Nicaragua country strategic plan (2019-2024)

CSP approved at EB.1/2019

Revision 01 approved by the RD in February 2021

Revision 02 approved by the CD in April 2021

Revision 03 approved by the CD in June 2022

Revision 04 approved by the CD in April 2023

Revision 05 approved by the ED in December 2023

Revision 06 approved by the CD in December 2023

In the last decade, Nicaragua has achieved sustained economic growth and social development with improving nutrition indicators making it one of the countries that has reduced hunger the most in the region. However, natural disasters, climate change, poverty and social and economic fragility still threaten the food security of the most vulnerable people, particularly those in rural and remote areas. Targeted and coordinated efforts are therefore needed in order to reach Sustainable Development Goal 2 on zero hunger.

Working in line with Nicaragua’s national human development plan for 2018–2021, WFP will help to accelerate action towards the achievement of zero hunger. The five-year country strategic plan for 2019–2023 has the aim of tackling the underpinning causes of food and nutrition insecurity by promoting long-term solutions to hunger. At the same time, considering the persistent levels of poverty and vulnerability to food insecurity in the country, WFP will continue to provide direct assistance with a view to ensuring that the most vulnerable people have access to nutritious and adequate food, including during emergencies. In this work, WFP’s added value lies in its capacity to operate at the humanitarian–development nexus.

Informed by the national zero hunger strategic review and consultations with government partners, the country strategic plan has four strategic outcomes, which address hunger gaps identified in Nicaragua:

• Strategic outcome 1: People in targeted areas who are living in poverty or vulnerable to food insecurity have access to adequate nutritious food all year round by 2023.
• Strategic outcome 2: Vulnerable communities and smallholder farmers in targeted areas benefit from sustainable food systems and have strengthened capacities to cope with shocks, climate change and natural hazards by 2023.
• Strategic outcome 3: National institutions have improved capacities to advance gender equality and women’s empowerment and to incorporate gender-transformative approaches into programmes, contributing to the achievement of zero hunger by 2023.
• Strategic outcome 4: Populations affected by shocks have access to adequate and nutritious food during and after an emergency.

For WFP, the country strategic plan represents a strategic shift towards new areas of collaboration, including climate change adaptation, resilience building and the pursuit of gender equality as a catalyst for zero hunger. WFP will also strengthen national social protection programmes and disaster risk reduction systems in order to improve the efficiency of food security and nutrition interventions. Consideration of nutrition issues will be integrated into all activities as a cross-cutting theme for ensuring the delivery of nutrition-sensitive responses.

The country strategic plan is aligned with the WFP Strategic Plan (2017–2021) and contributes to Strategic Results 1 on access to food, 4 on sustainable food systems and 5 on capacity strengthening. It supports Nicaragua in the attainment of Sustainable Development Goals 2 and 17, working in partnership and coordination with the Government, United Nations agencies, academic institutions and other actors.