FAO at ECOSOC Integration Segment: Scale up interventions to prevent and mitigate impact of food crises

“We need to move from a reactive response to crises to proactively preventing and anticipating them with focus on risk management,” said Carla Mucavi, Director of the FAO Liaison Office in New York, at the 2018 ECOSOC Integration Segment on 1 May in New York.

Delivering remarks during the panel discussion of the session on “Resilience decoded – building blocks towards 2030”, Mucavi highlighted the figure from the Global Report on Food Crises that 124 million people suffered from acute hunger in 2017, more than the 108 million in 2016. She also informed that the main drivers of acute food insecurity are conflict and climate shocks and that agriculture including crops, livestock, fisheries, aquaculture and forestry absorbed 23 percent of all damages caused by medium- to large-scale natural disasters in developing countries.

Mucavi also noted that FAO and other UN entities are contributing to the preparation of the “UN-wide Resilience framework”, a future-oriented UN system-wide approach to promoting resilience for delivering the 2030 Agenda on Sustainable Development.

Panellists of the session discussed how technology and innovation, particularly pro-poor and gender-sensitive solutions can foster sustainable and resilient societies.

Ayona Datta, Reader in Urban Futures at King’s College, informed about an app which provides an opportunity for scoring the safety rate in the cities.

Rashmi Jaipal, Representative of the American Psychological Association at the UN, underlined the need to raise public awareness about the possible risks of ICT usage, and teach critical thinking about consumer culture in the educational system.

Brian Keane, Rapporteur of the Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues at its 17th session, highlighted that there is a need to integrate indigenous knowledge for building resilience.

ECOSOC’s Integration Segment meets annually to help UN Member States and others map ways to achieve the three pillars of sustainable development—economic, social and environmental.

The sessions collect and share inputs from Member States, ECOSOC subsidiary bodies, other UN organizations and relevant stakeholders, with an emphasis on cutting-edge issues of global concern.