Virtual High-level Event: Action in Support of Preventing and Ending Famine Now

 

Monday, 4 October | 10:00 – 11:30 a.m. (EDT)

The UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), the Food and Agriculture Organization of the UN (FAO), and the World Food Programme (WFP) will convene a virtual high-level event on action in support of preventing and ending famine now. The event will take stock of recent efforts to stop the advance of famine and famine-risk and identify a clear direction of urgent actions the international community must take to prevent the further deterioration in the severity and scale of acute food insecurity.

The event comes on the heels of the UN Security Council debate from March 2021 on conflict and food security, during which the UN Secretary-General called for a swift, coordinated response and appealed to Member States and partners to take action to prevent famine and a further deterioration in emergency levels of food insecurity. To this end, the Secretary-General established a High-level Task Force on Preventing Famine to bring attention to and mobilize support for the most-affected countries.

UN agencies have also confirmed earlier this year that we are now facing unprecedented catastrophic levels of acute food insecurity, with half a million people (584 000) experiencing famine-like conditions (Catastrophe/IPC phase 5) in Ethiopia, Madagascar, South Sudan and Yemen. In recent months, vulnerable populations in Burkina Faso and Nigeria have also faced these same famine-like conditions (Catastrophe/IPC 5). In addition, 41 million people worldwide face emergency levels of food insecurity (IPC 4), a 50 per cent increase in just two years. Millions more are experiencing crisis levels of acute food insecurity (IPC 3) and are at tangible risk of deterioration.

*The FAO Director-General will participate.

Watch the recording | Read FAO's global press release | Agenda | Concept note | Event website | Read latest WFP-FAO Hunger Hotspots report