Eswatini Transitional ICSP (January 2018 - June 2019)

T-ICSP approved  by the ED in August 2017.

Revision 02 approved by the CD in May 2018.

Revision 04 approved by the ED in March 2019.

Revision 05 approved by the EB in June 2019.

WFP’s role in Eswatini is shifting from an operational partner implementing food and nutrition assistance to a provider of focused and systems-based technical support, and institutional strengthening to build the Government of Eswatini’s capacities to achieve food and nutrition security, and its commitments to the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

The Transitional Interim Country Strategic Plan (T-ICSP) for Eswatini is based on: i) lessons learned from operational experience; ii) consultations with the Government, donors and partners; and iii) an assessment of funding possibilities.

In pursuit of SDGs targets, WFP’s assistance in Eswatini aims to improve the food and nutrition security of the most vulnerable impacted by poverty and HIV/AIDS.

WFP's activities in Eswatini address the food and nutritional needs of orphans and other vulnerable children (OVC), of groups affected by HIV and tuberculosis (TB), and of women receiving treatment to prevent the transmission of HIV during pregnancy, labour, delivery or breastfeeding (PMTCT). WFP programmes recognize the priorities of the Government as expressed in its National Development Strategy, and are in line with the current UNDAF (2016-2020) and WFP’s Strategic Plan (2017-2021).

The T-ICSP reflects the challenging funding environment in Eswatini, a lower middle-income country with high levels of income inequality and persistent levels of malnutrition and food insecurity among predominantly rural populations. Government contributions to meet these challenges will assist in resource mobilization.

WFP supports the Government in achieving the following strategic outcomes:

1. Children under five, anti-retroviral therapy (ART), TB and PMTCT clients in Eswatini have improved nutritional status in line with national targets by 2022.
2. The national social protection system in Eswatini is able to target and assist the most food insecure and nutritionally vulnerable populations throughout the year, including in response to shocks.

WFP will begin transitioning its current programmes to full national ownership. It will continue to support to people living with HIV and undergoing TB care and treatment as well as to orphans and other vulnerable children; and to increase technical assistance to strengthen implementation, coordination, monitoring and oversight of nutrition services to support social protection in the country.

The strategic orientation of the T-ICSP builds on a 2015 review of the country strategy. It capitalizes on WFP’s global and in-country strengths, including expertise in nutrition and HIV programming; safety nets, school meals; vulnerability assessment, and supply chain.

The formulation of a new Country Strategic Plan (CSP), to take effect from July 2019, is within the scope of the T-ICSP. Work on the CSP will be informed by Eswatini’s Zero Hunger Strategic Review. The CSP will entail development of a fully elaborated partnership and advocacy strategy and action plan, as well as a review and full integration of the country office’s Gender Action Plan.

The Government is WFP’s primary partner. Development partners’ contributions will likely be channeled through technical assistance to government on nutrition-sensitive initiatives rather than food assistance or nutrition-specific programmes.