New TA-contract awarded to AFC: Enhancing food security in Guatemala

AFC together with its partners has been awarded the technical assistance to the EU Budget Support Programme “Support of the National Policy of Food and Nutrition Security in Guatemala and its Strategic Plan”. In line with the priorities of the Guatemalan government, the EU supports the implementation of the Strategic Plan for Food and Nutrition Security with a sector budget support of Euro 30 Mio. Guatemala holds first place in Latin America and fourth worldwide in the prevalence of chronic child malnutrition, which is severely affecting the indigenous and rural population. The problem has various structural causes, thus demanding a multisectoral response. The Strategic Plan of the Guatemalan government identifies the activities of the various public institutions impacting on food security (ministries of education, health, agriculture, environment, finance, economy, various social funds, among others), and the respective budgetary allocations for the purpose of implementing coordinated actions on a targeted basis in 135 prioritised municipalities. The technical assistance will strengthen the technical capacities, instruments and institutional mechanisms of the ministries and government agencies responsible for the implementation of programs and initiatives under the Strategic Plan, with special focus on the Presidential Secretariat of Food Security and Nutrition as the main coordinating body. It will improve multi-year budgetary programming and linking of the budget with the operational plans of each sector involved, build up capacities to better monitor and evaluate public policies related to food security, support the effective inter-institutional coordination of the involved stakeholders at national and departmental level and promote the participation of civil society in policy formulation and implementation. Furthermore, the technical assistance will support the preparation of annual reports requested by the DUE for the payment of the fixed and variable tranches of the budget support and elaborate and implement a communication strategy, in line with the EU Manual on Visibility. The TA-contract has a duration of 39 month and a volume of Euro 2.8 Mio.