone and Kitwe) based on available resources. As COVID19 confirmed cases continued to rise, WFP and MCDSS distributed four months’ worth of rations in two batches (July and August), with each family receiving a total of ZMW 1,600 (USD 80) to allow them to purchase food in bulk and avoid frequent visits to pay points and markets which are usually overcrowded.
Following the rapid food security vulnerability assessment it conducted in Lusaka and Kafue districts in June, WFP is analysing data collected from another assessment undertaken in Kitwe and Livingstone districts as part of preparations for the scale up of the COVID-19 response in these two districts.
During the month, WFP facilitated a Training of Trainers (ToT), where 50 national and district-level staff from the Ministries of General Education and Agriculture were trained on hydroponics. The training will be cascaded to staff, school children and other stakeholders in the 22 schools where hydroponics gardens were established, with the aim to promote ownership of the systems among school staff and schoolchildren and ensure sustainability of the project. WFP supported the Ministry of General Education (MoGE) in establishing 24 hydroponics gardens to promote the production and consumption of diverse nutritious foods in schools in targeted drought-prone districts. Establishing gardens in schools will enable MoGE to provide healthy and balanced diets to school children while also supporting smallholder farmers and the local economy.
As climate change continues to adversely affect the production and productivity of smallholder farmers in Zambia, WFP has been providing capacity strengthening support to the Government and communities on risk management in order to build the smallholders’ resilience to climate shocks as well as enhance their recovery from such hazards. In August, WFP facilitated the training of government staff to create awareness of the weather index insurance, a risk transfer tool which enables smallholder farmers to access compensation for losses suffered as a result of variabilities in weather events. A total of 136 government staff (116 marketing and development officers from 116 districts and 20 staff from the 10 provinces) were trained through the newly established inter-ministerial working group.
WFP continued to provide support to the Ministry of Health and the National Food and Nutrition Commission to roll out the Healthy Diets Campaign, a nationwide nutrition campaign aimed at promoting the production and consumption of diverse, healthy foods. In August, a local media house contracted to implement the campaign developed a Monitoring and Evaluation (M&E) plan and tools for tracking trends in consumer behaviours during the implementation of the campaign, which is scheduled to commence later this year. Three brand ambassadors (local celebrities) were also hired to better promote the consumption of healthy diets.