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Tanzania + 2 more

WFP Tanzania Country Brief, December 2016

Attachments

Highlights

  • Denmark made a generous contribution of DKK 6 million which has enabled WFP to maintain food distributions and nutrition programmes for refugees in Tanzania.

  • Since September 2016, over 10,000 refugees have fled into Tanzania each month. As a result of the continuing increase, WFP is facing a shortfall in funding and potential ration reductions. In response, WFP issued a second funding appeal in December to help maintain food assistance to refugees in Tanzania.

WFP Assistance

WFP Tanzania assists half a million people in chronically food-insecure regions through its Market Access, Food for Assets, Nutrition, School Meals and Refugee support activities.

Through its market access initiatives, WFP helps farmers transition from subsistence farming to market-oriented agriculture by connecting the demand for crops with commercial markets and by providing access to fair contracts before planting.

WFP's Food Assistance for Asset Creation (FFA) programme in rural communities is aimed at developing community assets to stimulate economic growth at the household level. Investment in irrigation schemes, dams, and feeder roads helps strengthen farmers' resilience to climate change, improve the productive potential of the farmland, link farmers to markets and increase household incomes. The FFA programme is currently being implemented in Dodoma, Tabora and Mwanza regions.

Under its climate change initiative, WFP works with local government in Dodoma, Arusha and Manyara regions to provide access to information on climate and weather to enable farmers and livestock keepers to determine the best agronomic options to pursue in order to mitigate effects of climate change.

WFP is the only agency in the country providing supplementary food rations to pregnant and breastfeeding mothers, and children under the age of five. To treat moderate acute malnutrition (MAM), WFP provides a monthly take home ration of fortified blended food to these two vulnerable groups through its Supplementary Feeding Programme. To prevent stunting, pregnant and breastfeeding mothers andchildren under two receive a monthly take home ration of Super Cereal (fortified blended food) under the Mother and Child Health and Nutrition programme. WFP’s nutrition interventions are focused in Dodoma and Singida regions, which have high rates of stunting and wasting.

WFP’s Home Grown School Feeding (HGSF) Pilot in Ikungi and Bunda districts in Dodoma and Singida regions enables the local government and schools to manage a school meals programme and procure food locally from smallholder farmers. HGSF creates greater community ownership of school feeding programmes by increasing the number of livelihood activities that it supports.

Operational Updates

  • Refugee Operation: In response to the December funding appeal, Denmark made a generous contribution of DKK 6 million (approximately USD 900,000) to help WFP maintain food distributions and nutrition programmes for 268,000 refugees in Tanzania.