FAO touts anticipatory action and data-driven decision making during UN press briefing on the launch of the 2021 Global Report on Food Crises
Against the backdrop of a global pandemic, recurrent climate shocks and protracted conflict, the 2021 Global Report on Food Crises reveals that the number of people facing acute food insecurity in 55 highly vulnerable countries and territories reached 155 million in 2020
On the occasion of the high‑level virtual launch event of the 2021 edition of the Global Report on Food Crises presented by the Global Network against Food Crises (GNAFC), Dominique Burgeon, Director of the FAO Liaison Office in Geneva, and Arif Husain, World Food Programme (WFP) Chief Economist, participated in a United Nations press briefing. They briefed on the report’s findings, which revealed that 155 million people experienced acute food insecurity at Crisis or worse levels (IPC/CH Phase 3-5) across 55 countries and territories in 2020. This marks an increase of about 20 million people with respect to the previous year.
The report’s findings are a stark warning about the multifaceted nature of the worsening acute food insecurity situation in the world, mainly driven by economic and market shocks, weather extremes and ongoing conflicts, all of which have been exacerbated by the COVID‑19 pandemic and its disruptions to global food systems.
Building consensus and fostering joint actions through evidence and data
By providing a snapshot of acute food insecurity in the world, “the goal of the report is to provide consensus-based data and evidence to inform planning and decision-making to prevent and address food crises,” Dominique Burgeon said, adding how this latest edition of the Global Report on Food Crises report is especially informative for how humanitarian response should look like moving forward, as the 55 countries covered in the report account for 97 percent of all global humanitarian assistance received.
“Out of these 155 million people [facing acute food insecurity], between 60 to 80 percent depend on agriculture for their livelihoods,” Burgeon said.
In response to the report’s key findings, he stressed that “humanitarian assistance is absolutely key, but not sufficient,” shedding light on the need to also work to understand and respond to the root causes behind the fragilities of global food systems, which have only been exacerbated on the heels of the COVID-19 pandemic.
The need for a coordinated humanitarian and livelihood rehabilitation response
More than a timely stock-taking exercise on humanitarian response and food security one year into the COVID-19 pandemic, the launch of the 2021 edition of report served as an opportunity to stress the need for redoubled coordinated and multi-stakeholder efforts moving forward.
In this respect, Arif Husain spoke of the importance of immediate, at‑scale response to swiftly scale up famine relief and preventive actions.
Against this backdrop, he stressed that pressing needs are unlikely to be resolved or decrease in urgency “unless the root causes are resolved, the biggest root cause [being] conflict.”
Both Burgeon and Husain spoke of the urgency of these types of coordinated and multi‑actor efforts, pointing to the value behind investments in anticipatory action as a more cost-efficient approach to a humanitarian response that recognizes the urgency in reaching those countries and population groups most in need.
Burgeon cited FAO’s successful experience in mobilizing US $200 million to safeguard livelihoods from an upsurge in Desert Locusts last year, an investment that led to US $1.2 billion in savings in terms of crops saved and livelihoods protected.
The pressing need in assessing and responding to the core drivers of rising acute food insecurity links back to the GNAFC’s call for a radical transformation, including through anticipatory action, of agri-food systems if the Sustainable Development Goals are to be achieved by 2030, a discussion that will prove relevant leading up to the Food Systems Summit in September of this year.
Related links
- Joint statement from the Global Network against Food Crisis on the occasion of the launch of the 2021 report