World Food Programme Fighting Hunger Worldwide

Country Programme 200163 (2011 - 2015)

The WFP Country Programme 200163 for 2011–2015 identifies the following components:

1) Support for primary education through the school feeding programme, which provides a morning snack and hot lunch to primary school children in the Sahel Region of the country, where malnutrition and food insecurity rates are high and enrollment rates are low. In addition to the school meals, WFP provides take-home rations to girls in the last two years of primary school with attendance rates above 80 percent to improve school completion rates;

2) Nutritional support for vulnerable groups, pregnant and lactating women, and people infected and affected by HIV/AIDS as well as AIDS orphans. 

3) Enhancing the agricultural value chain through local procurement, food fortification and processing.

This project represents a shift in development towards innovative approaches to sustainable long-term solutions to food insecurity, with a strong emphasis on supporting the local economy. The development of national capacities is an integral element of the country programme to ensure the gradual hand-over to the government of all types of activities implemented under this project. More than 80% of the food distributed is purchased locally. 

In 2013, WFP plans to reach 112,000 beneficiaries through the Country Programme - 100,000 children through the school feeding programme and 12,000 through assistance for people living with HIV (PLHIV) and AIDS orphans. The school feeding programme takes place in the Sahel Region while the assistance to PLHIV takes place in six urban centres across the country (Ouagadougou, Bobo- Dioulasso, Ouahigouya, Koudougou, Dedougou, Gawa), where HIV prevalence is elevated. More than 80 % of the food distributed is purchased locally.

Protracted Relief and Recovery Operation 200054 (2010 - 2012)

The PRRO was designed to reduce acute malnutrition below emergency levels and to strengthen the Government's capacity to respond to food crises.

The project was adapted in 2012 to respond to the emergency needs resulting from the unfolding food and nutrition crisis. Both blanket and targeted supplementary feeding activities were scaled up, geographically and in terms of beneficiary numbers, compared to the original project, to prevent and treat moderate acute malnutrition amongst at-risk groups, namely children under 5 years of age and pregnant and lactating women.

Two activities were added to the initial set of project activities, including general food distributions both in-kind and cash, for vulnerable populations in all ten affected regions. Cash and Food for Work (CFFW) was introduced to mitigate the impact of the crisis by protecting livelihoods, with beneficiaries receiving a combined ration of food and cash.

In 2013, the project will provide assistance through the targeted supplementary feeding programme for the treatment of moderate acute malnutrition (MAM) for 69,000 children under 5 years of age and 16,000 pregnant and lactating women. 5,500 caretakers of children undergoing treatment for severe acute malnutrition will also receive food assistance. In addition to the nutrition activities, WFP will carry out Cash for Assets activities that aim to assist communities to recover from the effects of the food and nutrition crisis. In return for carrying out asset creation activities, including soil and water rehabilitation, participants receive 24,000 CFA ($46) a month, which goes towards their food needs as well as their families'.

Protracted Relief and Recovery Operation 200509 (2013 - 2014)

This operation aims to reduce Burkina Faso’s chronically high malnutrition levels through both treatment and prevention programmes and to strengthen the resilience of households and communities to withstand shocks through asset creation in support of agricultural livelihoods. 

The project will cover 10 regions of the country through the targeted supplementary feeding programme, where global acute malnutrition (GAM) rates are above or close to the 10 percent serious threshold. Blanket supplementary feeding activities will be carried out during the lean season of 2013 to prevent a deterioration in nutrition status during this difficult period. In addition to the nutrition activities, WFP will support the creation and preservation of community and household assets in shock-prone marginal and degraded agropastoral areas through Cash-for-asset (CFA) activities. Support for livelihoods will include land rehabilitation activities such as soil and water conservation measures, water harvesting, and moisture-retention techniques that improve crop performance. CFA activities will be identified and planned in consultation with regional authorities, government technical staff and local community organizations.

 A pilot Cash-for-training (CFT) programme will be carried out in 2013, reflecting the socio-economic needs of each region and provide technical skills that enable participants to diversify their income sources. Blanket feeding and the Cash-for-Assets/Training activities will take place in six regions where there are both high GAM rates and high food insecurity rates.

Regional Emergency Operation 200438

In response to the influx of Malian refugees, and given the regional implications of the Mali conflict, in June 2012 WFP launched a regional emergency operation addressing the needs of refugees in Burkina Faso, Mauritania and Niger and responding to the needs of internally displaced persons (IDPs) in Mali. Since their arrival in Burkina Faso, WFP has provided the refugees with a monthly ration made up of cereals, supercereal, pulses, oil and salt, ensuring a daily intake of 2,100 calories. 

To respond to the needs of new arrivals WFP provides hot meals for up to five days and a dry ration, upon the completion of the level II registration process, to cover beneficiaries’ food needs until the next monthly distribution. Similarly newly relocated refugees receive two hot meals over two days to allow the refugees time to settle.

In the Sahel region, Burkina Faso’s Country Programme’s school feeding activities has been scaled up to respond to the influx of refugee children attending local Burkinabé schools.

In 2013, WFP plans to continue food assistance for Malian refugees and to start blanket supplementary feeding for moderate acute malnutrition (MAM) prevention amongst children aged 6 – 23 months and targeted supplementary feeding for MAM treatment amongst children 6 – 59 months and pregnant and lactating women. Cash & vouchers interventions will be implemented based on the recommendations stemming from the ongoing joint WFP/UNHCR/Government feasibility and market studies.

P4P

WFP is working to connect farmers in Burkina Faso to markets through the Purchase for Progress initiative; Burkina Faso has been chosen to be among the 21 pilot countries. The five-year pilot project links WFP’s demand for staple commodities to farmers producing food surpluses, and allows the latter to sell their products at market price through the expertise and the support of their respective farmers’ organizations.

Though P4P is scheduled to come to an end in 2013, discussions are ongoing to extend the scheme in Burkina Faso into 2014. The food crisis in 2012 meant that there were fewer opportunities for purchasing through P4P in 2012. Nevertheless, 210 MT of maize and 105 MT of beans were bought from farmer organizations through P4P and at the end of 2012, four forward contracts were signed for 375 MT of maize, to be delivered in early 2013.  Since 2009, P4P purchased a total of 3 787 MT of commodities (maize, sorghum & beans) from 12 854 smallholder farmers, amounting to US$ 1.356 million.