FAO partners with EU to advance towards solving locust crisis

Director of FAO Liaison Office in Brussels, Rodrigo de Lapuerta, and the Deputy Director of the FAO Office for Emergencies and Resilience, Daniele Donati, met with Andrea Koulaimah and Andreas Papaconstantinou, EU Directors in charge of European Civil Protection and Humanitarian Aid Operations (DG ECHO).

DG ECHO is a long-standing key partner for FAO. The meeting was an opportunity to renew their joint commitment to advance the fight against hunger, primarily through the Global Network Against Food Crises, and to discuss the ongoing response against the Desert Locust upsurge in the Horn of Africa.  

FAO predicted a new wave of locusts likely to arrive in the northern Horn of Africa region from mid-November onwards, posing more threats to East African countries and Yemen where the desert locust infestation would put millions of people at risk of food shortage. FAO is actively working with the affected countries' governments to tackle the locust crisis and regularly update the public on the latest data and information on the evolving situation.  

FAO has requested USD 312 million in funding to support eastern African countries and Yemen in controlling the ravaging pests. The European Union has mobilized €57 million in contributions to support the United Nations and its partner countries to combat the desert locust outbreak.