The latest round of World Food Programme meetings took place last week in Rome addressing, among other topics, an urgent Level 3 emergency situation in three African nations that Monaco has involvement in. 

Three countries with top priority Monegasque development cooperation: Burkina Faso, Mali and Niger, have just been declared Level 3 emergency zones at the 2^nd Ordinary Session of the Board of Directors of the World Food Programme (WFP), indicating they are suffering from the most severe and large-scale humanitarian crises globally.

The meetings, held from 18^th to 21^st November in Rome, took the opportunity to look closely at, and form a strategy for, this region of more than 20 million people, who are facing unprecedented security challenges.  

Monaco delegates also met with Burundi’s WFP Director to discuss the current and ongoing school canteen strategy which Monaco has been an ardent supporter of since 2015. The World Food Programme’s upcoming school lunch agenda, which will run from 2020-2030, aims to reach 73 million needy children aged five to 12 in 60 countries worldwide, focusing on nutrition, education and health. 

Additionally, the WFP Executive Board was able to approve new fundraising plans for 2020-2025, policies for local and regional purchases of food, and the 2020-2022 management plan.

Top photo: Virginia Villar-Arribas, Country Director, WFP Burundi; Martine Garcia-Mascarenhas, Deputy Permanent Representative to FAO and WFP; Yordanos Seium-Pasquier, Senior Program Manager at the International Cooperation Directorate and David Ryckembusch, Chief of Technical Assistance, WFP’s Private Sector Partnership and Innovation. © DR