The Fourth Joint Informal Meeting of the FAO Council, the IFAD Executive Board and the WFP Executive Board

The Fourth Joint Informal Meeting of the FAO Council,

the IFAD Executive Board and the WFP Executive Board

12 October 2020

 

Opening Statement

FAO Director-General QU Dongyu

As delivered

 

 

Chairpersons of the RBA Governing Bodies,

Dear colleagues

Ladies and gentlemen,

 

1. First of all, let us share the great honour at FAO with our WFP colleagues for the award of the Nobel Peace Prize. It was great to see David almost speechless first time.

2. Historically, this Prize recognizes the great efforts of generations in the past 59 years and fills all of us here with pride and new energy.

3. Holistically, it draws the eyes of international community to the importance of food insecurity as the root causes of many conflicts in the world.

4. Coherently, as we are marking FAO's 75th anniversary this week, more than ever, we need to continue the partnership RBA and multilateralism we have  forged,  to renew our energy to fight hunger and SDGs, and to build a better world.

5. And it is also a source of motivation for all FAO employees to learn from our WFP colleagues each other and improve our work and delivery on the ground under UN flags.

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6. Since the last informal meeting in 2019, RBA collaboration has increased and is taking a new strategic direction focusing on the COVID-19 response and AgriFood Systems transformation.

7. Our most effective collaboration is happening at the country level: the number of joint RBA programmes has almost doubled since 2017 reaching more than 50 countries today.

8. That is what our Members expect from us: to move forward in concrete ways.

9. In the Sahel Region, for instance, following last year’s discussions on RBA joint action and the need to expand our presence and interventions, the RBAs developed a joint programme, to be launched in 2021.

10. The programme is valued at USD 180 million and aims at strengthening the resilience of populations vulnerable to COVID-19, conflicts and climate change.

11. Another example is our  partnering with Canada in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, the Niger and Somalia, to strengthen resilience for food security and nutrition using an innovative approach that bridges humanitarian and development issues, with a particular focus on gender specific needs.

12. This five-year 38 million USD programme is in its second year of implementation.

13. Regrettably, the number of people suffering from acute food insecurity is on the rise. The ongoing pandemic, climate shocks, conflicts and transboundary pests are contributing to this increase in specific regions, notably in Africa and the Near East.

14. The challenge to leave no one behind and no land behind can only be addressed through collective action and partnership.

15. The pandemic has reminded us of this inter-connectivity and created unprecedented opportunities for reinforcing RBA collaboration in the context of the broader UN development system.

16. There have been many concrete examples of RBA joint responses to COVID-19 that fed into the UN socio-economic response plans in Africa, Asia and the Pacific as well as the Near East.

17. And we are jointly partnering with other International Organizations to create maximum synergy.

18. In Egypt, for instance, the RBAs together with IFPRI and UNIDO are conducting a rapid assessment of the COVID-19 impact on the agricultural sector.

19. In the Philippines the RBAs are working with UNICEF to assess the impact of the pandemic on rural livelihoods, agricultural market chains and food security.

20. These joint actions build on the complementarity of our mandates and create opportunities for more synergetic collaboration.

21. The joint RBA response to COVID-19 has been particularly impactful in advocacy.

22. The initial UN response did not cover food security. By joining our voices, we ensured that considerations on food security and nutrition are now a fundamental part of the global response to the pandemic.

23. And we have joined our efforts to protect our employees.

24. We are working very closely together to ensure that our employees in all locations could work safely while delivering our program of work and responding to new needs as a result of dramatic socio-economic consequences of the pandemics still unfolding.

25. As the UN designated official for Italy I am responsible for the safety and security of all UN employees in Italy. I am supported in this responsibility by the executive leaders from WFP and IFAD.

26. We are exchanging best practices and aligning our plans to manage business continuity for our headquarters with due attention to our specific business models and footprint.

27. As members of the UN Crisis Management Team we collaborate in ensuring that our teams can deliver safely. This includes activities such as development and implementation of business continuity plans, provision of Personal protective equipment, medical evacuation, air transportation, etc.

28. In that context, I applaud the logistics support provided by WFP to the whole UN community.

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29. For FAO, 2020 is the year of efficiency with deep reform, and our joint work with our fellow RBAs is contributing to this effort – in the HQ, field, and at regional and corporate levels.

30. We are reducing duplication of ground-work efforts and working through active knowledge sharing, and “piggybacking” on each other’s procurement contracts, joint projects and events.

31. For instance, FAO’s Shared Service Center in Budapest will host the WFP team within its premises, providing full back-office support.

32. The coming UN Food Systems Summit 2021, convened by the Secretary-General will be driven by high-profile collaboration among the RBAs and will affirm the centrality of agrifood system transformation to the achievement of the 2030 Agenda.

33. I am pleased to note that the first independent evaluation of RBA collaboration started at September and we are looking forward to the insights and evidence that this evaluation will produce.

34. We will continue to work hard to ensure that the RBA collaboration produces better and more sustainable results for our Members, people and communities, Hand in Hand in support of reaching the SDGs.

 

Thank you.