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WFP Cuba Country Brief, April 2019

Countries
Cuba
Sources
WFP
Publication date

In Numbers

USD 14.3 m total requirements

58.3 mt of food assistance distributed

54,000 people assisted (March 2019)

Operational Updates

  • WFP is engaging the Government and different donors to define its strategic support for the coming years. A concept note for the next interim country strategic plan (ICSP) was presented to the Executive Board at the end of April through an informal consultation. Work is underway to prepare the ICSP document, which will be approved in November 2019 to guide WFP operations during 2020.

  • WFP is supporting national priorities to enhance Cuba’s social safety nets for vulnerable groups (children, pregnant and lactating women, and the elderly), providing regular and specialised nutritious foods.

  • In partnership with the University of Havana, WFP is enhancing the capacities of different institutions (including staff from the ministries of Health, and Education) on nutritional communication. WFP is organizing a coordination meeting – to be held in early May – in Santiago de Cuba to support the local teams involved in the design, implementation and evaluation of a communication strategy to prevent micronutrient deficiencies and obesity.

  • WFP continues to support the Government in strengthening agricultural value chains, promoting linkages with local social safety nets that assist vulnerable populations. WFP is also providing equipment to farmers and key actors in selected municipalities to enhance the efficiency of the bean value chain. A refrigerated chamber for seeds was set up for the first time in the province of Granma, while irrigation systems are being assembled in selected provinces in Eastern Cuba. Other equipment is being distributed, including sprayers, harvesters and trailers.

  • WFP is supporting the government response to the impact of the tornado that hit Havana last January. WFP's assistance to approximately 10,000 affected households in six municipalities consists of beans and rice (using a stock already prepositioned in the country), and vegetable oil (purchased internationally), with funding from Italy and CERF.