Framework for Action for Food Security and Nutrition in Protracted Crises

"The proportion of undernourished people in protracted crisis situations is about three times as high as in other developing contexts – and the longer the crisis, the worse the food security and nutrition outcomes. In 2010 there were over 160 million undernourished people living in protracted crisis situations (State of Food Insecurity in the World 2010). These worryingly high figures were the starting point for CFS to work on developing policy guidance to improve food security and nutrition outcomes.

The CFS Framework for Action for Food Security and Nutrition in Protracted Crises (CFS-FFA) represents the first global consensus on how to mitigate the threat to food security and nutrition during protracted crises. It recognizes that building resilience can boost capacity to absorb shocks and long-term stresses. Given the severity of undernutrition during protracted crises, nutritional needs require a special focus especially for at risk populations, the vulnerable and marginalized groups.

Implementation of the CFS-FFA will need many stakeholders to translate the political commitment to action on the ground. CFS stakeholders are both building awareness of the CFS-FFA among key stakeholders and also supporting countries in implementation.

In his statement for the World Humanitarian Summit in May 2016, the Secretary General Ban Ki-moon calls for all stakeholders to work together to improve the lives of those living under protracted crises. The CFS-FFA clearly has a role to play. Since endorsement of the CFS-FFA, activities under development with the Rome based agencies include:

• Awareness-raising events and activities with UN stakeholders
• Preparatory work in selected countries, based on a contextual analysis of the policy guidance of the CFS-FFA in support of policy assistance and coherence, and capacity development
• Elaboration of a series of thematic Guidance Notes related to the CFS-FFA principles
• Creation of a knowledge sharing platform on resilience
• Operational research on shock-responsive social protection systems in humanitarian contexts and protracted crises to better understand the links between social protection and resilience-building
• A medium-term research process to build the evidence base on the role of food security on peace, stability and social cohesion and the conditions required for successful food security related responses
• Partnering for impact – the Rome-based Agencies are working closely together to improve collaboration and partnership in strengthening resilience, building on complementarities to better provide support to countries and regions
• Advocacy on the CFS-FFA in global processes and policy dialogues including the ECOSOC Humanitarian Affairs Segment; World Humanitarian Summit; Inter-Agency Standing Committee Working Group; UN System Chief Executives Board etc.; and events such as the World Bank Fragility, Conflict and Violence Forum

At its 47th Session in February 2021, CFS held a Global Thematic Event (GTE) for taking stock of the use and application of the CFS-FFA. The GTE enabled a multistakeholder dialogue based on the experiences and good practices documented by CFS stakeholders, and contributed to monitoring progress in implementing the CFS-FFA at national, regional and global levels.

Additional Resource Materials:

• CSM Report on Monitoring the Use and Application of the CFS Framework for Action for Food Security and Nutrition in Protracted Crises (CFS-FFA) (2011) - English | Arabic

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