Special event: 6 July 2016 (9:00 – 15:30 CEST) FAO headquarters, Rome, Italy

“Long tail” of global weather phenomenon continuing to affect food security of millions – La Niña knock-on effects likely

The 2015-16 El Niño weather phenomenon has been one of the strongest and most widespread of the past hundred years, destroying the livelihoods of farming families across the globe and leaving millions of people hungry.

Drought has gripped large swathes of East and southern Africa, ravaging harvests. In Asia and the Pacific, drought has hit East Timor, Papua New Guinea and Viet Nam, while El Niño associated storms have wiped out harvests on Fiji and its neighbours.

El Niño’s impacts on agriculture are continuing to drive up food insecurity, even though the weather event is over. This situation is likely to be compounded by La Niña in a few months’ time. Response plans are in place that could prevent more people from going hungry – but they must be adequately funded to avoid another prolonged humanitarian crisis.

On Wednesday 6 July, FAO, the International Fund for Agriculture Development (IFAD), and the World Food Programme (WFP) – are convening a one-day meeting (9:00-15:30 CEST) to look at these challenges and how to best respond to them.