WFP Regional Bureau for Asia and the Pacific - 2016 SPRs RBB 2016 SPRs by project type | Page 55

Standard Project Report 2016
were used in school meals to add diversity to the diet. WFP started to phase-out its financial support to the school agriculture programme as it prepared for its integrated approach pilot, which will start in 2017. WFP also partnered with the Ministry of Agriculture and Forests on rice fortification. The ministry was the lead agency in the rice fortification task force established by the Government to oversee the progress of the project.
Additionally, through the School Feeding Technical Committee, WFP partners worked closely with the Bhutan Agriculture and Food Regulatory Authority, Ministry of Health and Ministry of Finance in providing technical assistance to the school feeding programme as and when required. Also, as an active member of the National Nutrition Task Force, WFP collaborated with UNICEF and the World Health Organization, and various government agencies to accelerate actions to reduce undernutrition and micronutrient deficiencies in the country.
With the project fully integrated into the UN One-Programme, the activities were coordinated with the education sector support provided by UNICEF and UN Population Fund( UNFPA) as part of a common workplan with the Royal Government of Bhutan. WFP collaborates further with UN Development Programme( UNDP), UNICEF and UNFPA as well as the Development Partners Group for Bhutan under the theme groups for education, poverty, environment and disaster preparedness.
In 2016, the Department of Disaster Management, under the Ministry of Home and Cultural Affairs, became a new partner with whom WFP and other UN agencies are developing an emergency preparedness plan and, if possible, organise an earthquake response simulation.
Performance Monitoring
The school feeding programme is government-led and is gradually relying less on WFP support. Although there were differences in terms of targeting approach, food basket, general programming and monitoring, both parties, at times, supported the same children within a single school with WFP providing breakfast and lunch and the Royal Government of Bhutan providing dinner. WFP relied on secondary data compiled annually by the Ministry of Education to report on outcome indicators such as enrolment and retention rates. A Systems Approach for Better Education Results( SABER) school feeding exercise was done in 2014 and served as a baseline for the National Capacity Index. A roadmap was developed following the exercise and was reviewed and updated in 2016.
The overall indicator for the progress of capacity development in the project framework is the National Capacity Index. While over a period of time this might help to measure progress, it was not sensitive enough as a management indicator to monitor effectiveness of capacity development activities. Therefore, WFP identified a set of indicators and an approach to monitor the progress in terms of capacity development at the national and school level. As part of the approach, a monitoring and evaluation strategy was developed with a timeline and implementation plan for the roll-out of the system and ways to report on capacity development activities both internally and externally. The monitoring and evaluation system, to be piloted in 2017, will assist the Government to monitor, report on and evaluate the outcomes of its national school feeding programme.
As part of the United Nations( UN) One Programme 2014-2018, WFP supported the Essential Social Services— Education Outcome. An annual work plan was jointly prepared along with other UN agencies supporting the same outcome and their cooperating partners. The annual work plan was reviewed twice during the year— once in the second quarter and again in the last quarter by the Government and UN partners of the Education Outcome Group. The joint review encompassed an assessment of progress made towards the achievement of the outcomes of the One Programme and the feedback from bilateral discussions between WFP and the Ministry of Education.
In view of the imminent phase-out of WFP’ s support to the school feeding programme and as part of the transfer of responsibilities, WFP agreed with the Ministry of Education to organise joint monitoring visits by placing a staff member within the ministry, initially funded by WFP. This person monitors the programme implementation at field level for both the Government and WFP-supported schools.
During the monitoring visits, interactions with the beneficiaries indicated a positive response on the quality and quantity of food provided by WFP. Many schools continue to face the problem of improper and insufficient storage facilities and issues such as kitchens where good hygiene is not practiced. In response to this, WFP conducted a review of the supply chain and is planning to support the Government in piloting alternative supply chain approaches.
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