WFP Regional Bureau for Asia and the Pacific - 2016 SPRs RBB 2016 SPRs by country | Page 692

Standard Project Report 2016 In terms of nutrition, PNG ranks among the countries with the highest prevalence of stunting in the world, with approximately 50 percent or more of children aged 24-59 months suffering from stunting. Predictably, the prevalence of stunting is higher in rural areas (50 percent) than in urban centres (35 percent). Overall, 16 percent of the population suffers from moderate or acute malnutrition, with children aged 24-59 months more likely than other age groups to be malnourished [5]. PNG ranks very low on all indicators of social and economic development and missed the targets for all Millennium Development Goals. According to the latest Human Development Report, PNG ranked 158 out of 188 countries and territories in terms of Human Development Index (HDI). Gender inequality and gender-based violence remain significant challenges—PNG ranked 140 in the Gender Inequality Index (GII) out of 155 countries and territories for which the index has been calculated*. Despite years of rapid economic growth fueled by extractive industries, poverty remains a major issue with 40 percent of the population living on less than USD 1.25 per day [6]. [1] World Bank. Papua New Guinea, Overview, Context. Washington, . 25 November 2016. D.C. 28 September 2016. [2] Templeton and Omot 2012. 'Food security in East Timor, Papua New Guinea and Pacific island countries and territories. Australian Government. Australian Centre for International Agricultural Research'. pp.28-39. . 25 November 2016. [3] WFP. 'El Niño food security impact in Papua New Guinea'. . 25 November 2016. March 2016. [4] Gurr, Geoff M. et al. 'Pests, Diseases and Crop Protection Practices in the Smallholder Sweetpotato (sic) Production System of the Highlands of Papua New Guinea.' Ed. Giovanni Benelli. PeerJ 4 (2016): e2703. PMC. Web. 14 Feb. 2017. [5] Hou 2015. 'Stagnant stunting rate despite economic growth in Papua New Guinea'. World Bank, Washington, D.C. . [6] UNDP 2015. 'Human Development Report 2015'. Work for Human Development, New York. About Papua New Guinea. . *Both the HDI and GII rankings for PNG have not been updated by UNDP since 2014, and the Government and partners are taking actions to improve these rankings. Response of the Government and Strategic Coordination In 2016, the Government of Papua New Guinea worked with the United Nations (UN) on developing Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) targets including for SDG 2: End hunger, achieve food security and improved nutrition, and promote sustainable agriculture and was mainstreaming SDGs into national strategic policies and plans. The Government developed a roadmap for SDG implementation that included strengthening the network of humanitarian partners, improving the quality and availability of reliable statistical data, and reducing its rate of disaster risk through investment in emergency preparedness [1]. The capacity of the Government and partners to respond to disaster risks was tested during the El Niño drought. The Government relied on a decentralised response and allocated PGK 200 million (USD 65 million) to response efforts, with most of the funding being made available before the drought. The Government allocated USD 1.6 million in relief funds to the National Disaster Centre (NDC), the main government body responsible for managing disaster relief. In addition, the Government formally authorised each of the country's 89 districts to spend up to PGK 2 million (USD 0.6 million) of District Services Improvement Programme (DSIP) allocations for drought relief. The Government capped all relief expenses from DSIP at PGK 2 million, despite varying needs across regions. It is estimated that PGK 50 million (about USD 17 million) was budgeted for disaster response. WFP did not have an established country agreement with the Government and therefore did not have a dedicated country office for its projects. The emergency operation was a unique situation—the Government, upon the findings of the mobile Vulnerability Analysis and Mapping assessment, issued a formal letter through the NDC allowing for a WFP operation to be implemented. However, no formal national disaster was declared as a result of the El Niño drought. WFP worked through the UN Resident Coordinator's Office, interagency partners who are members of the Disaster Management Team (DMT, co-chaired by the NDC director and UN Resident Coordinator) and the NDC to implement drought relief. With regards to capacity strengthening, WFP coordinated with the relevant humanitarian actors present in the country and provided logistical and food security technical guidance to partners, including the Government, DMT, Papua New Guinea, Independant State of (PG) 4 Single Country EMOP - 200966