MAIN ACTIVITIES

The last decade, agricultural production in Bolivia has increased by 1.6%, an increase below the overall growth rate of 2.7%. To structural poverty adds the limited availability of food, supplied by imports and international food aid.
In 2006, the Bolivian government launched the National Program for Zero Malnutrition as major focus of his administration, prioritizing intervention in communities with high food insecurity.

Food security and nutrition

• Technical training in conservation agriculture
• Training in market functioning, production planning and information on agricultural prices and livestock
• Encourage participation and fair access to markets
• Carrying out market researches on products with high potential
• Support the implementation of the National Program Zero Malnutrition
• Strengthening of local health services
• Strengthening of local and national capacities to prevent, identify and treat chronic and severe childhood malnutrition
• Extension of sustainable technologies in agricultural production

Water and sanitation

• Emergency water supply
• Rehabilitation or construction of water distribution infrastructures
• Implementation of the TSLC method (Total Sanitation Led by Community)
• Rehabilitation or construction of basic sanitation infrastructures
• Strengthening of management capacities and maintaining of community water system
• Awareness of families about hygiene and low cost techniques for the water treatment and storage

Disaster risk and climatic change

• Strengthening of institutional capacities
• Improved institutional and community capacities to prevent, mitigate and provide humanitarian assistance to populations affected by natural disasters
• Improved knowledge of hydrometeorological threats monitoring
• Recovery of degraded natural resources
• Intervention mechanisms on public policies (platforms, coordination with networks, participation in studies, research showing the signs of the impact)
• Development of partnerships with the private and public sector (universities, research centers, companies, private initiatives for sustainable development)

HUMANITARIAN CONTEXT

Bolivia is the South American country with the highest poverty rate. This contrasts with large amount of oil reserves which can be used to develop Bolivian economy.

Since 2009, Bolivia has a new state constitution, through which the country yearn for set up, not without controversy, a new social and economic model in which the multi-ethnic character of the population and community relations have a major importance.  

Bolivia is also characterised by large socioeconomic asymmetries between regions (Westerner and Eastern), and between urban and rural areas, the last one being characterised by a basic services access reduced.  82% of the population in the rural area is poor and has less than 13% of the arable lands in the country. Agricultural production has increased of 1.6% this last decade, an increase well below the population increase of 2.7%.