World Food Programme Fighting Hunger Worldwide

All WFP activities in Zambia are implemented as an integral part of the United Nations Development Assistance Framework (UNDAF) and in line with the ‘Delivering as One’ mechanism under which UN agencies in selected countries have pledged to work together to ensure a more coordinated and effective level of action in areas of development, humanitarian assistance and the environment. Though not among the original pilot countries to sign up to the initiative, Zambia is among those that have agreed to take specific steps towards the goal of Delivering as One.

The World Food Programme (WFP) is the food assistance agency of the United Nations, and the world's largest humanitarian organization fighting hunger worldwide. WFP has been in Zambia since 1967 and is committed to providing food assistance to more than 900, 000 people in Zambia in 2011. 

WFP Zambia’s new Country Programme (CP 200157) aims to support social protection for vulnerable households and the Protracted Relief and Recovery Operation (PRRO 200070) provides food assistance to  refugees in need.

Refugees
The Government of the Republic of Zambia (GRZ) has maintained an open-door policy and consistently granted asylum to populations seeking refugee status. Food assistance is given to refugees by providing secure access to food until they become self-sufficient or are repatriated to their country of origin. In 2011, WFP aims to meet and safeguard the basic food and nutritional needs of about 6,500 vulnerable refugees and new arrivals in Mayukwayukwa and Meheba Settlements.  The vulnerable refugees include more than 2,000 people who relocated to Meheba and Mayukwayukwa settlements following the successful repatriation and closure of Kala and Mwange refugee camps in 2010. WFP is providing a basic nutritious diet. The refugees come mainly from the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) and Angola.

WFP and UNHCR have an agreement under which the UN refugee agency will oversee food distribution to refugees in Meheba and Mayukwayukwa camps. No resources for food security and nutrition surveys, warehousing or distribution are included in the agreement.

Country Programme
Country Programme (CP 200157) aims to strengthen the institutional and technical capacity of the government to provide social safety nets to assist hungry and poor households. This includes the Home Grown School Feeding Programme that is owned and led by the government. The Country Programme interventions will focus on:
• Improving human capital through food-based safety nets, including school meals, voucher schemes and support to vulnerable groups
• Disaster risk management and response by strengthening the government’s capacity to reduce vulnerability to climate shocks, natural disasters and environmental degradation
• Expanding market opportunities for small farmers by leveraging local food procurement for social protection programmes

This Country Programme supports WFP’s commitment to sustainability by enhancing the capacity of ministries, districts and communities to develop effective food security strategies and implement assistance programmes at the provincial and district levels. Activities will provide a greater focus on learning lessons, advocacy, influencing national strategies, and building government commitment and capacity to implement programme activities. 

Expansion of the Home Grown School Feeding programme will lead to a nationally-managed programme with public-private partnerships facilitating the handover of operations to the government and the private sector.

Implementation of the Country Programme will follow a results-based management approach to monitoring and evaluation. This approach will make use of project baseline surveys, the Comprehensive Food Security and Vulnerability Analyses, a mid-term evaluation, as well as regular output and outcome monitoring data.
 
Environment
WFP is committed to environmentally sustainable interventions in relief, recovery and development operations. While providing food to beneficiaries is still the primary concern of WFP, the agency has had the opportunity to undertake a number of initiatives in the last decade to address environmental issues in both its relief and development interventions. WFP’s determination to invest in the future was informed by the knowledge that food crises are exacerbated by the effects of climate change. The results include droughts, floods, the degradation of natural resources and biodiversity loss. 
 
Fuel efficient stoves:
From 2007 to date, WFP in partnership with the Ministry of Education has installed 573 fuel efficient stoves in 324 schools at a cost US$ 423,000.These fuel efficient stoves have improved the efficiency in the usage of available fuel firewood, and moderated the demand for firewood for the preparation of school meals. Performance evaluations on the efficiency of the stove indicate that 13kg of wood is consumed to prepare the staple food, nshima, in a 100 liter pot compared to 170 kg when cooked on an open fire.
 
Tree Planting Initiative:
In 2010, WFP planted nearly one million trees. This initiative aims to mitigate deforestation both at the community and school levels through the establishment of community-managed tree nurseries.
 
Solar lights:
WFP has purchased solar lighting equipment at a cost of US$25,000 which has been installed in six schools in Lusaka and in the southern provinces. This has enabled students and adult community members to study in the evenings and also to power equipment such as radios and television sets for educational purposes.
 
Water Harvesting:
WFP has partnered Water Aid Zambia to construct six rain water harvesting structures in six schools in Monze District. This will be done at a total cost of US$50, 000.
 
Carbon credits:
WFP has signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with a private sector company, Climate Management Ltd, to tap into the carbon credit market through the WFP tree planting initiative. Following the signing of the MOU, efforts are underway to implement a clean development mechanism.
 
Information Management Systems:
Zambia is prone to recurrent natural disasters such as droughts, floods and/or epidemics. In recent years, floods from the annual rains have caused the most damage, particularly in rural and peri-urban areas. In 2010, the World Food Programme played a major role in assisting the Zambian government to prepare adequate drainage systems for the 2010/2011 rains. WFP has supported the Zambian government in its disaster preparedness and mitigation efforts by developing an online information management platform to enhance the sharing of data and information. The platform includes inputs from various sectors including health, nutrition, education, infrastructure, environment, HIV and AIDS, water and sanitation, social protection, agriculture and food security.
 
Disaster Management:
WFP is one of the key stakeholders implementing the Lusaka Disaster Risk Reduction, Preparedness and Response (DRRR) programme that was formed by the District Disaster Management Committee as a response to the severe flooding and the rise in the incidence of cholera during the 2009/2010 rainy season. This envisages activities to reduce the level of risk to residents, infrastructure and the environment caused by heavy rainfall. The 2010/2011 DRRR programme has been drawn up to respond to floods and cholera and seeks to draw particular attention to the threat to life in the district from cholera during the rainy season. Drawing on the experience of past rainy seasons, the plan aims to:
• Reduce morbidity/mortality related to cholera outbreaks in Lusaka District through the implementation of water, sanitation, health, flood control and Information Education Communication (IEC) programmes
• Consider the effects of rainfall on the environment which has caused extensive damage to infrastructure and livelihoods and the need to find a more sustainable solution for  people living in high-risk, flood-prone parts of  the district.
 
Purchase for Progress
WFP Zambia is committed to purchasing Zambian-grown commodities for food assistance in the country and the region. Purchase for Progress (P4P), a global pilot project, seeks to provide sustainable hunger solutions to smallholder farmer households and their communities through increased agriculture productivity and access to wider marketing outlets.

To these ends, WFP purchases crops produced and deposited in Zambia Agricultural Commodities Exchange (ZAMACE) certified warehouses by smallholder farmers for its emergency relief and social safety net projects. Through P4P, farmers also receive agricultural skills and knowledge as well as farming inputs and equipment. So far, 10 farmers have been given access to tractors with another nine expected to receive tractors during 2011 while 38 farmers have received sheller machines.