49th session of the Human Rights Council

28 February 2022 to 01 April 2022

Panel discussion on the importance of robust and efficient public policies and of adequately resourced and fully functioning services for the protection of economic, social, and cultural rights to address the negative impact of the COVID-19 pandemic and to contribute to recovery efforts

Tuesday, 22 March 2022

Even before the COVID-19 pandemic, global hunger was increasing. An estimated 811 million people were facing hunger in 2020 – an increase of 161 million in one year with the sharpest deterioration in Africa and Latin America and the Caribbean.

The gender gap in food insecurity increased with the pandemic, being 10 percent higher among women than men in 2020. Essential nutrition services declined by 40 percent; nutrition programmes in schools were the most affected.

While the global agri-food systems remained resilient during this crisis, income losses and food price spikes increased inequality, especially in rural areas.

Against this background, FAO launched its COVID-19 Response and Recovery Programme in July 2020, focusing on the food security and nutrition dimensions of the crisis, to mitigate its immediate impacts and strengthen the long-term resilience of agri-food systems and livelihoods.

The Programme mobilized political, financial, and technical support to reach a large share of rural populations and to relaunch economic activities, including

• innovative data sources to monitor and assess COVID-19.
• scaling up and expansion of national social protection programmes.
• analysis of the impact of the Pandemic on agri-food trade including e-training on food safety.
• early warning system together with OIE, WHO and UNEP to monitor the animal-human interface while advancing comprehensive One Health approach.
• and contingency planning for pastoralists’ safe transhumance.

The process showed the need for policies and strategies to address structural inequality, and to ensure decent work and economic undertakings in the informal economy.

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Interactive dialogue with the Special Rapporteur on the right of persons with disabilities

Thursday, 14 March 2022

About 80% of the global number of people with disabilities reside in low-income countries. Many of them play important roles in agriculture and food security, but often experience stigma, marginalization, and exclusion.

Everywhere, people with disabilities exhibit higher rates of poverty, food insecurity and unemployment. However, in rural areas they face much greater challenges than their urban counterparts:

• they are less likely to participate in education and training,
• less likely to find decent employment, and
• less likely to have access to assistive services, technologies, and social protection.

The agricultural sector has an important role to play to accelerate disability inclusion.

Making it happen requires:

• supporting the creation of inclusive employment and income generation opportunities, so that they can expand their livelihood options.
• providing them with the necessary agro-technical, entrepreneurial, and business management skills.
• upgrading agricultural technologies to meet their specific requirements; and
• promoting them in decision-making processes.

FAO is committed to enhancing the socio-economic integration of rural people with disabilities. Disability inclusion helps to make agri-food systems more resilient, efficient, and sustainable, which in turn contributes to reducing poverty, eliminating hunger, and improving the well-being of rural populations.

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Thursday, 10 March 2022

Excellencies, Ladies and Gentlemen,

A healthy and sustainable environment is our only capital for all the goods and services needed to support life.

Yet, our ecosystems are deteriorating at an alarming rate, impacting 3.2 billion people.

We need positive interactions between plants, animals, humans, and the environment. Sustainable agriculture is a key solution that can restore and preserve ecosystems and services.

We must transform food, fiber, and feed production systems to sustainably respond to the needs of people and planet, to eradicate poverty and hunger through effective, sustainable, and innovative landscape and seascape restoration efforts.

Transforming to more efficient, inclusive, resilient, and sustainable agri-food systems leads to clean and healthy environment. 

We must optimize the UN Decade on Ecosystem Restoration to scale-up restoration efforts   for better production, better nutrition, a better environment, and a better life, leaving no one behind.

Thank you

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