Highlights
Officials from the Korea International Cooperation Agency (KOICA) Bangladesh visited Bhutan for a monitoring mission. The KOICA officials and WFP visited schools and farmers groups in Zhemgang and Trongsa districts where KOICA-supported activities are implemented.
WFP, in partnership with the Department of Disaster Management (DDM) and the Ministry of Agriculture and Forests (MoAF), facilitated several workshops and trainings on disaster preparedness, supply chain, geoinformation systems (GIS) and incident command systems (ICS).
Operational Update
A KOICA Bangladesh team led by the Country Director visited Bhutan on 06 to 10 November for a project monitoring mission. The United Nations (UN) Resident Coordinator, Ms Karla Hershey, and a WFP team led by the Country Director joined the mission. The mission met with district officials, visited women smallholder farmers groups and observed the preparation of school meals at central schools in Zhemgang and Trongsa districts. With support from KOICA and WFP, the Ministry of Education implements the project ‘Consolidating a fully integrated universal National School Nutrition Programme in Bhutan’.
WFP supported MoAF to deliver two regional workshops on humanitarian supply chain and logistics management. The workshops were conducted in Punakha and Trashigang districts from 07 to 18 November, with the participation of 60 officials from 13 districts in the central and eastern regions who are the focal points for emergency logistics response. The consultations compiled logistics capacity information on locally available assets in each district to develop consolidated district-level logistics preparedness action plans.
WFP delivered two learning sessions for 24 participants, comprising UN officials and members of the National Logistics Preparedness Working Group, to introduce the concept of humanitarian supply chains during emergencies through a board game called ‘Business on the move – humanitarian edition’.
WFP, in partnership with DDM, carried out a week-long sensitization programme on disaster risk management, ICS training and a tabletop simulation exercise in Sarpang District for 168 participants. The programme aimed to build the disaster preparedness and response capacity of district administration officials, regional officials, newly elected local government leaders, and representatives from the De-Suung (national service volunteers) and Bhutan Red Cross Society.
WFP and DDM organized a GIS digitization workshop in Pemagatshel District from 21 to 25 November for 22 officials representing key agencies. A free spatial data repository ‘Open Street Mapping’ was used for data collection. The data, primarily on critical infrastructure, can be used for studies and analysis, including disaster preparedness and response.
WFP presented the results of its nutrition social behaviour change (SBC) research to SBC Taskforce members for validation on 25 and 26 November. The Taskforce comprises representatives from the Ministry of Health, the Ministry of Education and MoAF, as well as the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) and WFP. The research will inform the development of an action plan to implement SBC activities in 2023.
Source: World Food Programme