WFP Regional Bureau for Asia and the Pacific - 2016 SPRs RBB 2016 SPRs by project type | Page 10

Standard Project Report 2016
Country Resources and Results
Resources for Results
Compared to previous years, overall funding levels for WFP's operations in Bangladesh were satisfactory for all
activities, with the exception of component 3 under the country programme (CP) – Enhancing Resilience. Top
donors include Australia, the European Commission, Bangladesh, the United States of America and the United
Kingdom. A multilateral contribution, which represents 5 percent of overall 2016 contributions, was allocated at the
end of the year and enabled WFP to maintain activities at their planned levels during the last months of 2016.
Funding for nutrition in the CP enabled implementation largely as per the plan, although assistance for some
planned locations was phased out. For school feeding, the Government of Bangladesh provided 10,500 mt of wheat
as an in-kind contribution, which was twinned successfully through a combination of flexible donations. A multi-year
United States Department of Agricultu re (USDA) McGovern Dole contribution allowed WFP to continue its
government capacity support activities for its school feeding programme. A multi-year Australian contribution and
funding from the United Kingdom were crucial for the continuation of Enhancing Food Security interventions in Cox's
Bazar, outside of the registered refugee camps.
For the PRRO, two major contributions from Australia and the United Kingdom, as well as funds from Canada and a
2015 grant from the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) Food for Peace helped ensure
continuous assistance to refugees.
In addition to contributions for the CP and PRRO, a number of trust funds supported WFP to implement several
activities – strengthening government safety nets (through the Ministry of Women and Children Affairs), scaling up
rice fortification, emergency preparedness and Food Security and Logistics cluster coordination.
Achievements at Country Level
WFP reached 986,000 people with food assistance under its country programme (CP) including: pregnant and
lactating women and children through malnutrition treatment and prevention, schoolchildren through the distribution
of vitamin and mineral fortified biscuits, hot meals and dried fruits (dates), one-off cash grants for investments, and
an integrated package to enhance food security and nutrition in Cox's Bazar (outside of the registered refugee
camps). In addition, three emergency responses were conducted this year under the Enhancing Resilience
programme – rice rations and unconditional cash transfers were provided to households affected by cyclone Roanu
in southern Bangladesh in May and to those in the northwest affected by seasonal flooding, first in February and
again in September. In total, WFP reached people in 63 sub-districts and urban slums across 13 districts in 2016.
Through the PRRO intervention, WFP provided food assistance to 32,770 beneficiaries in registered refugee camps
through three modalities: (i) food electronic vouchers (FoodCard); (ii) supplementary nutrition feeding for
malnutrition prevention and treatment; and (iii) school feeding.
A Joint Assessment Mission (JAM) was conducted with the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for
Refugees (UNHCR) this year providing deeper understanding of issues on ground, insight for designing effective
operational solutions through direct recommendations, as well as opening dialogue with the Government on
targeted food assistance and proposing ideas for how to tackle nutrition challenges that persist in the camps despite
the safety nets in place.
In the next years, guided by the Country Strategic Plan 2017-2020, WFP's added value will focus on supporting
national hunger solutions, maximising impact and value for money. As such, technical assistance, policy
engagement, evidence creation and advocacy work will be increasingly emphasised with a view to accelerate policy
operationalisation and positively influence the governance and efficiency of national initiatives as well as their
effectiveness in achieving food security and nutrition results for the most vulnerable. This shift is congruent with the
United Nations Development Assistance Framework's (UNDAF) 2017-2020 new focus. WFP plans to limit its direct
interventions to areas of highest food insecurity and vulnerability where marginalised populations live, such as Cox's
Bazar and the Chittagong Hill Tracts, and assistance to otherwise unreached populations in need during
emergencies, while support the capacity strengthening of government social protection and safety nets to reach
these populations in the future.
Bangladesh, People's Republic of (BD)
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Country Programme - 200243