Briefing the European Parliament on the Global Network Against Food Crises

The FAO Liaison Office in Brussels organized a briefing on the Global Network Against Food Crises for a number of Members of the European Parliament (MEPs) and the European Alliance against Hunger and Malnutrition. The event revealed the current global picture regarding food insecurity and hunger, and showcased current approaches to addressing the situation.  

The Global Network against Food Crises is an alliance of humanitarian and development actors united by a commitment to tackle the root causes of food crises and promote sustainable solutions. FAO, the World Food Programme (WFP) and the EU are active members of the network and played an active role in the briefing.  

Raschad Al-Khafaji, Director of the FAO Liaison Office in Brussels, opened the event, presenting the most recent data on acute food insecurity, as well as an outline of global actions taken to address the ongoing crises. He observed that, according to the most recent Global Report on Food Crises, some 161 million people faced food crises in 2021 and that levels of acute food insecurity had remained consistently high for the past five years. 

The European Commission was represented by Leonard Mizzi, Head of Unit for Sustainable Agrifood systems and Fisheries at the Directorate-General for International Partnerships, who stressed the importance of involving key partners in dialogue and political commitments, in order to address food crises in a coherent and synergetic manner. 

The speakers agreed that exploring further collaboration with the European Parliament and the EU Member States was crucial. 

FAO Senior Food Crises Analyst Luca Russo gave a presentation on the Global Network and stressed that record-breaking levels of acute food insecurity imply that life-saving humanitarian assistance is indispensable, but that such aid is neither sufficient nor sustainable in the long term. He added that humanitarian actions are currently unable to maintain the pace of increasing food crises.  

Alzira Ferreira, Director of the WFP Office to the European Union closed the event, thanking FAO Brussels for organizing it and highlighting the importance of continued collaboration among all key stakeholders. 

The briefing provided MEPs with the opportunity to learn about the work of the Global Network against Food Crises, and the concrete steps it proposes to strengthen coordinated actions across the humanitarian-development-peace nexus. 

You can read more about the Global Network against Food Crises here.