International humanitarian food aid in the north-south cooperation: the case of cameroon

C- Latin America and the Caribbean countries

Economic growth in the Latin America and the Caribbean (LAC) region has been unstable and unequal with periods of major volatility such as the recent global financial crisis where regional GDP decreased by 3 per cent. The periodic fluctuations, combined with differences among countries and the high and persistent inequalities within them, have contributed to the continuous increase of vulnerability in segments of the population. The latest hunger statistics reveal that more than 52 million people are undernourished and 14 per cent of children under

5 suffer from chronic under nutrition in LAC. Anaemia is the most widespread nutritional problem in the region affecting over 39 per cent of pre-school children, 31 per cent of pregnant women and over 23 per cent of women of reproductive age the total number of affected women comes to 33 million.

The vulnerability of at-risk populations is aggravated by recurrent natural disasters and more recently by the high food price crisis and the global economic downturn that has led to a substantial reduction in the level of remittances. The main objective of WFP in the region is to promote food and

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International humanitarian food aid in the North-South cooperation: the case of Cameroon 2014

nutrition security, and reduce the impact of emerging crises and natural disasters among vulnerable populations. WFP works to address three main issues in the region: i) chronic under nutrition and micronutrient deficiencies; ii) vulnerability to natural disasters; and iii) increasing food insecurity. The programming priorities are organized around the thematic areas of nutrition and social protection, disaster cycle management and livelihood support.

Building on its work in evidence and analysis, WFP's response in LAC can be roughly distinguished into three complementary categories:

- capacity development, which focuses primarily on supporting

governments and counterparts to implement effective hunger solutions, and involves activities such as advocacy, training, technical support, South-South and triangular cooperation, and knowledge management;

- service provision whereby WFP provides specific services to the
governments, mostly through trust funds; and

- food assistance that is provided when necessary through WFP
projects including EMOPs, PRROs and country programmes.

Through its regional capacity-development projects, WFP has systematically been working in partnership with national governments, United Nations agencies, academic and technical institutions, regional intergovernmental bodies and other international cooperation agencies. The LAC region is also highly prone to recurrent natural disasters. Central America and the Caribbean are in the North Atlantic hurricane path and are under permanent threat every season between June and November. Countries on the Pacific Coast are prone to earthquakes, volcanic activity, and the East Pacific hurricane season. They also suffer the effects of El Niño, including droughts and/or excess rainfall. These phenomena generally damage agriculture and infrastructure, create food shortages and further increase inequitable access to

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International humanitarian food aid in the North-South cooperation: the case of Cameroon 2014

food. The effects of recurrent natural disasters on poor livelihoods diminish the impact of national social programmes that aim to combat food insecurity and under nutrition.

The Central America PRRO «Assistance to Vulnerable Groups Affected by Natural Disasters and Other Shocks in Guatemala, Honduras, El Salvador and Nicaragua» aims to strengthen preparedness tools and food assistance in these countries in order to support rapid response. The objective of the PRRO is to save lives; reduce acute malnutrition caused by climatic and economic shocks to below-emergency levels; and protect livelihoods and enhance self-reliance in emergencies and early recovery.

A three-year regional school meals capacity-development project is being implemented to promote the use of WFP's «Eight Quality Standards» to identify and address quality gaps in the existing national school meals programmes in the 12 WFP-assisted countries. WFP is providing South-South and triangular cooperation, technical support, knowledge management and training and actively integrates traditional partners such as FAO and UNICEF in the coordination of the Essential Package interventions and school gardens. The project also seeks to make vital links with the P4P initiative in order for school meals to provide a market for sustainable local production.

The regional bureau also provides active technical support to governments by promoting South-South and triangular cooperation to pursue hunger solutions in the region. South-South cooperation projects are ongoing with Chile and Mexico offering support to the Plurinational State of Bolivia, Cuba, Haiti, Guatemala, Panama, Paraguay and Dominican Republic. Activities include exchange of government personnel to review lessons learned and best practices in nutrition interventions and social safety nets.

