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Ecuador + 1 more

WFP Ecuador Country Brief, April 2017

Attachments

Highlights

  • One staff from WFP Ecuador was deployed to Peru to share experiences and support WFP Peru and the Government of Peru on emergency response.

  • Delegates from the Ministry of Education and WFP Ecuador participated in the VIII Seminar of School Feeding in Mexico, where the Ministry of Education shared experiences on the school feeding programmes implemented in Ecuador.

Operational Updates

  • WFP supports the Women Federation of Sucumbíos with vouchers to buy food at authorized sale points with the objective to provide nutritious and balanced food to families that have been victims of physical, psychological, sexual and economic violence. Participants receive trainings in food security and nutrition and food preparation with the aim to change their dietary habits and thus incorporate other products in families’ diet.

  • Within the FORECCSA project, the Provincial Government of Pichincha, jointly with the Ministry of Environment, approved three climate change adaptation measures for the parishes of Cayambe, Tocachi and Tupigachi, benefitting 139 families with water for their crops. In the Jubones River Basin, the irrigation system was completed in the Cochapata parish which is highly vulnerable to droughts; and materials and accessories were delivered for the irrigation system in the Pasaje parish.

  • WFP invited a delegate from the Coordinating Ministry for Social Development to the launch event of the Cost of Malnutrition Study in Mexico. Ecuador was part of this study.

  • Ecuador Country Office was part of a regional initiative in developing a video of innovative initiatives on reducing malnutrition. The video shows Ecuador’s experience and joint work with local governments. The video can be seen at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qVXUIRl22co

Challenges

  • Lenin Moreno won the Presidential elections with 51.16% of the votes. The winning presidential binomial will assume functions on May 24, 2017. With the change of government, new authorities will be designated for which WFP must establish or renew the joint working relations for the agreements and goals signed for 2017.

The story of a Colombian refugee in Ecuador

“I lost the love of my life at the hands of an armed group”: Looking for a safe place for her children, Margarita crossed the border with Ecuador, and managed to find a small room for rent that she paid with the little money she was able to take with her before leaving Colombia. Desperate, and without any money to feed her children, Margarita found out about the World Food Programme (WFP) assistance to vulnerable refugees and Ecuadorian host communities in the province of Esmeraldas. Thanks to the contribution of donors, Margarita was able to receive an electronic voucher to be used at local stores associated with WFP to buy food for her children. "I have been able to feed my children and keep them healthy.”