WFP feeding programmes show progress despite continued insecurity

The UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF) has requested 1,900 mt of food for current supplementary and therapeutic feeding centre (SFCs and TFCs) programmes from July until September, WFP said in its latest emergency update. It noted that beneficiary numbers decreased from 102,439 persons in March to 68,741 persons in June. WFP attributed this improvement to targeted food distributions and joint efforts of nutritional agencies, but cautioned that although the security situation was calm in the central provinces, hostilities were reported in several places in the west and northwestern provinces as well as in the east and the south.

WFP’s update also reported that food economy assessment (FEA) teams carried out rapid assessments in several communes in Gitega province and found over 11,000 households affected by insecurity. “The population has no food reserve and the current harvest of beans is unlikely to cover needs after July,” WFP warned.