Congo country strategic plan (2019-2024)

CSP approved at EB.1/2019

Revision 01 approved by the EB in March 2021

Revision 02 approved by the RD in July 2022

Revision 03 approved by the RD in November 2023

The Congo is a resource-rich, food-deficit, middle-income country categorized as having "serious" hunger challenges in the 2017 Global Hunger Index. Food insecurity in the country stems from limited agricultural productivity, widespread vulnerability, recurrent social and political conflict and gender inequalities.

The Government’s main development priorities are articulated in the national development plan for 2018–2022, which incorporates plans for achieving all the Sustainable Development Goals, emphasizing education, economic diversification through agriculture and the opportunities offered by digital transformation enabling the use of innovations. Building on its recognized comparative advantages in school feeding, food supply chains, emergency response and safety net systems, WFP is uniquely placed to contribute to the Government’s national development priorities. Through the country strategic plan, WFP will also contribute significantly to the interventions and planned results of the United Nations development assistance framework for 2020–2024, which identifies Sustainable Development Goals 2 on zero hunger and 17 on partnerships as foundational drivers of long-term, sustainable development in the Congo.

Informed by the 2018 national zero hunger strategic review, the mid-term evaluation of the WFP country programme for 2015–2018 and lessons learned, WFP will adopt a holistic, nationally driven, shock-responsive and long-term strategy in the Congo that prioritizes work at the humanitarian–development–peace nexus. Through this approach, WFP will address the immediate and underlying causes of vulnerability while facilitating the development of national capacities in order to ensure sustainability, national ownership and a progressive handover of interventions to the Government.

Institutional capacity strengthening efforts will emphasize the value of using digital information and management systems in all activities. Gender-transformative and nutrition-sensitive programming will be mainstreamed in all activities. In line with the New Way of Working,1 WFP will build on enhanced strategic and operational partnerships for greater impact.

To address the main findings from the 2018 zero hunger strategic review, and in accordance with national and United Nations priorities for the Congo, the country strategic plan is structured around four mutually reinforcing strategic outcomes:

• Under strategic outcome 1, WFP will use its crisis response capacities in assisting shock-affected populations, including refugees, internally displaced persons and returnees.
• Under strategic outcome 2, WFP will complement and support national efforts to address vulnerabilities and ensure the delivery of effective social protection interventions.
• Under strategic outcome 3, WFP will strengthen resilience at the national and community levels through the facilitation of market access and climate change adaptation.
• Under strategic outcome 4, WFP will provide logistics services to the humanitarian and development community.

This country strategic plan is aligned with WFP corporate Strategic Results 1, 3 and 8 and will contribute to the achievement of Sustainable Development Goals 2 and 17 and to other Sustainable Development Goals related to health, education, gender equality, climate change and sustainability.