In 2004, the Government of Ethiopia launched a comprehensive National Food Security Programme (NFSP) to promote enhanced food security among the most vulnerable communities in the country. As part of the NFSP, the Government established a Productive Safety Net Programme (PSNP). 

The PSNP aims to enable millions of chronically food-insecure rural people move out of hunger and poverty shifting from recurrent emergency assistance to more secure and predictable forms of social protection.  It also promotes the livelihoods of vulnerable households through asset creation, resilience building and  disaster risk reduction interventions conducted through  public works using food and cash as payment.

In support to the NFSP, WFP and the World Bank are working with the Government of Ethiopia to develop an integrated national risk mangement framework through the Livelihoods, Early Assessment and Protection project (LEAP) project.

LEAP is an innovative early warning – early action tool that supports the national Productive Safety Nets Program  and prompts  its timely and effective scale up when a serious drought or flood is detected.

LEAP provides national authorities with an advanced food security early warning system that activates contingency plans and triggers contingent finance.  As part of this mechanism, resources from a $ US 160 million contingency fund can be  made immediately available to ensure early action and  effective response, protecting livelihoods, and saving lives.

"My family eats three times a day now"
Mohammad, a farmer from Ethiopia, explains how his life has changed since he began taking part in the Productive Safety Net Programme (PSNP).

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Setting standards in supporting national climate and weather risk management

As part of its mandate, one of WFP’s priorities is to support governments in building national capacity to manage disaster risk and improve food security.  WFP promotes the integration of risk transfer mechanisms, such as weather index insurance, into traditional risk management and social protection schemes. The combination of these approaches makes national safety net programmes more effective and reduces the adverse impact of climate disasters on the most vulnerable people.

WFP also strongly supports the strengthening of national disaster preparedness through a more effective integration of early warning, contingency planning, contingent finance and risk transfer tools. These integrated approaches to risk management help vulnerable countries shift from managing disasters to managing risks, mitigating suffering among vulnerable and at risk communities, increasing the cost-effectiveness of assistance programmes, and improving food security.

LEAP is an example of the innovative disaster risk management solutions that WFP and its partners can provide at the national and community levels to help governments build comprehensive and more effective disaster risk management frameworks that enhance people’s food security and resilience to shocks.  Working closely with governments and partners, WFP can help tailor interventions that provide more sustainable solutions and enhance local risk management programmes and capacities, including safety nets and livelihood protection schemes.

For more info, please contact the WFP Office for Climate Change and Disaster Risk Reduction: leap.info@wfp.org or infodrmfss@gmail.com