Preventing the health crisis from becoming a food crisis: FAO presents Food Coalition to EU Member States

FAO Deputy Director-General Beth Bechdol briefed EU Member States Delegates of the Council of the European Union Working Party on Development Cooperation (CODEV) on the recently launched FAO-led Food Coalition.

Deputy Director-General Bechdol shared information on the status and progress of the Coalition since the start of the Italian G20 Presidency in December last year. The Government of Italy has confirmed that food security – including the Food Coalition – will be an important feature of the G20 agenda, presenting a unique opportunity for collective action to accelerate progress towards global food security.

Bechdol also stressed the role of the Food Coalition as a key “mobilizer” for political, financial and technical support. She encouraged EU Member States to become involved in order to support the response and recovery from COVID-19, and to create more resilient agrifood systems around the world.

Proposed by the Government of Italy and led by FAO, the Food Coalition is a voluntary alliance that brings together actors across a range of sectors to support global, coordinated action to safeguard food security and nutrition, and promote sustainable agrifood systems transformation in the wake of COVID-19.