World Food Programme Fighting Hunger Worldwide

WFP and the Government of Nicaragua coordinated a second shipment of food on 2 August to assist families affected by heavy rains and floods in the Northern Caribbean coast. The Executive Secretary of the National System for Disaster Prevention, Mitigation and Relief (SINAPRED), Guillermo González, and WFP Representative, Helmut W. Rauch, address the media while WFP food is loaded on trucks. 

Some 75 Metric Tons of rice, beans, corn, vegetable oil, fortified cereals, and salt will make 30-day rations for more than 6,000 people living in the communities, mostly Miskito indigenous groups, located in the banks of the Prinzapolka and Bambana rivers. Authorities declared a Red Alert in Prinzapolka following severe floods.

The food rations the Miskito communities will receive were donated by Brazil, Australia, Canada, Spain, and Germany. The Prinzapolka families lost all of their corn, rice, yucca, plantains, and fruit crops, meaning families will not have food of their own in the coming months.

The food will ride on trucks some 380 km from the capital city of Managua to Alamikambang, Prinzapolka’s main town. Once the cargo reaches Alamikambang, it will be transferred to boats for another journey of 170 km to 25 communities –Tasba Pauni, Prinzubila, Walpa 2, Masma Laya, Tuburus, Crucetas, Dos Amigos, and others—located along the banks of Prinzapolka and Bambana rivers.

“Bad weather is affecting in large scale the most vulnerable and poor families, and the situation in Prinzapolka is a clear example. These families not only have no food right now, they also lost all of their crops due to the floods. October and November will be hard for them because they will not harvest the maize and rice they expected. Actions will be needed to safe guard their food security at this time of crisis,” said WFP Representative, Helmut W. Rauch.

Prinzapolka is mostly inhabited by Miskito indigenous groups, mestizos, and some 500 Mayagna indigenous people. Ninety-five percent of the municipality is rural, so its inhabitants live in small communities with no access to drinking water and electricity. Farming and fishing are their main livelihoods. They use “cayucos” (small rustic wooden boats) for transportation, but most “cayucos” were destroyed or washed away by the floods.