by Isatou Jawara
The Gambia Government has committed to a partnership with the World Food Programme (WFP) to build the resilience of the most vulnerable communities against climate shocks.
With the launch of an emergency food assistance programme targeting 51, 200 women, men and children affected by the recent flash floods, the WFP Country Representative in The Gambia Mr Yasuhiro Tsumura, assured that the organisation will continue working with its partners and the people of The Gambia, to enhance the government’s capacity in disaster management and social protection.
He announced that to ensure continued life-saving and resilience-building operations over the next six months, WFP Gambia urgently requires an additional US$ 7.3 million.
The floods, driven by heavy rains in July 2022, hit the suburbs and urban settlements with women and children under 5 accounting for almost three-quarters of the total affected population.
Mr Yasuhiro Tsumura noted that providing food assistance to vulnerable families in times of crisis is at the core of WFP’s life-saving mandate. At a time when the country is facing the highest levels of hunger of the last decade Mr Yasuhiro lamented that they are committed to working with the Government to support flood-hit communities and relieve vulnerable communities from the brunt of the economic downturn – helping to prevent the already dire situation from further deteriorating.
“WFP’s emergency food assistance in the form of cash distributions will help affected families meet their basic food and nutrition needs at a time when food prices are skyrocketing, pushing basic meals out of the reach of many in the country,” he added.
The ongoing assistance is funded by the United Nations Central Emergency Response Fund (UNCERF) and WFP’s Immediate Response Account (IRA) and is delivered in partnership with the National Disaster Management Agency (NDMA). Targeted families were identified by the Government of The Gambia through a joint assessment conducted by NDMA, WFP, and UN partners. Each supported household will receive 2,350 Dalasis (US$ 43.50) per month for three months.
The latest food security assessment data reveals the worst level of food insecurity and malnutrition in The Gambia, with 207,000 people approximately 8.6 percent of the population - facing emergency levels of hunger between June and August 2022.
Hunger is driven by recurrent flash flooding, poor harvests following the 2021 agricultural season, the socio-economic fallout from the pandemic, and spiraling food, fuel and transport costs linked to the ongoing global upheaval in food and energy markets.
