Situated on the Eastern Coast of Africa , Tanzania is one of Africa ’s politically stable countries. The country is categorised as a least developed and low-income food-deficit country, with almost 80 percent of its total population dependent on mainly subsistence agriculture for their livelihood. Poverty remains widespread and recent statistics indicate that over 58 percent of the population lives on less than $1 per day.
More than 40 percent of the population lives in chronic food-deficit regions where irregular rainfall causes recurring food shortages. With an estimated 1.4 million people already living with HIV/AIDS, this epidemic is exacerbating the country’s poverty level and has reduced agricultural productivity and the availability of farm labour in several districts. The epidemic is seriously undermining the capacity of poor households to sustain their livelihoods and remain food secure.
As a result of these debilitating forces, many households are highly susceptible to repeated climatic and economic shocks, which make them vulnerable to food insecurity. According to the 2004/05 Tanzania Demographic and Health Survey, 38 percent of children under five in the country are chronically malnourished (i.e. stunted height for their age) while over 30 percent of all regions in the country have stunting rates of over 50 percent.
Furthermore, recurring political instability and civil strife in the neighbouring countries of the Great Lakes Region (Democratic Republic of Congo, Rwanda and Burundi ) have led to massive influxes of refugees into Tanzania at different periods dating back as far as 1972 when almost 200,000 Burundians fled civil strife in their country into Tanzania .
The country is currently hosting 148,000 refugees from Burundi , the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) and a few Rwandan and refugees with mixed ethnic backgrounds in 4 camps in north-western Tanzania . Movement restrictions imposed on refugees oblige them to depend almost entirely on WFP food handouts.
WFP is working to connect farmers in Tanzania to markets through the Purchase for Progress initiative. Learn more
WFP’s presence in Tanzania dates back to 1963. Since then, it has provided substantial food assistance through emergency, relief operations and development activities. WFP works in partnership with the Government of Tanzania, other United Nations agencies and NGOs. As one of the eight pilot countries of the UN delivering as “One” initiative the One UN in Tanzania has made significant efforts in strengthening its focus and cooperation on the 6 main joint programmes.
Since the launching of the initiative, in October 2007, donors have pledged over US$50 million to the ‘One Fund’. Also, under the scope of delivering as “One” WFP is the lead agency on One UN ICT related activities, including the coordination of ICT trainings, projects and the One UN ICT fund. WFP Tanzania provides logistical support services to WFP and other relief agencies operations in The Great lakes region primarily Eastern DRC , Rwanda , Burundi and Uganda .
WFP uses a combination of rail, road and lake transport modes for overland deliveries in the region relying on the strategic location of the port of Dar es Salaam, transport infrastructure and logistics hubs in Isaka and Kigoma. In addition WFP uses the Port of Dar es salaam to provide transshipment services for Somalia bound cargo.
Current operations of WFP in Tanzania are broadly divided into three categories: i) Assistance to about 152,200 refugees in 4 camps and vulnerable households among the host population in northwestern Tanzania (under the Protracted Relief and Recovery Operation, PRRO); ii) Food for Development activities under the Tanzania Country Programme (CP), which aims to address the chronic vulnerabilities in the central and north eastern regions of the country; and iii) Purchase for Progress (P4P) initiative designed to advance the capacity and position of smallholder farmers in the agriculture market.
Tanzania Refugee Operation
WFP's Protracted Relief and Recovery Operation (PRRO 10529.0) supports more than 152,200 refugees from Burundi and the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) in 4 refugee camps in north-western Tanzania. Under this PRRO, WFP provides assistance to the refugees through general food distribution as well as nutritional support to malnourished individuals (mainly pregnant/nursing mothers and children). WFP also provides support to 4,200 people in refugee-host communities in the form of food for hospital patients, home-based care of HIV/AIDS patients, orphanage centres, support to vulnerable and destitute families and school feeding for complementary basic education institutions that enrol children who were previously out-of-school.
Development Activities
WFP operates the following four development activities in its 2007-2010 Country Programme (10437.0): Under the Country Programme WFP is providing school meals to over 202,000 school children at 330 schools in food insecure areas in the regions of Dodoma , Singida, Arusha and Manyara. This programme has proved to be a strong incentive for children to enrol, attend and concentrate in schools. Giving household rations to 1,800 food-insecure households affected by HIV/AIDS has enabled people living with HIV/AIDS to participate in care and treatment programmes and enabled food-insecure orphans to continue attending school. Food for assets activities have helped the agricultural sector through the participation of 1,500 households in construction and rehabilitation of irrigation systems, land rehabilitation and promotion of good post-harvest practices. A nutrition program targeting pregnant and lactating women and moderately malnourished children was started in June 2007 and since it’s inception over 16,000 women have benefited. The overall strategic focus of the Country Programme is to contribute to improved food security and to mitigate the effects of structural poverty and the HIV/AIDS epidemic among the most vulnerable in the central, southern highlands and north-eastern regions of the country.
Purchase for Progress
WFP has launched the Purchase for Progress (P4P) initiative and Tanzania is one of the 10 pilot countries to implement it. The P4P aims to increase smallholder farmers’ capacities in order to raise their incomes from the agricultural markets. It will also transform the WFP food purchase model in a way that supports sustainable production and address the root causes of hunger. The P4P National Steering Committee has been established under the co-chairmanship of WFP and the Permanent Secretary for the Ministry of Agriculture, Food Security and Cooperatives. Other members of the committee are FAO, IFAD, World Bank and African Development Bank. The main role of the Steering Committee is to provide policy and strategic guidance on the implementation of the P4P activities.
