European Union provides €500,000 to WFP for COVID-19 recovery in Rwanda

The United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) welcomes €500,000 from the European Union (EU) to provide technical support to Rwanda’s COVID-19 recovery efforts.

With this contribution, WFP will support Government efforts to ensure that social protection is expanded to the most vulnerable and food insecure Rwandans and responds to the unique challenges presented by the pandemic.

The new funding will also support evidence generation on food security, markets, and supply chains to inform the Government and partners in their investments in COVID-19 recovery. 

“To ensure an effective COVID-19 recovery, it is vital for Rwanda to harness strategic technical expertise that will strengthen its social protection and food security systems to efficiently support national economic recovery," said Ambassador Nicola Bellomo, Head of the EU Delegation in Rwanda.  

WFP has widely recognized expertise in food security analysis and a close partnership with the Government in social protection. WFP will work to assist the Local Administrative Entities Development Agency on national systems for social protection targeting, monitoring and evaluation and feedback to support the response to vulnerabilities associated with COVID-19.   

“The Government’s response to mobilizing the social protection system as a key platform for the COVID-19 response has been impressive to date,” said Edith Heines, WFP Rwanda Representative and Country Director. 

“With this generous support, WFP will help the Government make the national social protection system even more shock-responsive, building on the lessons learned from the pandemic.”

This support is a contribution to the ongoing food security and vulnerability analysis as well as to food market and supply chain monitoring and their recovery from COVID-19.

This contribution is 100 percent funded by the EU under the Sector Reform Contract to enhance the agriculture sector's sustainable use of land and water resources, value creation and contribution to nutrition security through its budget support action in response to the COVID-19 crisis.

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For more information please contact:

Emily Fredenberg, WFP/Kigali, Email: emilyjean.fredenberg@wfp.org, Mobile: +250 789 451 347

Amparo Gonzalez Diez, Delegation of the European Union to Rwanda, Email: Amparo.GONZALEZ-DIEZ@eeas.europa.eu  Mobile: +250788198117