Starting the process

The submission of this Task Force report to the Secretary-General marks the beginning of a process that should lead to the implementation of specific investment projects and supporting programmes at the national and regional levels, aimed at eliminating famine and food insecurity in the Horn of Africa. Outlined below is a tentative programme of tasks that would need to be initiated quickly in order to maintain the momentum that has been generated by the work of the Task Force. The immediate time horizon is mid-2001.

ACC MEETING

The ACC meeting scheduled for 27 and 28 October 2000 would be the forum at which the Task Force report is discussed and decisions taken about possible follow-up actions. This should include agreements on the following:

• the further dissemination of the report within and beyond the UN system;
• the calling of a meeting of the UN Country Teams in the Horn of Africa so that they are fully informed concerning the report, and to expedite follow-up activities;
• modalities for starting the process of mobilizing resources for the formulation phase and implementation;
• modalities for starting the process of formulating CFSPs and the RFSP, together with a timetable;
• the possibility of arranging a high-level regional conference to launch implementation of the Food Security Programmes in countries of the region.

MEETING OF UN COUNTRY TEAMS

In view of the importance of food security issues in the programmes of the UN agencies represented in the Horn of Africa countries, a meeting of the UN Country Teams from the seven countries concerned should be called soon after the ACC meeting. This meeting would include:

• assessment of the implications of the final Task Force report for programming the work of the UN agencies, bearing in mind the directives emanating from the ACC meeting;
• agreement on how thematic groups for food security and agricultural development could be established, where this has not already been done, and what their composition would be;
• agreement on an institutional framework for the formulation and implementation of the CFSPs, and the support services that would be required;
• agreement on a programme to review the status of the World Food Summit Food Security Strategies, CCA, UNDAF, CDF and PRSP in each country and how, in order to achieve more effective focus and impact, all programmes could be brought within the umbrella of the PRS and contribute to a single strategy document for food security;
• aggreement on the most effective way of presenting the recommendations of the Task Force to IGAD's governing body, and mobilizing support for the formulation of the RFSP.

RESOURCE MOBILIZATION

The ACC should decide on the immediate steps that need to be taken to mobilize resources from the World Bank, IFAD, ADB, IDB, the EU and bilateral donors, and from the private sector. In pursuit of this objective, governments in the region, and their partners in the UN agencies, would need to:

• identify an immediate source of funding to enable UN agencies to begin the process of working with governments in formulating CFSPs, and with IGAD in putting together a RFSP;
• define a strategy and mechanism for the mobilization of longer-term resources with which to support the implementation of CFSPs and the RFSP;
• recommend arrangements at the country level for initiating, disbursing and replenishing funds for the implementation of food security-related programmes.

INITIATING FORMULATION OF CFSPS AND THE RFSP

The process of formulating CFSPs and the RFSP should begin as soon as initial funding has been secured, with UN agencies providing all necessary support to this government-led initiative. The steps involved in this would include:

• recommending to governments the need to define a mechanism and responsibilities for CFSP formulation and implementation;
• defining mechanisms within UN agencies for the delivery of support to governments for CFSP formulation and implementation, including methodological guidelines;
• reviewing existing national and regional food security, poverty reduction and agricultural sector strategies and programmes, and identifying gaps, as part of the process of formulating CFSPs and a RFSP;
• agreeing, with IGAD, a procedure for formulating a RFSP.

HIGH-LEVEL REGIONAL CONFERENCE

If it is decided to proceed with the follow up activities proposed in the Task Force report, the ACC might wish to consider the possibility of holding a regional conference to launch the implementation phase. Such a meeting, in which governments (preferably represented by Heads of State), the principal donors, UN agencies and NGOs would participate, could be scheduled for mid-2001, at which point the individual CFSPs and the RFSP would have been formulated.¹¹ The main objectives of the conference would be:

• for each government to take formal responsibility for eliminating famine and food insecurity in the region, possibly in the form of a Compact, and for all relevant UN agencies, donors and NGOs to pledge support;
• to agree on general performance indicators relating to budget allocations and improvements in governance;
• to secure pledges of funding for the implementation of CFSPs and the RFSP;
• the drawing up of a timetable for the implementation of the CFSPs and the RFSP;

to reach agreement on a system for reporting progress and a set of objectively verifiable indicators to measure the impact of the programmes being implemented.

In the run up to the regional conference, a publicity campaign should be initiated, directed to donor agencies and countries in the Western world, to raise public awareness of the new resolve on the part of governments, UN agencies, donors and NGOs to tackle the underlying causes of famine and food insecurity in the Horn of Africa.

TENTATIVE TIMETABLE

¹¹ Such a high-level meeting could be scheduled to coincide with the annual IGAD Heads of State meeting..