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WFP Algeria Country Brief, November 2018

Countries
Algeria
+ 2 more
Sources
WFP
Publication date

In Numbers

  • 2,112 mt of food assistance distributed

  • 2,238 kcal/person/day provided through the general food basket

  • US$ 2.5 m six months (December-May 2018) net funding requirements

  • 125,000 people assisted in November 2018

Operational Context

Algeria has been hosting refugees from Western Sahara since 1975. These refugees are in camps in the harsh and isolated desert environment of western Algeria, where opportunities for self-reliance are limited, forcing them to depend on humanitarian assistance for their survival.

The 2018 Food Security Assessment confirmed the dependence on food assistance: 30% of the population is food insecure, while 58% is vulnerable to food insecurity, and only 12% of the Sahrawi camp population is food secure. The results of the 2016 Nutrition Survey indicate an improvement in the overall nutrition situation of women and children since 2012, with a reduction of both global acute malnutrition and chronic malnutrition among children of 6-59 months. However, the anaemia prevalence is at 39 percent among children 6-59 months and 45 percent among women of reproductive age.

WFP currently represents the major regular and reliable source of food for the Sahrawi refugees in Algeria.

Upon the request of Algerian Government, WFP has been present in the camps since 1986.

Operational Updates

• In November, as part of the General Food Assistance, WFP distributed 125,000 rations consisting of 8 kg wheat flour, 2.5 kg rice, 0.8 kg barley, 2 kg yellow split peas, 1 kg CSB, 1kg sugar, and 1litre of fortified vegetable oil. The ration was complemented with 1 kg of gofio (roasted maize meal), which is part of an in-kind donation from the Spanish region of Gran Canaria. The food basket reached a daily energy intake of 2,238 kcal/person, which is higher than the planned 2,100 kcal per day, due to the inclusion of Gofio and increased quantity of rice.

• WFP distributed daily rations of pre-mix 100g corn soya blend (CSB+) and 10g vegetable oil to treat moderate acute malnutrition (MAM) among 635 pregnant and nursing mothers.

• WFP Algeria halted the purchase of Micro Nutrients Powder (MNPs), pending the reformulation of the nutrition activity.

• To prevent chronic malnutrition, 12,875 boys and girls under five took home daily rations of 10g of a special spread (Nutributter). Additionally, 375 children received the specialized nutrition product (Plumpy’sup) for the treatment of MAM.

• WFP distributed mid-morning snacks consisting of milk and dates to 38,956 boys and girls in primary schools and kindergartens.