Tunisia: WFP Receives $280,000 Food Supply Support

By Development Diaries
May 16, 2021

UN World Food Programme (WFP) has received U.S.$280,000 from the government of Japan to support the resilience of the food supply chain in Tunisia affected by the Covid-19 pandemic.

The fund was provided to help in improving the food security and nutrition of 1,500 vulnerable families living in rural areas, according to the Japanese Embassy in Tunis.

The World Bank recently estimated that 60 percent of Tunisia’s population are poor or vulnerable and the pandemic has made the situation worse.

Health measures taken by the government in response to the pandemic have a significant socio-economic impact on the most vulnerable sections of the population.

The closure of schools, for instance, has increased the vulnerability of 260,000 children, according to local media reports.

People in remote rural areas of Tunisia are affected by loss of livelihoods and food insecurity as a result of movement restrictions and difficulties in importing and sourcing locally.

Rural women with small farms have been among the most vulnerable, ranging from deteriorating working conditions to loss of employment.

It is understood that the WFP is working with the Tunisian government to strengthen its capacity to implement the National School Feeding Programme.

The programme, according to the UN Information Centre in Tunis, promotes healthy and balanced nutrition through the provision of local produce and supports the resilience of rural communities benefiting from the food supply chain.

‘With this contribution from Japan, WFP will distribute food vouchers to 7,500 people to complement the government’s social safety net in coordination with the Ministry of Social Affairs’, Head of WFP in Tunisia and Morocco, Fatimata Sow-Sidibé, said.

‘This contribution from Japan comes at the right time to support the efforts of the Tunisian government in favour of the populations affected by Covid-19.

‘Food vouchers help develop the local economy, giving beneficiaries the freedom to choose the food products of their choice, and combat food insecurity and malnutrition’.

The project is expected to directly benefit approximately six ministries, including at least 60 ministry staff, mainly through training and market research and needs assessment to support evidence-based policy strategies.

Source: Tunis Afrique Presse