FAO at the Humanitarian Networks and Partnerships Week 2023

Geneva - The Humanitarian Networks and Partnerships Week (HNPW) is an annual humanitarian conference, one of the largest events of its kind, that brings together practitioners and experts from various humanitarian stakeholders, including UN agencies, NGOs, the Red Cross and Red Crescent movement, academia, the military, private sector initiatives, and Member States. To emphasize the critical role of food security in humanitarian interventions, FAO co-organised four events.

Three of the events focused on Anticipatory Action (AA), which involves using risk analysis and forecasts to trigger interventions before a crisis escalates into a humanitarian emergency. The first event on AA (26 April) explored the challenges, opportunities and required actions for AA to be embedded within the humanitarian programme cycle in order to leverage synergies and complementarities between AA and humanitarian response programming. The event was organised by FAO on behalf of the Anticipatory Action Task Force. The event was moderated by the IFRC and included panelists from the IGAD Climate Prediction and Applications Centre (ICPAC), the gFSC, FAO, WFP, OCHA and the Start Network.

The second event on AA (26 April) was a technical briefing session organized by the German Federal Foreign Office in collaboration with the Anticipatory Action Task Force (IFRC, Start Network, FAO, WFP and OCHA). It provided donors with an opportunity to learn more about the concept of anticipatory action and exchange views on the way forward in a closed and more informal setting.

The third event on AA (27 April) focused on the gaps and opportunities to advance protection in AA. As conflict, violence, inequality, discrimination, and exclusion impact the most vulnerable and increase displacement, understanding the root causes of risks and strengthening the capacities of local communities, in particular children and youth, are critical in scaling up AA. The event was co-organised by FAO, the IFRC, Plan International, the Anticipation Hub, Unicef, and Diakonie Katastrophenhilfe.

The fourth event was on ‘Climate, Peace and Security: Bridging the Nexus’ (27 April), co-organized by FAO, the Fighting Food Crises along the HDP Nexus Coalition and Switzerland. The event unpacked different perspectives on the interlinkages between climate change, food insecurity, and conflicts, and explored some of the solutions to anticipate, mitigate and prevent the impacts of crises along the Humanitarian-Development-Peace Nexus. The event was moderated by FAO and included panelists from CGIAR, IOM, SIPRI and SDC. In addition to co-organizing the events above, FAO closed the launch of the Anticipatory Action Overview 2022 and moderated a session to gather technical inputs for the upcoming IASC Climate Change Roadmap.

“For FAO, anticipatory action is a priority and FAO will continue to coordinate with partners to protect agricultural livelihoods ahead of shocks, contributing to prevent food crises,” said Dominique Burgeon, Director of the FAO Liaison Office in Geneva. He added “We need to continue making anticipatory action a systematic modus operandi to mitigate the humanitarian impacts of forecast shocks and continue to build on existing early warning and risk management systems whenever possible. Pre-agreed plans and processes pave the way for timely implementation of anticipatory action initiatives.”