Start and End Date: from 1 January 2012 to 25 September 2016
The “Improved Global Governance for Hunger Reduction” programme sought to concretely improve the way in which the global community works together to eradicate hunger and malnutrition.
Global issues such as climate change, economic crises, and price volatility have a huge impact on food security. Addressing these complex issues requires UN agencies, national governments, regional organizations, non-governmental organizations (NGO’s), civil society organizations and others to work together in a coordinated and inclusive manner.
The contribution of the Right to Food Team to the programme
In collaboration with governments, civil society organizations, WFP and other UN agencies, the Right to Food Team developed tools for mainstreaming a Right to Food approach in social protection programmes.
This is an important area of work since while social protection programmes, such as cash transfers, often have a positive impact in increasing food security and reducing poverty, their success depends on making sure that key principles of good governance such as equity, transparency, and accountability are followed. For this reason, adopting a human rights based approach can improve the governance of cash transfer programs and make them more effective. To this end, with the support of the Improved Global Governance for Hunger Reduction Programme, the Right to Food Team undertook several studies and developing tools for incorporating a Right to Food approach in cash transfer programmes, particularly in emergency situations.
In addition, the Right to Food Team played an important role in supporting the application of principles of good governance across all activities of the Improved Global Governance for Hunger Reduction Programme.
What is the global governance of food security?
There is no internationally accepted definition for the global governance of food security. However, it refers to actions which happen at the global level including:
- creating and exchanging food security information;
- setting standards and actively promoting the knowledge required to achieve food security goals;
- ensuring coherence between food security strategies, policies, rules and regulations;
- providing technical assistance and setting up food security projects and programmes that cut across borders;
- coordinating international assistance during crisis, disasters and food security emergencies.
How the programme promoted governance
Governance was a cross-cutting theme of the programme, which was promoted by increasing:
Participation
- by inviting diverse groups of stakeholders, including civil society organizations and producer organizations, to take part in training, fora and consultations right from the start of the programme.
Equity and non-discrimination
- by including diverse voices and viewpoints, including those of vulnerable and marginalized groups; and
- by ensuring that programme outcomes and outputs reflect the needs of both men and women, and different age groups.
Accountability
- by providing partners with tools for monitoring and evaluating the programme, as well as assessing the impact of food security programmes in general;
- by ensuring that baselines and targets use smart indicators (and when feasible include indicators that refer to marginalized groups) and gender-disaggregated data; and
- by promoting the rule of law and transparency when implementing the programme.
