World Food Programme Fighting Hunger Worldwide

Rudy Paredes, from the Ministry of Health; Rosa Pérez, from the NGO FUSAL; Marina Martínez, from the Salvadoran Institute for the Integral Development of Children and Adolescents (ISNA); and Jessica Berríos, from Mujer de Lourdes City, Colon, were part of the first “Integral Course on Health, Nourishment and Nutrition with Emphasis on Gender: Management and Storage of Food and their Application in Emergencies”. This activity was developed within the framework of the WFP Gender Innovation Fund.
 

This formal course is part of an innovative education strategy with an integral focus, whose objective is to teach men and women—in a gradual and intensive process—a series of key issues related to health, nourishment and nutrition that may have a positive impact in the assistance provided to vulnerable groups. Pictured: Jacinto Pérez, from the ONG Médicos por el Derecho a la Salud; Franklin Amaya, from the Ministry of Government, and Milton Mendoza, from ISNA.
 

In Perquín, department of Morazán, Elvia Mojica and Tanya Ortiz—PMA nutritionists—explain to the course participants the importance of a balanced diet for the well-being of breastfeeding mothers, pregnant women and children under the age of five. One of the novelties of this course is its rigorous demand for participants to fulfill requirements such as assistance, approval of a final evaluation, group and individual assignments, practices on the preparation of healthy menus, among others.
 

The WFP in El Salvador has created a cookbook to instruct the population about the benefits of a healthy and well-balanced diet, by taking advantage of each community’s natural resources. The menu depicted includes “green tortillas” made of maize, berry leaves, chipilin, and spinach, all vitamin and mineral-rich foods.

 

The course developed by the WFP was presented to two groups of technicians, volunteers and leaders for a month. This training program included topics such as: the importance of a good diet and nutrition; proper hygiene practices and the correct manipulation and storage of food; the confection of healthy foods, foods in emergency contexts, etc. Pictured: a group certified by the WFP in Lourdes, Colon, a municipality in the La Libertad department.
 

The WFP recognizes the significance of the equal and active involvement of men and women in the pursuit of food and nutrition security. The WFP seeks to sensitize men, so that these improve their knowledge and be able to participate in more proper and quality feeding to women and children. Pictured: Wilmer Menjívar, of the Food Assistance Division of the Department of Social Inclusion, receives his participation diploma from Mrs. Dorte Ellehammer, Representative of the WFP in El Salvador.

 

During the closing ceremony the WFP handed cooking kits to the delegates of the institutions and organizations involved in the two sessions of training. Pictured: Dorte Ellehammer, Representative of the WFP-El Salvador, and Gustavo Palencia, food technician, hand in a cooking kit to José Romero, from the Ministry of Government.