Joint News Release

31 January 2017

FUNDING FROM CANADA PROVIDES CASH ASSISTANCE

TO THOUSANDS OF REFUGEES IN TANZANIA
KASULU Selected refugees at Nyarugusu Refugee Camp in western Tanzania have
received a cash transfer from the United Nations World Food Programme (WFP), replacing
part of their monthly food rations. These refugees now receiving cash in addition to food are
part of a three-month pilot programme covering 10,000 refugees. The cash component is
being funded by Canada through a CAD 500,000 (US$385,000) contribution to WFP.
WFP will provide TSh 10,000 (US$4.50) twice monthly to each member of households
participating in the cash pilot. Cash is delivered in the form of mobile money. For the
duration of the new programme, refugees will continue receiving fortified vegetable oil and
porridge blend while rations of maize meal, pulses and salt are replaced with cash.
Providing cash allows refugees freedom of choice in what to purchase while also injecting
money into the local economy. The Nyarugusu Common Market, which opened this year in
the buffer zone between the camp and host community, provides traders a space to sell their
produce to refugees.
Canada is pleased to support WFPs refugee operation in Tanzania, said Ian Myles, High
Commissioner of Canada. Combining both food and cash assistance gives women and men
greater flexibility in meeting their needs and can also have a positive impact on the host
community.
More than a quarter of a million refugees are hosted in Tanzania in three camps in the
northwest part of the country. The refugees, primarily from Burundi and the Democratic
Republic of the Congo, are dependent on WFP assistance as their main source of food.
Before the launch of the cash programme, refugees were receiving only food assistance from
WFP. Implemented in close collaboration with the Government of Tanzania, the United
Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) and partners, the programme is
assisting some of the most vulnerable refugee households in Nyarugusu Refugee Camp.
Providing cash to refugees empowers them to make their own decisions on what food to buy
and cook in their homes, said Michael Dunford, WFP Tanzania Country Representative.
Cash gives refugees the opportunity to access a wide variety of fresh foods, helping them to
diversify their diet.

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WFP aims to increase the number of refugees receiving cash in lieu of food assistance
throughout 2017.
Since the start of unrest in Burundi in April 2015, almost 190,000 Burundians have sought
refuge in Tanzania. Combined with the existing caseload of refugees, primarily from the
Democratic Republic of the Congo, Tanzania now hosts more than a quarter of a million
refugees. Hundreds of refugees continue to arrive every day from Burundi. WFP requires
some US$6 million per month to continue assisting the growing refugee population in 2017.
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WFP is the world's largest humanitarian agency fighting hunger worldwide, delivering food
assistance in emergencies and working with communities to improve nutrition and build
resilience. Each year, WFP assists some 80 million people in around 80 countries.
Follow us on Twitter:
World Food Programme: @wfp_tanzania and @wfp_media
Canada High Commission: @CanadaTanzania and @CanadaTanzanie
For more information please contact:
Fizza Moloo, World Food Programme Tanzania, Fizza.Moloo@wfp.org, tel. +255 (0) 784 720 022 or
+255 (0) 692 274 729
Ian Myles, High Commissioner of Canada, dslam@international.gc.ca +255 22 216 3300