The Government of Japan Provides WFP US$2 Million to Mitigate Floods Impact on Food Security

The grant agreement is signed today between H.E MIKAMI Masahiro, Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of Japan to the Kingdom of Cambodia, and Ms. Claire CONAN, WFP Representative and Country Director, presided over and witnessed by H.E. Ngan Chamroeun, Secretary of State of the Ministry of Interior and Head of the National Committee for Sub-National Democratic Development Secretariat (NCDDS).

“Last year, Cambodia suffered severe continuous and torrential rainfall—which affected a large number of residents, resulting in loss of some lives and a lot of physical damages to the properties. I sincerely hope that this project will mitigate the impact of floods on food security of flood affected households and communities,” said H.E. Mikami Masahiro, Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of Japan to the Kingdom of Cambodia.

Under this project, WFP will work closely with NCDD and other partners to conduct a comprehensive food security and nutrition assessment in flood-affected area, and support community recovery through the rehabilitation of damaged infrastructure and the enhancement of local planning capacity and knowledge on food security, disaster preparedness and mitigation. 16 communes in Battambang, Pursat, Kampong Chhnang and Kampong Thom will be selected as the project target.

“We thank the Government of Japan for its support to mitigate the effects of last year’s floods. This assistance will be critical to vulnerable families living in flood-prone communities whose livelihoods and food system were affected and will help protect them from future shocks,” said Claire CONAN, WFP representative and country director.

Cambodia has been affected by severe floods on four occasions in the last decade. The latest one in October last year displaced 14,299 households and directly affected 176,000 households (close to 800,000 people) in 14 provinces. Houses, infrastructure and agricultural land were inundated and severely damaged. The country ranks 16th of 181 countries on the 2020 World Risk Index highlighting its high proneness and vulnerability to natural disasters. Climate shocks such as floods and droughts frequently threatened communities, and  their frequency and intensity are likely to increase in the future owing to the effects of climate change and the related degradation of natural resources, disproportionally affect some of the most impoverished communities.

Since 1998, the Government of Japan has been a significant partner to WFP Cambodia, contributing USD 22 million in the last ten years through both in-kind (rice and canned fish) and cash contributions in support of food security and nutrition. In 2019, Japan contributed USD 2.7 million to WFP to enhance the resilience of Cambodian communities to shocks and build institutional capacity on emergency preparedness. This support has enabled 1) the construction of six safe evacuation centers in 3 flood-prone provinces; 2) strengthened disaster risk management planning at national, sub-national and community levels and 3) enhanced early action through early warning systems.