Support for food security for children under 6 and the elderly

This project is aimed at two of the most vulnerable population groups in the DPRK: children under the age of 6, who are the group most at risk from the country’s chronic food insecurity, and elderly people living in retirement homes, who also suffer from food insecurity due to their geographical isolation and the lack of logistical resources in the provincial public distribution systems.

This project is a continuation of the work already carried out by TGH in the DPRK, as it co-finances two food security and protection programmes currently being implemented in the southern province of Hamgyong, in Hamju, Hamhung and Jongpyong counties, funded by the European Union. It also provides for emergency food distribution to 364 children’s institutions (crèches and kindergartens) in Jongpyong county.

The aim of this project is to reduce chronic food insecurity by improving access to food for the most nutritionally vulnerable population sub-groups, increasing food production, improving post-production systems (preservation and processing) and facilitating food distribution to children’s institutions and homes for the elderly, through four components:

The first part involves providing direct food support to children under 6 in Jongpyong county, in the south of Hamgyong province, by distributing food (rice, oil, etc.) to 364 children’s institutions to meet their nutritional needs.

The second part deals with improving the means of distributing fry, in particular by setting up a small packaging unit to reduce the mortality rate of fry during distribution, thus helping to increase fish production and the quantity distributed to children’s institutions. The aim is also – as a complement to the previous action – to diversify children’s diets over the long term.

A third component deals with improving the production and distribution of vegetables by distributing equipment and tools to facilitate and increase agricultural production, as well as reducing post-harvest losses by improving transport to processing sites. This capacity-building will ultimately increase the quantity of vegetables distributed to children’s institutions.

A fourth component aims to give the elderly greater access to agricultural production by facilitating the cultivation of small plots of land through the distribution of agricultural inputs and conservation and hygiene equipment in two “Maisons des Aînés”, providing the elderly with additional food, among other things.