Mauritania

Working in six of Mauritania’s most vulnerable regions, WFP provides unconditional food assistance to people whose food and nutrition security has been affected by successive climate shocks. WFP provides food distribution or cash-based transfers to vulnerable Mauritanian households and to refugees living in Mberra camp.

Across all its activities in Mauritania, WFP supports the country in building its own resilience to the adverse effects of climate change. This means using food-for-asset activities to support sustainable livelihood projects – such as rehabilitating land for agriculture – which in 2016 benefited over 54,000 people. WFP also works with the government to manage an early warning system to improve emergency preparedness and response.

WFP helps to treat and prevent malnutrition, with activities including supplementary feeding for young children and for pregnant and nursing mothers. WFP also supports training activities to educate health assistants on how to support pregnant women and mothers in areas such as micronutrient-rich foods and good breastfeeding practices.

In partnership with the Mauritanian government, WFP aims to distribute two meals a day to primary school children in rural areas where school attendance and retention rates are low and food insecurity, malnutrition and poverty are high. With the exception of school meals in the Mberra refugee camp, this programme has been challenged by lack of funding.

With the Ministry of Environment and Durable Development, WFP is working to improve the resilience of Mauritanian communities to the adverse effects of climate change. This means better understanding risks and their impact on resources and food security, as well as carrying out mitigating activities such as developing pastoral protection areas to combat land degradation.