WFP Regional Bureau for Asia and the Pacific - 2016 SPRs RBB 2016 SPRs by project type | Page 83

Standard Project Report 2016
saw women making decisions by themselves both for daily and large expenses (86 and 40 percent, respectively).
For daily expenses, this shift came at the expense of both joint and male decision-making, while for large expenses,
the shift was solely at the expense of joint decision-making.
In the scholarship programme, the annual post-distribution monitoring documented only female and male
decision-making, not joint decision-making. The percentage of households in which women were sole
decision-makers appeared to have increased from last year. This could be a reflection of increased male migration
as much as it could be a reflection of real change in household gender dynamics. In the livelihood programme the
routine monitoring found a similar increase when asking recipients at distribution sites about intra-household
decision-making. The findings were more or less in line with those from the resilience study. However, when asked
the same questions in a family setting during post-distribution monitoring, only 47 percent of households indicated
that women were sole decision-makers, 47 percent indicated men as sole decision-makers, and 6 percent said
both; the results from the routine monitoring were 77, 1 and 22 percent, respectively. This considerable difference
between the findings from two interview methods pointed towards the importance of the setting in which the
question was asked as well as the timing (within the project activities) and the phrasing of the question. WFP will
continue to pay attention to this in 2017.
In 2016, with support from the Institute of Development Studies, WFP and partners identified three work streams for
priority action: (1) political context and government partnership for gender and food security, (2) gender and food
security programming, and (3) WFP processes and procedures. In particular, procedures and documentation
associated with procurement of services were reviewed to reflect companies’ assurances around prevention of
sexual exploitation and abuse as well as positive work conditions such as equal pay for men and women and
appropriate parental leave. The questionnaire for the resilience survey was reviewed to accommodate gendered
analytical perspectives.
In 2016, the number of women in leadership positions in committees associated with food assistance programmes
appeared to have reduced considerably from previous years; committee chair and membership were elected on an
annual basis. WFP field teams continued to investigate the reasons behind this and to reinforce advocacy
with communities to identify suitable women representatives. WFP and partners will engage more female committee
members in training sessions.
Protection and Accountability to Affected Populations
In 2016, monitoring results showed no significant safety risk. While safety issues were rarely reported, the
programme took into consideration possible risks and increased the number of distribution sites closer to the
beneficiaries’ homes to avoid long distance travel and waiting time for beneficiaries. A few female beneficiaries
reported that they experienced problems traveling to and from WFP programme sites which involved mainly traffic
accidents. The micro-finance institution, NGO partners, and government partner staff were introduced to the United
Nations’ commitment to zero tolerance for sexual exploitation and abuse and the principle of ‘do no harm’.
A hotline, established and introduced to the school meals programme in 2015, continued to offer community
members an opportunity to voice their concern over programme targeting, entitlements and management, in 11
provinces. The phone number was clearly visible on all programme-related communication materials, including
posters displayed at the schools. While feedback received in 2016 was limited, it mostly related to programme
eligibility, particularly for children who graduated from primary to lower secondary schools not covered under the
programme. In accordance with local practice and in view of the country’s integrated social accountability
framework, all names of children selected for inclusion in the scholarship programme were displayed at a central
location for the entire village to see.
Households interviewed for the gender study undertaken in 2016 suggested that food and cash transfers can
contribute to greater family harmony by removing stress factors related to poverty, hunger and food security.
Cambodia, Kingdom of (KH)
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Country Programme - 200202