WFP Working with Government and Partners to Launch Five-Year Strategic Plan in China

BEIJING, March 28 -- The United Nations World Food Programme issued the following news release:

The UN World Food Programme (WFP), working in conjunction with the Ministry of Agriculture in People's Republic of China and other partners, are embarking upon a five-year Strategic Plan in support of achieving the Sustainable Development Goals 2, a world with zero hunger by 2030.

Until 2005, WFP implemented projects in China on poverty alleviation as well as post-disaster reconstruction and assisted more than 30 million people. In the late 1980s, WFP operations in China were its largest globally. WFP's modest investments, coupled with the introduction of new ideas and management experiences in some of the most remote regions , together with long-term integrated planning and investment by China, have brought changes for generations to come. Today, China is becoming an increasingly global player, and its experience in reducing hunger has become an example for countries seeking to replicate that success. With 9 percent of the world's arable land, China has been able to feed more than 20 percent of the world's population.

The five-year plan comes after extensive consultation, and reflects the WFP-China Memorandum of Understanding signed in 2016 to strengthen partnership for global hunger solutions and development. It provides a coherent and strategic framework for collaboration to end poverty and food insecurity both in China and in other developing countries.

The Country Strategic Plan will feed in to China's national priorities and align with the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, prioritizing SDG 2,"End hunger, achieve food security and improved nutrition and promote sustainable agriculture" and SDG 17, "Strengthen the means of implementation and revitalize the global partnership for sustainable development." Under the strategic plan, WFP will facilitate countries' efforts to "help each other" through South-South and Triangular Cooperation. It will also build a broad range of partnerships, and support the reduction of food insecurity inside China through boosting capacity and developing small innovative pilot programmes that could be replicated or scaled-up.

"China has transformed itself over the past three decades, reducing hunger and improving the livelihood for millions of people. WFP could help the Chinese people and share China's rich experience in an innovative manner," said Dr. Sixi Qu, WFP China Representative. "WFP is changing the way it works and has identified a distinctive role which adds value to achieving the SDGs in China by 2030. Our shared vision is that teaching fishing is better than handing out fish. We want people to not only survive but also thrive."

The Country Strategic Plan also provides a framework for creating partnerships across all sectors, including government, private sector, civil society, academia, NGOs and the UN agencies, which are vital to translate global aims into local actions.

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