Subscriptions Central AfricaEast AfricaHorn of AfricaIndian OceanNorth AfricaSouthern AfricaWest AfricaAfrica / World Agriculture - NutritionCulture - ArtsEconomy - DevelopmentEnvironment - NatureGay - LesbianGender - WomenHealthHuman rightsLabourMediaPoliticsScience - EducationSocietyTechnologyTravel - Leisure From Behind By Country By Topic Chronological Press Releases Partner Media Contact Us
   
  

See also:
» 11.09.2009 - Kenya preparing for impact of possible torrential rains
» 08.09.2009 - Volta signs purchase intent for Kiaka gold project in Burkina Faso
» 13.02.2009 - Burkina Faso gets $61million for roads rehabilitation
» 26.09.2008 - Burkina Faso bans all Chinese dairy products
» 25.04.2008 - Burkina: Meningitis kills 800
» 22.04.2008 - Food crisis alerted in West Africa
» 08.04.2008 - Surge in prices worries UN
» 30.11.2006 - ADF supports cotton science in West Africa

Burkina Faso
Society | Economy - Development | Agriculture - Nutrition

WFP launches first food voucher programme in Africa

afrol News, 16 February - The UN food agency has introduced food voucher programme in Burkina Faso targeting 120,000 highly affected by the soaring food prices. The programme which is the first in Africa will target people in the urban areas of Ouagadougou.

According to World Food Program statement, the food is available, but is not accessible to majority of poor Burkinabes in the city where basic staple food has risen by more than 25 percent in the past year.

WFP Country Director in Burkina Faso Annalisa Conte said the vouchers are an innovative solution to hunger needs among people who live in a city where shops and market stalls may be full of produce, but prices are still too high for the poor and the vulnerable. "Sometimes it makes more sense to give people vouchers than bags of food," she said.

Under the new programme, family members will be given a voucher worth 1,500 francs CFA, or about $3, which they can use in shops that have signed a contract with WFP. In exchange for the voucher, people will receive maize, cooking oil, sugar, salt and soap. Each family will receive up to six vouchers per month for six months, the agency has said.

The WFP also said distributing vouchers instead of food is the more cost effective way of alleviating hunger as opposed to incurring costs of transportation where urban dwellers are surrounded by markets and stalls.

The agency's communiqué said WFP and its partners will also distribute food vouchers in the city of Bobo-Dioulasso for 60,000 people beginning next month.

During the launch of the voucher operation in Burkina Faso, WFP will also hand out rations of Plumpy Doz, a ready-to-eat and highly nutritious peanut-based paste enriched with nutrients, to families with young children.

Meanwhile, Burkina Faso is also to receive a United States government grant of US$ 480.9 million under the Millennium Challenge Corporation to improve the impoverished country's roads, farm productivity and girls' education.

The grant is aimed at lessening impact of poverty as well as promoting economic growth through specific investments to improve agricultural productivity, land management, and roads infrastructure to get goods to markets.


    E-mail this to a friend     Printable version

Related pages and feature
Current afrol News Top Stories
Burkina Faso
Society
Economy - Development
Agriculture - Nutrition
Children
Finance
Food Security
Nutrition
People
Policy
Poverty
Social Services
» China to cement new role in Africa
» Zimbabwe crisis solved, for now
» Equatorial Guinea polls begin, with little hope of change
» "Uganda AIDS prevention threatened"
» São Tomé to establish state oil company
» It's confirmed: New ocean to split Ethiopia
» South African mortality crisis overcome
» "Send Central African leaders to ICC"
» Dengue epidemic paralyses Cape Verde
» Algeria "not affected by global crisis"


top of page about afrol News | news | countries | archive | services | feed back | español 

© afrol News. Reproducing or buying afrol News' articles.

   You can contact us at mail@afrol.com