Liberia Country Strategic Plan (2019 - 2026)

CSP approved at EB.A/2019

Revision 01 approved by the ED in May 2020

Revision 02 approved by the CD in June 2022

Revision 03 approved by the RD in October 2023

Liberia is a least-developed, low-income country with 51 percent of its estimated 4.5 million people living in poverty.Although conditions for agriculture are very favourable, over 90 percent of agriculture is subsistence-based, and the country depends on imports for over 60 percent of its basic food needs. In addition Liberia faces climate-related risks (floods, coastal erosion) with a potential impact on its food security.

At the political level, for the first time in 70 years a democratic transfer of power has taken place, with George Weah assuming the presidency in January 2018. The United Nations Mission in Liberia left in March 2018, after almost 15 years in the country.

This country strategic plan articulates WFP’s engagement in Liberia from 2019 to 2023 in support of the Government’s efforts to end hunger (Sustainable Development Goal 2) and to achieve all the Sustainable Development Goals through global partnership (Goal 17). Through this CSP, WFP aims to transition from humanitarian assistance towards resilience building interventions with a focus on home-grown school feeding and increased country capacity strengthening for the Government and communities to ensure ownership and sustainability.

Increased partnerships with national counterparts, development partners, regional and subregional institutions, United Nations agencies and other key stakeholders remain the cornerstone of WFP’s work in Liberia. The strategic shift has been informed by the 2017 national zero hunger strategic review, extensive multi-stakeholder and government consultations and lessons learned from past WFP activities.

The country office will continue to enhance gender mainstreaming in all its work and activities, ensuring that the particular food security and nutrition needs of women, men, girls and boys are addressed in a gender transformative manner. Accountability to affected populations, protection analysis, conflict sensitivity and environmental considerations remain core cross-cutting issues. Nutrition-sensitive approaches will be emphasized in all of WFP’s integrated nutrition activities.

Consistent with the Government’s priorities as set out in the 2018 Pro-Poor Agenda for Prosperity and Development, other sectoral policies and the 2013–2017 United Nations development assistance framework for Liberia (extended to December 2019), the country strategic plan is built around three interrelated strategic outcomes designed to contribute to WFP’s strategic results 1 and 5:

• Strategic outcome 1: Food-insecure populations, including school-age children in targeted areas, have access to adequate and nutritious food, including food produced locally, by 2030.
• Strategic outcome 2: Crisis-affected populations in targeted areas are able to meet their basic food and nutrition needs during and in the aftermath of crises.
• Strategic outcome 3: National and subnational institutions have strengthened capacities to design and manage food security and nutrition, social protection, emergency preparedness and response and disaster risk management systems by 2030.