Crisis Response: Europe and Central Asia Region Food Projects

Overview

The World Bank’s Global Food Crisis Response Program has helped to mitigate the social, and health and nutrition impact of rising food prices on children, pregnant and breastfeeding women, elderly and other vulnerable groups in Moldova, Kyrgyz Republic, and Tajikistan. As part of the program, temporary cash transfers, nutritional supplements, flour fortification and food packages were provided through three timely and targeted food crisis response projects. In all, a total of 67,000 beneficiaries received food, 1.3 million received vitamin A supplements and 360,000 received cash transfers.

Challenge

In 2007-2008, Kyrgyz Republic, Moldova, and Tajikistan faced sharp increases in consumer prices largely due to increases in food prices. Kyrgyz Republic, a food importing country, where food is 50-60 % of the Consumer Price Index (CPI), had to absorb the brunt of these shocks. In Moldova, global food price increases exacerbated the effect of the severe drought of 2007, resulting in a dramatic loss of crops and livestock, which, as a result, raised new social and economic challenges. In 2007, Tajikistan’s harsh winter increased food insecurity among vulnerable Tajik households. The most vulnerable groups in the three countries were on the frontlines of the global food price crisis, which generated significant distributional and poverty impacts in urban and rural areas. The crisis threatened to aggravate further the already poor health outcomes, particularly among children and the poor. It also left the population with few options to cope, either dropping consumption of higher quality food or limiting the consumption basket to less expensive and basic food staples.

Approach

The response to the crisis was timely and well targeted. The World Bank, through the Global Food Crisis Response Program, responded promptly to government requests for assistance. Projects were prepared in two to four weeks, building on the existing knowledge and analytical work, and including poverty and safety nets assessments. These projects contributed to the mitigation of social, health and nutrition concerns through the provision of: temporary cash transfers; nutritional supplements; flour fortification; test kits; food packages, nutrition education; child growth monitoring equipment, and improved health worker knowledge and skills.

Results

• In Khatlon and Sogd regions of Tajikistan, 50,000 pregnant and breastfeeding women and their infants received food. A total of 433 primary care workers were trained in prevention and management of childhood nutritional problems, while 1,200 health facilities were equipped with growth monitoring equipment, resulting in a 58 % increase in the proportion of underweight children detected and treated.
• In Kyrgyz Republic, 1.1 million children under age 5 and 129,000 nursing mothers received vitamin A supplements. An additional 30 % payment of the main safety net and poverty reduction program in Kyrgyz Republic helped 360,000 socially vulnerable people compensate for loss in purchasing power due to the rise in food prices, as part of a program being supported by the European Commission (EC).
• In Moldova, 7,000 pregnant and breastfeeding women and 10,000 young children received food and 1,691 social institutions received cash supplements. The funds helped kindergartens, orphanages, boarding schools, and social service facilities provide the most vulnerable with the minimal nutritional daily requirements.

Voices

The Global Food Crisis Response Trust Fund grant has helped us a lot. The additional money is helping us provide a rich diet for children staying at our health rehabilitation center. In the past, we could barely afford to provide the minimum recommended diet for our young patients and only three meals a day. Today, we can afford to buy yogurt, seasonal fruit and other items, and have the money to provide the recommended four meals a day.

— Tatiana Damascan, Chief Medical Officer of Ceadir-Lunga sanatorium.

Toward the Future

In the Kyrgyz Republic, broader policy issues related to childhood development addressed by the government, which led to the expedited issuance of a decree on flour fortification. The International Development Agency (IDA) will support flour fortification over the next year and flour will be provided at a subsidized price to targeted socially vulnerable populations. In Tajikistan, a community-based nutrition pilot project is to be funded through a Japan Social Development Fund (JSDF) grant in the amount of $2.8 million for one of the most vulnerable regions starting September 2010.