 
Contact Address:
World
Food Programme
WFP Banjul Head Office
3-4 Ecowas Avenue
P.M.B. 10, Banjul
The Gambia, West Africa
Tel no: 494782 (Resident coordinator)
4228477
/ 4494784
Fax: 4228 634
Email
|
Information:
The World Food Programme
(WFP) 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, bridges, wells, etc.,
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. |
