Food Aid

WFP has been the major food aid donor in Bhutan. The cornerstone of WFP activities in Bhutan has been and continues to be the Food for Education Programme, through which thousands of children have been provided with school meals over the last three decades.  In addition, WFP has supported road and bridge construction, health, agricultural re-settlement, forestry, irrigation and dairy development projects, price stabilization schemes and the establishment of a food buffer stock.

Currently, Development Project – Bhutan 10579.0 (2008-2012) “Improving Rural Children’s Access to Basic Education with a Focus on Primary Education” is ongoing. This project reflects the increasing role being assumed by the Government in the school feeding program as part of a transition phase to full Government support. The focus of WFP assistance during 2008–2012 will be on primary education and capacity-building of government counterparts.

NGOs and Donor Aid

Various international NGOs and local NGOs and associations are engaged in many areas, including livelihood, environment education, creation of awareness on health & hygiene, mother & childcare, non-formal education, marketing and small scale industry, strengthening the organizational and institutional capacity for local governance, economic development, natural resource management activities in rural areas and health services for HIV/AIDS.

At present, the government budget is sustained to a considerable degree by foreign assistance, the largest share coming from India. However, since much of Official Development Assistance (ODA) is project-tied, managing these resources and improving its quality are crucial to achieving the MDGs. Further, additional aid needs to be provided in the form of budget support or through sector-wide approaches. This is especially important to maintain macroeconomic stability in the short/medium term.