Food Security Cluster Updates
• In June, the Food Security Cluster (FSC) partners , which include NGOs and private partners, reached over 535,000 people in need of food assistance (1,1 million) through different modalities. Of these, FSC HRP partners were able to reach almost 150,000 individuals through projects aiming at improving access to food. More than 115,000 received in-kind food assistance and over 34,400 received cash and vouchers (14,200 with cash and 20,200 with vouchers). In addition,more than 8,000 householdswere assistedwith livestock inputs to improve resilience of the rural population and 1,100 households received cash aiming at assets construction.
• According to the WFP Food Security Update, June 2016 food insecure people are still estimated at 1,100,000. However, the situation has improved in a way that the percentage of people in need of immediate food assistance has decreasedwhile people in need of livelihood interventions have increased. Hence, this situation requires the revision of the targeted groups that fall under each FSCobjective. Partners are currently facing serious funding constraints. If no additional funding is confirmed in the coming months, actors on the ground will have to revise operational plans and decrease the number of people assisted.
• The FSC received several requests from local NGOs and volunteer-based organizations to address needs of those internally displaced people (IDPs) who were deprived of pension and other social payments in light of decree 637 of Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine. International partners are taking the requests.
• Cluster partner’s plans of distributing different types of farming inputs are being implemented at a minimal scale due to lack of funding. Opportunities for seasonal activities such as seeds distribution are already missed. New cycle can only be planned for the next planting season (spring 2017). Provision of animal feed forwinter preparationwill be a priority for partners till the end of 2016.