The United Nations World Food Programme established its presence in Armenia in the autumn of 1993. WFP’s overall goal is to improve the food security of Armenia’s most vulnerable groups while at the same time helping poor communities to rehabilitate rural infrastructure and develop human potential.
During the 15 years of its operation in Armenia, WFP has provided food assistance to an annual average of 200,000 vulnerable people. While in 1993-2004, WFP assistance was countrywide, later it covered only four provinces including Lori, Shirak, Gegharkunik and Tavush, and Yerevan. Until the first quarter of 2008, WFP has provided around 156,000 tons of food assistance.
WFP started its operation in the country with emergency food distributions to mitigate the plight of refugees and internally displaced persons. Not long afterwards, WFP focused efforts on the resident vulnerable groups as well, since they suffered almost as much hardship as the displaced. For tens of thousands of beneficiaries, WFP food rations mitigated the effects of internal and external socio-economic shocks. For many, WFP was the sole provider of food aid and hope.
In mid-1999, the emergency operation was replaced by a protracted relief and recovery operation but toward the end of 2000, WFP established another emergency operation to assist victims of a drought that had severely affected crops in the summer of 2000.
WFP implements four regular activities including Relief Food Distributions, Food-for-Work, Food-for-Training and Food-for-Education. WFP’s food security efforts have increasingly related to rural infrastructure rehabilitation efforts. WFP targets up to 60 percent of relief assistance to women and, to the extent possible, involves them in other activities.
WFP food shipments arrive at the Black Sea port of Poti in Georgia for further transportation via railroad to Armenia. In 1994-1997, the WFP-funded Caucasus Advisory Logistics Unit provided assistance worth US$1.8 million to the Armenian Railways to improve its infrastructure. For in-country food transportation, WFP uses the services of local trucking companies. To handle storage and delivery of food commodities, WFP is running warehouses in Yerevan and Vanadzor.
Ongoing Projects
The ongoing Project (July 2007-December 2008) reaching 110,000 beneficiaries per year is intended to be the last of the WFP operation in Armenia. WFP has informed the Government counterpart and partners about its plan to complete its mission in the country by the end of 2008. The Project’s four regular components contribute toward the achievement of the country’s commitments under Millennium Development Goals 1, 2, 3, 6 and 7, and the UN Development Assistance Framework. These are:
General Relief Distribution addresses the essential food needs of the poorest population including the disabled, orphans, female-headed households, unaided bed-ridden elderly people, and households with many children. The beneficiary lists are provided by the Ministry of Labour and Social Issues.
Food-for-work projects support rehabilitation of schools, kindergartens, agricultural warehouses, drinking and irrigation water networks as well as food production in vulnerable communities by involving able-bodied unemployed community members.
Food-for-training promotes people’s self-reliance in vulnerable villages and provincial towns, where opportunities of improvement are almost non-existent. Small farmers acquire agricultural knowledge and skills while unemployed peri-urban residents learn how to engage in small businesses.
Food-for-education improves child attendance and their capacity to concentrate and assimilate knowledge. At the same time, it enhances parent-schools relationships.
Partnerships
WFP works with representative local and international organizations allowing integration of principles of sustainable development in poverty reduction efforts. These include UN agencies, the Ministry of Labour and Social Issues and its departments managing the Government’s vulnerability index PAROS/family benefits/elderly home care, governor offices, local authorities, the Veterans’ Union, the National Centre for AIDS Prevention as well as NGOs, farmer associations, community unions.
Contacts:
Liana Kharatian, Programme Officer
UN House in Armenia, 14 Petros Adamyan St., Yerevan 0010
Tel.: (+374 1) 58 05 38, 56 49 04
Fax: (+374 1) 54 27 41
E-mail: WFP.Yerevan@wfp.org
