WFP welcomes funding from Germany to support refugees and smallholder farmers in Rwanda

The funding was received from both the German Federal Foreign Ministry (GFFO) and the Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ) which contributed US$1.9 million and US$1.7 million respectively.

“Soaring costs of food, energy and fertilizer combined with limited land availability and climate extremes such as droughts and floods are affecting the food security and incomes of smallholder farmers and refugees in Rwanda,” said Edith Heines, WFP’s Country Director in Rwanda.

The funding from GFFO will be used to provide supplementary feeding to prevent chronic malnutrition among 3,800 pregnant and breastfeeding women and 300 young children in the refugee community and to prevent acute malnutrition among refugees being treated for HIV and tuberculosis. The funds will also support over 37,000 children from both refugee and host communities with daily nutritious school meals – a critical social safety net which relieves parents from having to budget for lunches and encourages greater enrolment and retention of children in schools.

“In view of the high food price inflation currently observed in Rwanda, we are glad to continue supporting WFP in its critical work with the most vulnerable. WFP’s focus on refugees, school children and rural communities throughout the country, in close cooperation with the government, is highly relevant and provides valuable socio-economic opportunities in view of the current challenges,” said Philippe Taflinski, the Head of Development Cooperation at the German Embassy in Kigali.

The funding from BMZ will enable WFP-supported farmers in the Bitenga marshland in Rutsiro district to increase food production and incomes through access to quality seeds and by establishing dedicated selling points for their harvests. Funding received from BMZ in 2021 was used to restore 400 metres of irrigation canals currently being used by farmers in the marshland to irrigate their crops, and to provide drinking water for cattle.

The funds will also be used to strengthen government social protection activities and disaster risk management initiatives, to support nutrition monitoring in health centres and hospitals in 17 districts, and for improving school kitchen infrastructure.

This funding comes in addition to a contribution of US$2 million received from GFFO and BMZ in 2021.

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The United Nations World Food Programme is the world’s largest humanitarian organization saving lives in emergencies and using food assistance to build a pathway to peace, stability and prosperity for people recovering from conflict, disasters and the impact of climate change.

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