C- Latin America and the Caribbean countries
Economic growth in the Latin America and the Caribbean (LAC)
region has been unstable and unequal with periods of major volatility such as
the recent global financial crisis where regional GDP decreased by 3 per cent.
The periodic fluctuations, combined with differences among countries and the
high and persistent inequalities within them, have contributed to the
continuous increase of vulnerability in segments of the population. The latest
hunger statistics reveal that more than 52 million people are undernourished
and 14 per cent of children under
5 suffer from chronic under nutrition in LAC. Anaemia is the
most widespread nutritional problem in the region affecting over 39 per cent of
pre-school children, 31 per cent of pregnant women and over 23 per cent of
women of reproductive age the total number of affected women comes to 33
million.
The vulnerability of at-risk populations is aggravated by
recurrent natural disasters and more recently by the high food price crisis and
the global economic downturn that has led to a substantial reduction in the
level of remittances. The main objective of WFP in the region is to promote
food and
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International humanitarian food aid in the North-South
cooperation: the case of Cameroon 2014
nutrition security, and reduce the impact of emerging crises
and natural disasters among vulnerable populations. WFP works to address three
main issues in the region: i) chronic under nutrition and micronutrient
deficiencies; ii) vulnerability to natural disasters; and iii) increasing food
insecurity. The programming priorities are organized around the thematic areas
of nutrition and social protection, disaster cycle management and livelihood
support.
Building on its work in evidence and analysis, WFP's response
in LAC can be roughly distinguished into three complementary categories:
- capacity development, which focuses primarily on supporting
governments and counterparts to implement effective hunger
solutions, and involves activities such as advocacy, training, technical
support, South-South and triangular cooperation, and knowledge management;
- service provision whereby WFP provides specific services to
the
governments, mostly through trust funds; and
- food assistance that is provided when necessary through
WFP
projects including EMOPs, PRROs and country programmes.
Through its regional capacity-development projects, WFP has
systematically been working in partnership with national governments, United
Nations agencies, academic and technical institutions, regional
intergovernmental bodies and other international cooperation agencies. The LAC
region is also highly prone to recurrent natural disasters. Central America and
the Caribbean are in the North Atlantic hurricane path and are under permanent
threat every season between June and November. Countries on the Pacific Coast
are prone to earthquakes, volcanic activity, and the East Pacific hurricane
season. They also suffer the effects of El Niño, including droughts
and/or excess rainfall. These phenomena generally damage agriculture and
infrastructure, create food shortages and further increase inequitable access
to
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International humanitarian food aid in the North-South
cooperation: the case of Cameroon 2014
food. The effects of recurrent natural disasters on poor
livelihoods diminish the impact of national social programmes that aim to
combat food insecurity and under nutrition.
The Central America PRRO «Assistance to Vulnerable
Groups Affected by Natural Disasters and Other Shocks in Guatemala, Honduras,
El Salvador and Nicaragua» aims to strengthen preparedness tools and
food assistance in these countries in order to support rapid response. The
objective of the PRRO is to save lives; reduce acute malnutrition caused by
climatic and economic shocks to below-emergency levels; and protect livelihoods
and enhance self-reliance in emergencies and early recovery.
A three-year regional school meals capacity-development
project is being implemented to promote the use of WFP's «Eight Quality
Standards» to identify and address quality gaps in the existing national
school meals programmes in the 12 WFP-assisted countries. WFP is providing
South-South and triangular cooperation, technical support, knowledge management
and training and actively integrates traditional partners such as FAO and
UNICEF in the coordination of the Essential Package interventions and school
gardens. The project also seeks to make vital links with the P4P initiative in
order for school meals to provide a market for sustainable local production.
The regional bureau also provides active technical support to
governments by promoting South-South and triangular cooperation to pursue
hunger solutions in the region. South-South cooperation projects are ongoing
with Chile and Mexico offering support to the Plurinational State of Bolivia,
Cuba, Haiti, Guatemala, Panama, Paraguay and Dominican Republic. Activities
include exchange of government personnel to review lessons learned and best
practices in nutrition interventions and social safety nets.
