Attachments
In Numbers
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8.6 mt food assistance distributed
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US$ 135,280 cash-based transfers made
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US$ 292,455 six-month (June – November 2021) net funding requirements
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84,797 people assisted in May 2021
Operational Updates
Following the conclusion of the WFP COVID-19 cash assistance programme in April 2021, WFP continued to monitor cash redemptions among the three percent of the beneficiaries (1,943 households) who were yet to redeem their full entitlements of ZMW 2,400 (USD 109). WFP also engaged a consultant to document lessons learnt from the COVID-19 response to inform similar future interventions.
The consultant will document lessons in the six districts and additional districts where UNICEF and three NGOs (ChildFund,
Plan International and Zambia Red Cross Society) led similar interventions. Over 312,000 vulnerable urban people impacted by the COVID-19 in six districts (Chilanga, Kafue,
Kalulushi, Kitwe, Livingstone and Lusaka) were supported by WFP from July 2020 to April 2021. Each household received a total of ZMW 2,400 (USD 109), translating to ZMW 400 (USD 18) per month for a total of six months.
To enhance the adoption of post-harvest loss (PHL) management practices and technologies among smallholder farmers, WFP facilitated the training of over 60,000 smallholders in PHL management in the month under review.
To reach more smallholders and to reduce the risk of COVID19 spreading among beneficiaries, WFP, working with cooperating partners, prepared and aired 14 radio programmes on community radio channels with a focus on PHL management practices and technologies.
In line with the Ministry of General Education’s (MoGE) decentralized procurement strategy, WFP bought 15 metric tons of cowpeas from about 300 local smallholder farmers in Gwembe and Shang’ombo districts valued at ZMW 105,000 (about USD 4,714). The commodities are expected to benefit over 18,000 schoolchildren in 53 schools benefiting from the Home-Grown School Meals (HGSM) programme in the two districts. The smallholder farmers who supplied the cowpeas had received inputs support during the 2020/21 farming season under WFP’s early drought recovery intervention.
Additionally, WFP continued to support MoGE in strengthening the capacity of the MOGE staff in the school meals programme implementation. During the month under review, WFP facilitated the training of 88 teachers and district staff from 40 schools in four districts (Petauke, Nyimba, Sinda and Chama) on the Food Tracking System (FTS). The FTS is a web-based system developed for MoGE to track the movement of commodities from procurement to consumption, ensuring improved commodity accountability in the HGSM programme. So far, WFP has supported MoGE to roll out the FTS in 80 more schools in eight districts, out of the targeted 120 schools in 12 districts.
Working with the National Food and Nutrition Commission (NFNC) and other stakeholders, WFP facilitated the finalization of the SUN Business Network (SBN) strategy, that will inform the network’s operations across the food system for the next five years (2021 – 2025). The strategy will be validated in June by a wider stakeholders’ group involving government departments, private sector, NGOs, and others.
The NFNC and WFP continued to support the Zambia Bureau of Standards (ZABS) in the Good Food Logo (GFL) certification process. During the month, WFP supported the review of 18 products submitted by three companies to the ZABS for testing and certification with the logo, a front of pack certification mark for food products that enables consumers to make better food choices. The SBN led by WFP, engaged chain stores (including Shoprite, Jumbo, Choppies, Spar and Cheers) to encourage them to stock GFL certified food products, and food processing companies to have their food products tested and certified.
WFP facilitated the evaluation of the GFL to assess the implementation of the initiative. In May, the contracted consultant finalized the study which focused on assessing the product certification process, stocking of certified products in retail shops, media outreach activities, consumer awareness and lessons learnt. Preliminary results showed that the implementation of the GFL went on well with 45 percent of the small and medium scale enterprises (SMEs) under the SBN fully aware of the initiative; the certification process took more than the stipulated average period of 30 days; and slowed economic activities due to the COVID-19 pandemic impacted the implementation of the GFL.
In the period under review, WFP facilitated the Training of Trainers (ToTs) for eight provincial staff and 106 district staff from MoA, MCDSS, and the cooperating partners (Care International and iDE) from 12 districts in six provinces (Eastern, Luapula, Lusaka, North-western, Southern and Western) under the second phase of the Scaling Up Nutrition (SUN II). The trainings aimed to strengthen the staff’s capacities in implementing savings for change and postharvest management activities under SUN II. The trained staff will cascade the same trainings to camp extension staff and targeted beneficiaries including smallholder farmers, producer groups, pregnant and lactating women and adolescent girls.