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International humanitarian food aid in the North-South cooperation: the case of Cameroon 2014

RECIPIENT COUNTRY	TOTAL FOOD AID	FOOD AID CATEGORY (mt)
		Emergency	Project	Programme
Bolivia	6,745	3,268	-	3,476
Colombia	14,297	14,297	-	-
Cuba	2	-	-	2
Dominican Republic	11,850	-	-	11,850
Ecuador	1,620	1,620	-
El Salvador	31,126	1,126	-	30,000
Guatemala	66,916	14,561	-	52,355
Haiti	92,432	59,306	-	33,126
Honduras	27,869	172	-	27,698
Nicaragua	34,734	842	-	33,892
Peru	76	76	-	-
TOTAL	287,667	95,268	-	192,399

Table 12: Latin America and the Caribbean recipient countries of WFP food aid in 2011 by category. Source: WFP

WFP continues to explore the utilization of cash and vouchers as a mechanism to address underlying causes of under nutrition by improving livelihoods and/or strengthening resilience to recurrent shocks through cash-for-assets activities that support the management of risk at the community level. WFP promotes the strengthened use of cash and vouchers in its own programming as well as in that of governments and partners. Based on the work conducted under «Capacity Building and Technical Assistance in Support of Food-Based Social Protection Programmes» and the results of the social protection study of 2010, the regional bureau has developed a continuation of its «Regional Strategy on HIV and Nutrition» covering the period 2011-2012. Under this strategy, the regional bureau continues to implement advocacy, technical support, knowledge management and operational research to advance in the incorporation of multi-sector approaches including:

- ensuring the integration of food and nutrition components with HIV treatment and care in «National AIDS Strategic Plans» and resource mobilization process;

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International humanitarian food aid in the North-South cooperation: the case of Cameroon 2014

- developing and implementing operational norms and protocols pertaining to HIV and nutrition;

- establishing nutrition assessment and counselling as a standard
element of HIV care and treatment programmes and promoting access for vulnerable people with HIV to programmes that alleviate food and nutrition insecurity.

Food insecurity in Central America - particularly in Honduras, El Salvador, Nicaragua and Guatemala - is closely related to natural disasters and poverty. The four countries are home to 34 million people, with more than half of them living in poverty. These countries also lie on the isthmus between North and South America. Their geographic location exposes them to hurricanes, floods, droughts and earthquakes.

Table 13: Beneficiaries of WFP food aid in 2012 in LAC. Source: WFP
	Female	Male	Total
Total Number of WFP Beneficiaries in 2012	2,096,106	1,915,146	4,011,252
	Female	Male	Total
Number of Beneficiaries Impacted by HIV/AIDS	25,694	37,641	63,335
	Female	Male	Total
Number of Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs)	137,161	130,593	267,754
Number of Refugees	12,335	13,917	26,252
Number of General Food Distribution Beneficiaries	575,151	535,364	1,110,515
	Female	Male	Total
Number of Beneficiaries of Cash/Voucher Transfers	160,859	144,069	304,928
Number of Participants in Food-for-Training Activities	31,663	30,487	62,150
Number of Participants in Food-for-Asset Activities	79,008	71,552	150,560
	Female	Male	Total
Number of Children Receiving Take-Home	342,106	296,644	638,750
Rations Number of Children receiving School Meals	796,034	752,150	1,548,184
of whom: receiving both Take-Home rations and School Meals	342,106	296,644	638,750
	Female	Children	Total
Number of Pregnant and Lactating Women and Children in Mother-Child-Health (MCH)/Supplementary Feeding	82,690	420,650	503,340

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International humanitarian food aid in the North-South cooperation: the case of Cameroon 2014

III- The coordinating institution of multilateral food aid: the World Food Programme (WFP)

The World Food Programme (WFP) is the food assistance branch of the United Nations, and it is the world's largest humanitarian organization addressing hunger. WFP provides food, on average, to 90 million people per year, 58 million of whom are children. From its headquarters in Rome and more than 80 country offices around the world, WFP works to help people who are unable to produce or obtain enough food for themselves and their families.