South-South cooperation
- 84%
- of WFP's Country offices engaged in South-South cooperation activities in 2019
- 100%
- of WFP's Country Strategic Plans approved in 2019 highlight South-South and triangular cooperation as an area for host government engagement
Over the last decade and a half, the bulk of global economic growth has occurred in developing and middle-income countries. Governance standards and practices are maturing: many nations have been developing and testing their own solutions as they chart a path towards Zero Hunger. At the same time, the universality of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), and of Goal 2 in particular, means hunger and malnutrition must be ended for all people in all country contexts – something no development actor, government or other entity can achieve in isolation. This is also why Goal 17, the last of the SDGs, commits stakeholders to realizing all partnerships necessary to achieve the other 16.
With a common development agenda for the world, but a great variety of national needs and experiences, the World Food Programme (WFP)’s offer is evolving. Driven by rising country demand, we have stepped up support to governments through South-South and triangular cooperation. The expression covers the direct exchange of knowledge, experiences, skills, resources and technical know-how among developing countries, often assisted by a donor or multilateral organization, such as WFP. This “triangular” facilitation may take the form of funding, training, management, technological systems, or other types of support.