Japan and the United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) have signed a new food assistance agreement worth JPY 200 million (approximately US$1.32 million) to support food and nutrition programmes in Guinea-Bissau. The agreement, signed by the Embassy of Japan in Dakar and WFP, will help sustain critical nutrition and school feeding initiatives aimed at vulnerable populations in the country.
Through this funding, WFP will provide nutritious school meals to around 200,000 children across the country. The programme will also supply locally produced food supplements and diversified food baskets—including fresh vegetables and fruits—to more than 3,000 children under the age of five to help prevent and treat malnutrition.
Food insecurity remains a major challenge in Guinea-Bissau. According to the 2025 Global Hunger Index, about 22 percent of the population is undernourished, while nearly one in three children under five suffers from wasting due to limited access to diverse and nutritious diets. The new support from Japan comes at a critical time as WFP faces growing pressure to maintain its programmes amid rising food insecurity.
Funding shortages during the current school year have already forced reductions in the school feeding programme, decreasing the number of children receiving daily meals from 200,000 to about 151,800. Menus have also been simplified to mainly rice, canned fish, and beans. Nutrition programmes for young children have been affected as well, with supplies of specialised nutritious foods reduced from six months to three months, limiting the organisation’s ability to support children during crucial stages of development.
Japan has been a long-standing partner of WFP in Guinea-Bissau and across West Africa. During the 2024–2025 school year, Japanese funding enabled WFP to assist more than 197,000 schoolchildren through the national school feeding programme. In 2025, additional emergency support from Japan also helped nearly 2,000 families affected by floods in the Oio and Tombali regions through voucher-based food assistance.
With this latest contribution, WFP aims to strengthen nutrition support while also promoting local food production by sourcing supplies for school meals and nutrition programmes locally. This approach not only helps address immediate food needs but also contributes to rural development, community resilience, and more sustainable livelihoods for vulnerable populations in Guinea-Bissau.
