Standard Project Report 2016
coping strategies, and align the food assistance response with Government priorities.
WFP worked directly with the Ministry of Women, Children and Poverty Alleviation to use the PBS social safety net programme as a targeting mechanism to provide assistance to households most critically affected by the cyclone. Targeted beneficiaries were needy families with children living in the areas worst affected by the cyclone— Vanuabalavu, Koro, Lomaiviti Group, Taveuni, Savusavu, Bua, Nabouwalu, Tailevu, Ra, Rakiraki, Tavua, Ba, Lautoka and the Yasawas.
Through this IR-EMOP, WFP planned to reach 7,000 vulnerable people registered in the PBS with cash-based assistance, provided as complementary top-up payments in addition to households’ regular monthly allowances. WFP provided two monthly transfers valued at FJD 150( USD 71) per month to the targeted households. The transfer value was based on a nutritious food basket providing 2,100 kcal per person per day. The top-up was channelled through existing transfer mechanisms, primarily electronic cards. For beneficiaries living in remote areas, where access to supermarkets was limited, bank transfers available from Fiji’ s main financial service providers were used, and, in a few cases, direct cash distributions. The transfers were redeemable at selected retailers across the country or, in the case of cash benefits, at open markets in locations with limited availability of government-contracted outlets. At selected stores, recipients were given a pre-defined list of 130 nutritious food items to choose from in order to improve the nutritional value of the intervention.
Initial planning figures had been for each household to receive two cash transfers( per HH), each transfer being USD 115. As the situation evolved on the ground with more detailed assessments conducted by both WFP and the Government, there was a decision to revise the transfer value downwards as the food gap calculation( the difference between the market values of the minimum food expenditure basket and the government cash provision), showed that FJD 150( approximately USD 73.17) was sufficient to provide for beneficiaries ' full food needs. This revision of the transfer value explains why the actual USD value of cash distributed under the project is lower than the planned figure, whilst the actual beneficiaries reached are higher than the planned figure.
Fiji, Republic of the Fiji Islands( FJ) 12 Single Country IR-EMOP- 200952