WFP gets over $600,000 from EU for COVID-19 recovery in Rwanda

By James Tasamba

KIGALI, Rwanda (AA) – The UN World Food Program (WFP) has received €500,000 (over $608,000) funding from the EU to provide technical support for Rwanda’s COVID-19 recovery efforts.

The funding will enable WFP to support Rwanda’s efforts to ensure that social protection is expanded to the most vulnerable and food insecure Rwandans and respond to the unique challenges presented by the pandemic, according to a joint statement issued on Monday.

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

“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 the landlocked East African country.

Edith Heines, WFP Rwanda representative and country director, said Rwanda’s “response to mobilizing the social protection system as a key platform for the COVID-19 response has been impressive to date.”

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

Rwanda’s economic recovery plan covering the period from May 2020 to December 2021 focuses on two broad objectives; economic recovery and addressing issues of social protection.

The EU funding has been provided “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,” the statement concluded.