Global Forum on Food Security and Nutrition (FSN Forum)

Message from the facilitator

Dear all,

We are already well on our way in our consultation process, what a journey! 

First of all, I would like to thank each of the participants for the numerous and valuable contributions we have received, and I invite those who have not yet done it to post their comments as soon as possible, as our online Consultation for the development of the CFS Voluntary Guidelines on Gender Equality and Women’s and Girls’ Empowerment in the Context of Food Security and Nutrition will close soon on 23 November. 

All comments coming from the regional and the electronic consultations address diverse topics covered in the Zero Draft. As you will understand, collecting elements from the various regions of the world, without reducing the complexity or neutralizing the differences, as well as taking into consideration local experiences that can represent good practices and inspire effective policy actions, is the biggest challenge. In this sense, your contributions are of great support to our work!

Just to mention some of the latest remarks received on the FSN Forum, I quote some interesting suggestions on access to financial resources, like those from John Ede (Nigeria), who proposed to promote financial literacy specifically for women farmers, and Laura Fernandez Lord (Spain) whose articulated comments relate to access to financial services and technology. Nawal Abdel-Gayoum Abdel-Rahman (Sudan) suggested supporting women with rewarding and non-pressurizing financing terms for capital recovery. He also pointed out another priority objective for policy action, that is to provide a stable, safe and clean environment for women and girls. 

On education, Lizzy (Nigeria) reminded how poor education limits women’s food security and nutrition among other needs, and she suggested that nutrition sensitive agriculture should form part of the curricula for a healthier motherhood. Amin Abu-Alsoud from JICA Palestine outlined the crucial issue of gender mainstreaming in public advisory and extension services to avoid technical and marketing information gaps in agriculture. 

Finally, İlkay Unay-Gailhard (Germany) emphasized how the influence of social and cultural norms on career choices are often neglected in policy making. She suggested that policies aimed to achieve gender equality and the full realization of women’s and girls’ rights in the context of food security and nutrition should be designed to induce changes not only in rural but also in urban areas.

On the regional consultations’ side, I inform you that the recording of the Regional Consultation for Africa, held on 21-22 October, and the Co-chairs’ summary of this event are both available on the webpage of the regional consultations. The meeting was attended by 115 participants and we are grateful for the valuable and inspirational remarks by distinguished keynote speakers H.E. Nyeleti Brooke Mondlane, Minister of Gender, Children and Social Action of Mozambique; H.E Ambassador Josepha Sacko, Commissioner for Agriculture, Rural Development, Blue Economy and Sustainable Environment of the African Union Commission and Mr. Haile Menghestab, Regional Director for Southern Africa, WFP. 

With regards to the regional consultations for the Near East and North Africa, and the one for the Asia-Pacific region, recordings are available here, while the Co-chairs’ summaries will be published soon. I invite those who have participated in these events and who want to add elements to the discussion, to do so by signing in or registering to the FSN Forum. All contributions received to the online consultation will be considered as those collected during the regional events in the elaboration of the preliminary First Draft of the Voluntary Guidelines. 

Now let me go back to the final preparations for the last of the regional consultations, the one for North America. I am sure it will give us further interesting perspectives on the Zero Draft. I will update you on these last events soon, stay tuned and please, don’t forget to post your contributions!

Marina Calvino