Contact Details:
World Food Programme
Website:
www.ungambia.gm/wfp
Head Office address
See UN House at Cape Point
Telephone number:
494782 (Resident coordinator)
3-4 ECOWAS Avenue
P.M.B. 10, Banjul Post Office
Banjul
The Gambia
Tel: (220) 4228 477
Fax: (220) 4228 634
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Background Information:
The World
Food Programme has been a partner in The Gambia's development and
emergency feeding program since 1972 through project-oriented food
assistance. The WFP-assisted projects are innovatively designed as
catalyst, combined with other inputs, to revitalise the rural economy
through a range of complimentary development of The Gambia's human
resources through institutional feeding programme.
To a large extent,
the future WFP-assisted programme is expected to be closely aligned to
the Government's Strategy for Poverty Alleviation.
WFP sees
the eradication of poverty and the elimination of the need for food
aid as aspect of one and the same objectives and to this end, the
agency directs its efforts towards supporting the development of a
food security strategy based on enhancing capacity for increased
production while at the same time strongly advocating the reduction of
dependence on food aid.
As poverty is perpetrated by hunger which in itself is a manifestation
of food insecurity, WFP�s food assistance to the Government is aimed
at helping the poor to build assets and promote self-reliance through
food-for-work support to labour intensive works which are initiated by
the communities themselves, have adequate material, financial and
technical support, are technically sound, and are integrated into the
overall divisional and/or national development aims and objectives. As
it is often the poor who actively participate in food-for-work
activities, food assistance becomes a more efficient means of reaching
the poor with food at times when they need it most and in ways that
achieve lasting impact.
Such food assistance would also serve as a useful tool for development
with a focus on people and consideration is given to projects which
would have the following objectives: (a) increasing food production
through community mobilisation and emphasis on women rice farmers, (b)
improving rural infrastructure through construction of community
structures such as schools, day care centres, access roads, causeways,
bunds, bri;dges, wells, e.t.c., through cooperation with communities,
Government technical departments and NGOs, (c) through day primary
school feeding aimed at areas where female enrolment is low, promote
gender equity and improve female literacy, and (d) support to rural
development and skills training centres with an emphasis on women�s
equal participation in management and training.
For people who have been hit by natural disasters or human crises and
their lives are at stake, survival supersedes other considerations,
and timely food assistance provides the only hope. The main victims
are often women and children and the first goal for WFP at such
moments is to provide timely, appropriate and adequate relief. The
provision of relief assistance however must shift progressively, as
early as possible, into rehabilitation and on to development.
WFP in the fight against poverty and hunger will continue to deploy
food assistance rationally to alleviate hunger, establish a base for
future food security, and save lives of disaster and conflict affected
persons. Targeting of food assistance is also essential to reach those
most in need, and to minimise the adverse effects such as creation of
dependency, production disincentives and market displacements.
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