Highlights
WFP’s El Niño Response, which runs through March 2017, continues to face a USD 70 million shortfall.
WFP is prioritizing its assistance to meet the emergency needs of affected people, however, without sufficient funding, WFP will be unable to continue providing this life saving assistance.
In August, WFP assisted 344,874 people through the Lean Season Assistance programme. This programme addresses the immediate food and nutrition needs of vulnerable households during the acute hunger period prior to the harvest.
Operational Updates
In August, WFP’s El Niño response received additional resources from ECHO, Australia and USAID, bringing total contributions received to USD 63 million, including earlier contributions received from USAID, Japan, the Netherlands, Sweden and WFP internal resources.
Delays in the delivery of maize and pulses experienced as a result of supply constraints in Zambia affected the timely start of the August distribution cycle for both the Lean Season Assistance (LSA) and Productive Asset Creation (PAC). The LSA August cycle has, to date, assisted 205,030 out of the planned 344,874 people in 12 districts (104,830 will receive their assistance through a combination of both cash and in-kind assistance, 16,223 will receive full cash transfers, and the remaining 223,821 receive in-kind assistance).
With an aim to create and rehabilitate fifty-three assets during the 2016 cycle, in August, the Productive Asset Creation programme assisted 94,990 people in 7 districts through its dual role of meeting the immediate food needs of food insecure households, whilst also enhancing livelihoods and building resilience to future shocks.
WFP is carrying out a District Profiling exercise in 23 additional districts with counterparts and partners, to facilitate planning and targeting amongst sector partners as a part of the operational scale up in October.
The support to refugees reached 7,073 refugee though cash transfers in August, while 432 new arrivals received in kind food assistance. The programme requires additional resources from November 2016 to provide critical lifesaving rations to the refugees.
The Health and Nutrition Programme assisted 7,844 adults and children; 5,551 through prevention of stunting component in Mutasa District, and, 2,293 through the Moderate Acute Malnutrition treatment component of the programme through clinics in Mutasa district, Harare, and Bulawayo Metropolitan Provinces.