, 30/04/2010 - The Sudan Institutional Capacity Programme: Food Security Information for Action (SIFSIA) programme in Southern Sudan made significant advances towards meeting its objectives in 2009. Building on the work started in 2008, SIFSIA-South recorded tremendous progress in building the capacity of the Government of Southern Sudan (GOSS) and the ten states in Southern Sudan in food security information collection, analysis and dissemination. Among the major milestones reached during the year was the operationalization of the Southern Sudan Food Security Council (FSC), which was established by Presidential Decree in June 2008. The first meeting of the FSC, chaired by the President and attended by most members of the Council of Ministers, was held on 3 September 2009 and deliberated on a number of critical issues regarding the food security situation in Southern Sudan.