Mauritania Country Programme (2012-2017)

Mauritania country programme 200251 supports government efforts to address food insecurity and malnutrition through the promotion of sustainable hunger solutions. It will  focus on food-based social safety nets in the areas of  nutrition, education and livelihood support while creating partnerships to advance the Government’s Poverty Reduction Strategy.

WFP’s country strategy for Mauritania (2011-2016) identifies three priorities developed in consultation with the Government, United Nations agencies and other partners: i) improving coordination and consultation; ii) reducing risk and creating national capacity to prepare for crises; and iii) investing in human capital development through social protection.

The country programme will address these priorities in its three components:

i) reduce the prevalence of underweight among children and acute malnutrition in vulnerable areas through targeted supplementary feeding and awareness activities (WFP Strategic Objective 4);

ii) improve access to primary education in vulnerable areas through school feeding (Strategic Objective 4); and

iii) reduce risks and build resilience among vulnerable groups affected by recurrent climate shocks (Strategic Objective 2)

Capacity development will be carried out in relation to all three components, leading to increased government responsibility for activities (Strategic Objective 5).

Work will be carried out in the regions identified by the food security monitoring system as most food-insecure; groups with the greatest nutritional needs will be targeted, including children under 5, pregnant and lactating women, children enrolled in primary school and food-insecure households, particularly agro-pastoralists. The country programme will assist 497,000 people over a five-year period.

WFP will establish partnerships at the community level to ensure coherence with activities implemented by development partners.

The country programme is in line with the United Nations Development Assistance Framework – specifically the outcomes “Food security of vulnerable populations is ensured” and “Economic and social living conditions of poor and vulnerable groups are improved in an environment where access to natural resources and their sustainable management are improved” – and contributes to Millennium Development Goals 1–5 and 7.