The International Day of Awareness of Food Loss and Waste - 2024
Cairo (Egypt), Hybrid Event, 20/10/2024
Background
Food loss and waste (FLW) is a significant issue impacting global food systems, with 14% of food lost post-harvest and 17% wasted at the retail and consumption stages. In the Near East and North Africa (NENA) region, FLW contributes to hunger, environmental degradation, and economic strain, with 15% of food lost before retail and 32% wasted at the consumer level.
While hundreds of millions of people go hungry and billions more can’t afford a nutritious and adequate diet, FLW represents a significant portion of the food produced. Besides, FLW exacerbates climate change, strain society and the economy, and puts immense pressure on the planet’s natural resources, ecosystems, and biodiversity.
Achieving and maximizing the positive impacts of reducing FLW requires strengthening governance, growing investment in producing, harvesting, handling and distributing safe food, and investments in infrastructure, technology and innovation.
To address this the Food and Agriculture Organization for the Near East and North Africa (FAO), the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) Regional Office for Africa and West Asia (UNEP)and the League of Arab States (LAS) will jointly co-organize an awareness workshop in shed light on this year’s International Day of Food Loss and Waste ( IDAFLW).
The event aims to reaffirm the commitment of countries in the region to increase their investment in combating loss and waste. It will also serve as an opportunity to:
raise awareness of the importance of addressing FLW as an integral part of food system transformation in the region;
present the various advances made by FAO, UNEP and LAS in combating FLW;
identify potential areas for strategic and technical cooperation.
Participants and Speakers
FAO Regional Office for the Near East and North Africa (FAO-RNE) Officials,
The United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) Regional Offices in Africa and West Asia,
League of Arab States (LAS),
FAO Technical Platform on the Measurement and Reduction of Food Loss and Waste representatives,
Member country's representatives,
Private sector representatives, consumer organizations and academia.
Format and Venue
The workshop will take place in Cairo, Egypt from 10:00 to 13:30 on 20 October 2024. The workshop will be held in a hybrid format with simultaneous interpretation available in Arabic and English.
Agenda
Time | Subjects | Speaker |
Opening Session and Remarks | ||
10:00-10:10 (10 min) | Moderator’s welcome and event guide | FAORNE Moderator |
10:10-10:40 (10 min each) | Opening Remarks: Objectives and desired outcomes ofthe event. | Dr. Abdulhakim Elwaer, Assistant Director General and Regional Representative, FAO Regional Office for the Near East and North Africa. |
Mr. Abdul Majei Haddad, Deputy Director of UNEP ROWA. | ||
Dr. Wadid Erian, | ||
10:40-10:50 (10 min) | Setting the Scene: Regional priorities and challenges to ensure fast exchange of information and actions to improve investments in FLW reduction. | Dr. Ahmad Mukhtar, OiC Regional Programme Leader, FAO Regional Office for the Near East and North Africa |
Session (1): FAO’s Actions for the Reduction of FLW | ||
10:50-11:00 (10 min) | FAO supports and initiatives to fight FLW worldwide (Presentation of the various institutional and technical advances, progress and challenges encountered) | Dr. Rolle Rosa, Senior Enterprise Development Officer, and Team Leader FLW, ESN |
11:00-11:10 (10 min) | Presentation of the Food Loss APP: A food loss measurement instrument | Ms. Luciana DelgadoOtero, Technical Adviser, DDCG
|
11:10-11:20 (10 min) | FAO support and initiatives to fight FLW in the NENA Region | Dr. Moustapha Mohamed, Food Safety and Quality Officer, FLW Regional Focal Point, RNE |
11:20-11:30 (10 min) | Q&A session | |
Session (2): UNEP’s FLW Programme | ||
11:30-11:40 (10 min) | Food Waste Index Report 2024 And UNEP’s achievements for the reduction of FLW in the NENA Region | Ms. Sarah Asmar, Programme Management Officer
|
11:40-11:50 (10 min) | Sustainable Food Systems | Ms. Geetha Nayak Regional Coordinator for Nature Action |
11:50-12:00 (10 min) | Q&A session
| |
12:00-12:10 | Break / Display videos on FLW | |
Session (3): LAS Investments in the Reduction of FLW | ||
12:10-12:20 (10 min) | Presentation on the LAS law and legal framework to regulate and fight against food supply chain losses | Dr. Wadid Erian, |
12:20-12:30 (10 min) | Q&A session | |
Session (4): Public and Private Sector Actions for FLW reduction | ||
12:30 – 12:40 (10 min) | Countries’ efforts in food loss and waste reduction | Mr. Almasarwah Fadi, Project Coordinator |
12:40 – 12:50 (10 min) | Dr. Dalia Yassin Agribusiness and Program Development Specialist | |
12:50 – 13:00 (10 min) | Outgreens: a case of waste management business | Mr. Mohamed Magdy C.E.O Outgreens |
13:00–13:05 (5 min) | Q&A session | |
Closing Session | ||
13:05– 13:25 (20 min) | Open discussions on the coordination of effort for a better investment in the reduction of FLW in the NENA Region | FAORNE Moderator
|
13:25– 13:30 (5 min) | Recap of key reflections of the day, closing remarks, and acknowledgments. | Dr. Ahmad Mukhtar, OiC Regional Programme Leader, FAO Regional Office for the Near East and North Africa |