A Call to Action
The UNHCR-WFP Call to Action (C2A) – Partnership for Refugees’ Sustainable Food and Nutrition Security is a joint initiative launched in 2021 which directs all UNHCR and WFP Country Offices to work together to ensure that humanitarian assistance is available and targeted to those in need. In addition, the C2A identifies and advances concrete actions to expand long-term sustainable food security, nutrition, self-reliance and inclusion opportunities. Mozambique, alongside Jordan, is one of the first countries to pilot the initiative and will be provided with technical support from the Joint UNHCR-WFP Programme Excellence and Targeting Hub.
Born out of the need to respond to growing needs and limited funding, the Call to Action (C2A) builds on the 2016 Joint Strategy – Enhancing Self-Reliance in Food Security and Nutrition in Protracted Refugee Situations which aims to support refugees in meeting their essential needs in a sustainable manner and with dignity. The C2A focuses on countries where WFP and UNHCR are operational and interested in joining forces. It builds on the hypothesis that bringing the strengths of both agencies together will lead to efficiencies of scale and maximize opportunities for long-term investments in the wellbeing of refugees and other forcibly displaced people, thus breaking the cycle of aid dependency. In Mozambique today, while refugees mainly depend on humanitarian assistance to meet their basic needs, a favourable socioeconomic climate and progressive legal and policy framework are encouraging signs that progressive refugee self-reliance and local integration is possible. At the same time, concerns about the sustainability and appropriateness of long term humanitarian assistance has prompted country office teams to jointly invest in a joint targeting approach for needs-based assistance as well as a clear joint plan of engagement with government, member states, development actors, the UN country team and international financial institutions active in Mozambique. At the core of the C2A in Mozambique is a willingness to make sure that refugees enjoy the same level of support and access to services as other displaced populations under a ‘one beneficiary’ approach. The C2A will thus look at directing existing government systems as well as development investments and programs towards refugees in the country.
The Joint UNHCR-WFP Programme Excellence and Targeting Hub (the “Joint Hub”) is providing strategic, programmatic and technical support to Mozambique across a number of joint ventures, including the C2A. The Joint Hub is available to provide support to Regional Bureaus and Country Offices for joint workstreams across a range of thematic areas. These areas include developing multi-year, multi-stakeholder intervention strategies and plans to support refugee food security and socioeconomic inclusion, in accordance with country strategies from both agencies, Government national plans, and strategies from International Financial Institutions and development donors.
In July 2023, the Joint Hub deployed a C2A consultant to initiate technical discussions with WFP and UNHCR country offices in Mozambique. Recommendations are being taken into consideration. For more information about the Joint Hub, the C2A or to request our support, please email us at [email protected].