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International humanitarian food aid in the North-South
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|
RECIPIENT COUNTRY
|
TOTAL
FOOD AID
|
FOOD AID CATEGORY (mt)
|
|
Emergency
|
Project
|
Programme
|
|
Bolivia
|
6,745
|
3,268
|
-
|
3,476
|
|
Colombia
|
14,297
|
14,297
|
-
|
-
|
|
Cuba
|
2
|
-
|
-
|
2
|
|
Dominican Republic
|
11,850
|
-
|
-
|
11,850
|
|
Ecuador
|
1,620
|
1,620
|
-
|
|
|
El Salvador
|
31,126
|
1,126
|
-
|
30,000
|
|
Guatemala
|
66,916
|
14,561
|
-
|
52,355
|
|
Haiti
|
92,432
|
59,306
|
-
|
33,126
|
|
Honduras
|
27,869
|
172
|
-
|
27,698
|
|
Nicaragua
|
34,734
|
842
|
-
|
33,892
|
|
Peru
|
76
|
76
|
-
|
-
|
|
TOTAL
|
287,667
|
95,268
|
-
|
192,399
|
Table 12: Latin America and the Caribbean recipient
countries of WFP food aid in 2011 by category. Source: WFP
WFP continues to explore the utilization of cash and vouchers
as a mechanism to address underlying causes of under nutrition by improving
livelihoods and/or strengthening resilience to recurrent shocks through
cash-for-assets activities that support the management of risk at the community
level. WFP promotes the strengthened use of cash and vouchers in its own
programming as well as in that of governments and partners. Based on the work
conducted under «Capacity Building and Technical Assistance in Support of
Food-Based Social Protection Programmes» and the results of the social
protection study of 2010, the regional bureau has developed a continuation of
its «Regional Strategy on HIV and Nutrition» covering the period
2011-2012. Under this strategy, the regional bureau continues to implement
advocacy, technical support, knowledge management and operational research to
advance in the incorporation of multi-sector approaches including:
- ensuring the integration of food and nutrition components
with HIV treatment and care in «National AIDS Strategic Plans» and
resource mobilization process;
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International humanitarian food aid in the North-South
cooperation: the case of Cameroon 2014
- developing and implementing operational norms and protocols
pertaining to HIV and nutrition;
- establishing nutrition assessment and counselling as a
standard
element of HIV care and treatment programmes and promoting access
for vulnerable people with HIV to programmes that alleviate food and nutrition
insecurity.
Food insecurity in Central America - particularly in Honduras,
El Salvador, Nicaragua and Guatemala - is closely related to natural disasters
and poverty. The four countries are home to 34 million people, with more than
half of them living in poverty. These countries also lie on the isthmus between
North and South America. Their geographic location exposes them to hurricanes,
floods, droughts and earthquakes.
|
Table 13: Beneficiaries of WFP food aid in 2012 in LAC.
Source: WFP
|
|
Female
|
Male
|
Total
|
|
Total Number of WFP Beneficiaries in 2012
|
2,096,106
|
1,915,146
|
4,011,252
|
|
Female
|
Male
|
Total
|
|
Number of Beneficiaries Impacted by HIV/AIDS
|
25,694
|
37,641
|
63,335
|
|
Female
|
Male
|
Total
|
|
Number of Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs)
|
137,161
|
130,593
|
267,754
|
|
Number of Refugees
|
12,335
|
13,917
|
26,252
|
|
Number of General Food Distribution Beneficiaries
|
575,151
|
535,364
|
1,110,515
|
|
Female
|
Male
|
Total
|
|
Number of Beneficiaries of Cash/Voucher Transfers
|
160,859
|
144,069
|
304,928
|
|
Number of Participants in Food-for-Training Activities
|
31,663
|
30,487
|
62,150
|
|
Number of Participants in Food-for-Asset Activities
|
79,008
|
71,552
|
150,560
|
|
Female
|
Male
|
Total
|
|
Number of Children Receiving Take-Home
|
342,106
|
296,644
|
638,750
|
|
Rations
Number of Children receiving School Meals
|
796,034
|
752,150
|
1,548,184
|
|
of whom: receiving both Take-Home rations and School Meals
|
342,106
|
296,644
|
638,750
|
|
Female
|
Children
|
Total
|
|
Number of Pregnant and Lactating Women and Children in
Mother-Child-Health (MCH)/Supplementary Feeding
|
82,690
|
420,650
|
503,340
|
75
International humanitarian food aid in the North-South
cooperation: the case of Cameroon 2014
III- The coordinating institution of multilateral food
aid: the World Food Programme (WFP)
The World Food Programme (WFP) is the food assistance branch
of the United Nations, and it is the world's largest humanitarian organization
addressing hunger. WFP provides food, on average, to 90 million people per
year, 58 million of whom are children. From its headquarters in Rome and more
than 80 country offices around the world, WFP works to help people who are
unable to produce or obtain enough food for themselves and their families.
|
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