El Salvador Country Strategic Plan (2017-2022)

Country Strategic Plan approved at EB.1/2017

Revision 02 approved by the CD in December 2020.

Revision 05 approved by the CD in September 2021.

El Salvador has made significant progress in reducing food insecurity, chronic malnutrition, poverty and inequality in the past five years. However, food insecurity and malnutrition, natural disasters, gender inequality, slow economic growth, high public debt and a high homicide rate remain persistent challenges. 

The Government is responding to these challenges with the Five-Year Development Plan (2014–2019) and the Secure El Salvador Plan. These plans focus on social protection measures related to access to basic services and food production, with a limited focus on nutrition. The Government is seeking WFP’s cooperation in strengthening the national food security and nutrition framework, the social protection system, nutrition programmes, assistance to smallholders, and resilience-building.

This Country Strategic Plan articulates WFP’s proposed support to El Salvador to improve food security and nutrition between 2017 and 2021. It is designed to assist the Government and partners in achieving the following outcomes: 

• Strategic outcome 1: The most vulnerable households have access to effective, productive and nutrition-sensitive social protection by 2021. 
• Strategic outcome 2: Food-insecure smallholder farmers and their organizations in El Salvador sustainably increase their productivity and income by 2021. 
• Strategic outcome 3: Targeted populations and communities in the most food-insecure areas have increased resilience to climate change by 2021. 
• Strategic outcome 4: Targeted people affected by rapid- and slow-onset disasters have access to food all year.
• Strategic outcome 5: National and subnational institutions have strengthened capacity to manage food security and nutrition policies and programmes by 2021.

All the proposed outcomes, will strengthen government implementation capacities, while WFP shifts its focus from direct food assistance to policy and planning advice, and capacity development. The strategic outcomes are aligned with the Government’s plans, the United Nations Development Assistance Framework and Sustainable Development Goals 2 and 17.

A strategic review of food security and nutrition in El Salvador conducted by a national research institute identified opportunities for improving food and nutrition security in the country. Consultations and analyses of comparative advantages determined which of the country’s needs WFP is best positioned to address. These processes incorporated feedback from various stakeholders including beneficiaries, the Government, other United Nations agencies, civil society, the private sector and academia. A mid-term review of the Country Strategic Plan will be conducted in 2019 to inform the adjustment of targets, resource needs and forecasts if necessary.