World Food Programme Fighting Hunger Worldwide

WFP assists African governments and communities to implement comprehensive, country-led, programmes to tackle hunger the world’s greatest solvable problem. In 2012, out of a total US$4.2 billion expenditure, two thirds (US$2.7 billion) was allocated to Africa. WFP is the world’s biggest buyer of food for humanitarian operations and it is the largest single purchaser of food assistance in Africa, but we do not work alone. This edition of WFP in Africa highlights our partnerships throughout the continent, illustrating the importance of working together to reach shared goals and objectives.

This strategic evaluation analysed the role of WFP in ending long-term hunger. Three activities were identified to contribute to that goal: MCHN,SF and FFW/A.  

Based on overall evaluation findings, the team concluded that long-term hunger cannot be tackled in isolation.  This conclusion led to one of the six recommendations; WFP should approach hunger holistically, integrating short-term and long-term hunger solutions.  The other five recommendations are related to each of the five evaluation questions, common to all four strategic evaluations in this series.

WFP’s Office of Evaluation commissioned this review to identify how WFP could strengthen and scale up its mother and child nutrition (MCN) interventions.

By endorsing the Food for Nutrition policy paper in 2004, WFP strengthened its corporate policy focus on nutrition issues including MCN. However, based on case studies in Cuba, India, Madagascar and Zambia the review recommends that WFP should:

• ensure the implementation of the corporate focus on nutrition including scaling up MCN interventions and coherence issues;
• improve the quality of its MCN programmes;
• improve targeting mechanisms to support MCN programmes;
• collaborate more closely with CBO’s /NGOs to establish food assistance programmes; with stronger community involvement
• have a more strategic approach towards its partnerships for MCN programmes; and
• expand its role in the establishment of local production of fortified blended foods