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Guinea-Bissau

WFP Guinea-Bissau Country Brief, October 2017

Attachments

Highlights

• In October, WFP provided food assistance to 195,606 people through nutrition and school meals activities.

• In partnership with UNICEF and the World Bank, WFP supported the organization of the first National Forum on Social Protection held in Bissau on 23 October.

Operational Updates

On 13 October, WFP and the Ministry of Education completed the annual evaluation of school meals for the 2016/17 academic year to identify strengths and opportunities for improvement. The evaluation involved technicians from educational government structures and local authorities, and resulted in creation of a technical working group within the Ministry of Education that will deliver a draft action plan to WFP for 2017/18. The official action plan will be shared in November.
In partnership with UNICEF and the World Bank, WFP supported the organization of the first National Forum on Social Protection held in Bissau on 23 October. The Country Director spoke about WFP’s three focuses in Guinea-Bissau: school meals, nutrition and health, and resilience. The event included the participation of representatives from the Ministry of Education, Ministry of Women, WHO, NGOs, embassies, World Bank and UNICEF.
WFP and its partners launched the second round of the Food Security and Nutrition Monitoring System (FSNMS) for 2017. From 5 to 9 October, organizers trained surveyors about questionnaires for a survey gathering additional data for elaboration of a nutrition-focused communication strategy. Overall, 48 surveyors were trained by staff from nutrition and health governmental structures. From 10 to 26 October, data was collected from rural households in the eight regions of the country, including 38 sectors and 852 villages. Results will be shared in November.
WFP also supported the organization of the 15th Forum of Nutrition Focal Points of the West African Health Organization (WAHO), a specialized institution of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS). The Forum took place from 24 to 27 October, bringing together representatives from UN agencies and other intergovernmental organizations, NGOs and academic institutions. The Forum provided a consultative platform for solving nutritional problems in the sub-region. Recommendations will be shared in November.