Highlights
The Country Office expects to receive super cereal+ around mid-September which will allow resumption of activities for stunting prevention and moderate acute malnutrition treatment. The prolonged pipeline break could put nutrition gains at risk.
The CO is stepping up preparations for the rollout of the cash based transfers through mobile phones which aims at supporting malnourished people living with HIV and TB and their households during their treatment.
In August WFP assisted 1,586 children through school feeding.
Operational Updates
From 18 to 20 August the WFP Regional Director for West and Central Africa visited Guinea-Bissau with the following objectives:
have a clear understanding of the context on the ground;
advocate to the Government for policies and programmes that support food security and nutrition, and to the media and the Government for stronger collaboration and productive relationships with WFP; and
advocate to the UN Country Team (UNCT) and to the Country Office for the strengthening of the UN country coherence and the promotion of joint planning and implementation to meet the zero hunger challenge.
During his visit, the Regional Director met with the President, the Prime Minister and several other members of the Government. Meetings were also organized with UNCT and the donor community.On 26 August, WFP, FAO, the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development and the Ministry of Finance signed a quadripartite agreement on the implementation of the Food Security and Nutrition Monitoring System (FSNMS). Funded by the European Union, the FSNMS aims at reinforcing the capacity of the Government in the monitoring of the food and nutrition insecurity in Guinea-Bissau. The objective of the agreement is to strengthen partnerships for the implementation of the FSNMS. Preparations for the second round of the FSNMS are ongoing; data collection will start in early September.
The Government continues to monitor the agricultural season through a multidisciplinary working group (GTP). The first monitoring mission of the GTP indicates that crops are in normal development despite a slow start of the rainy season. The next monitoring mission is planned for September. During the first week of October, the Comité permanent Inter-états de Lutte contre la Sécheresse dans le Sahel (CILSS) will be in Guinea-Bissau for the Cadre Harmonizé analysis.
CO is finalizing the planning phase of the cash-based transfers for the families of the HIV and TB clients under treatment. The contract with the service provider for cash transfers through mobile phones will be signed in the coming days.