El Salvador
The Situation
El Salvador is the smallest and most densely populated country in Central America. It is home to 6.5 million people and is located in the Pacific coast of Central America. Over the past decade, El Salvador has made significant progress towards reducing levels of hunger and malnutrition. However, poverty and inequality continue to pose major challenges to development.
Coupled with violence and insecurity, El Salvador has one of the highest murder rates in the world outside war zones. These factors drive thousands of people, including unaccompanied minors, to leave the country every year. There are currently some 2.5 million Salvadorans living in the United States alone.
The sustainability of El Salvador’s food systems is hurt by climate shocks including volcanic eruptions, earthquakes, floods and droughts. The country is heavily dependent on import for main staples like rice, beans and corn.
WFP's Work
WFP’s program seeks to contribute in four areas:
- Social protection: WFP supports El Salvador’s government in implementing a more integrated, gender-transformative and nutrition-sensitive national social protection system. WFP provides an efficient platform for cash-based transfers which are provided as physical cash or through electronic disbursement.
- Agricultural support: WFP supports the creation of small-scale farmers’ organizations and provides trainings on best practices in food management and marketing as well as technical assistance.
- Building resilience: Through Food Assistance for Assets (FFA), WFP helps small-scale farmers adapt to climate change and boost their incomes. WFP prioritizes the participation of women in FFA projects to help increase the number of female farmers.
