Coronavirus: World Food Programme (WFP) Republic of Congo Country Brief As part of the Global Partnership for Education funding for the COVID-19 response, from October 2020, 22,000 students will benefit from local canteens in urban and periurban areas ROME, Italy, October 17, 2020/APO Group/ -- In Numbers 463.7 mt of food assistance distributed USD 345,200 cash-based transfers made 44,900 people assisted In September 2020 Download Report: https://bit.ly/3lWGqDm Operational Updates In September 2020, for the first time, WFP bought 36 mt of cassava flour locally for the school feeding programme. This innovative purchase has been done with Van Doorn Agri, a South African company located in the Pool department. A field visit to the farm was organized with the Minister of Agriculture and the UN Resident Coordinator. Additional 100 mt will be bought as part of the Chinese contribution to the COVID-19 response in Brazzaville. The urban cash-based transfer programme continues in the outlying arrondissements of Brazzaville for people targeted as severely food insecure. In September 2020, 18,470 people received cash-based transfers to enable them to meet their basic food needs. In Loudima and Madingou districts, the production of Mbala Pinda (cassava and peanut snack) has been launched successfully. In September, 70,000 snack bars were produced and distributed to 3,330 very vulnerable people. The women groups producing the snacks are now getting ready to provide the surrounding schools (3,400 students) for the new school year which starts on 12 October. Since July 2020, the humanitarian system in the Republic of Congo has been closely monitoring the situation in the Likouala department, fearing a similar flood scenario as last year. In July, rainfall was twice the seasonal average, and the level of the Ubangui river reached a record height over the 2009-2020 period. Despite reduced rainfall in September, monitoring has continued, and the humanitarian actors are working on preparedness measures. WFP is working on the introduction of the Integrated Phase Classification (IPC) in the Republic of Congo. A presentation to the humanitarian sector and relevant government stakeholders took place with the support of the IPC Global Support Unit for East and Central Africa. A working group will soon be constituted. As part of the Global Partnership for Education funding for the COVID-19 response, from October 2020, 22,000 students will benefit from local canteens in urban and periurban areas. A field mission to the identified cities was undertaken to sensitize school and market committees on the Home-Grown School Feeding programme. An additional in-kind support from China is about to be confirmed. As part of this contribution, 100 mt of cassava flour will be bought and used for a quick response. Distributed by APO Group on behalf of World Food Programme (WFP).