AOSIS vision for 2020

AOSIS vision for 2020
Advancing Ambition: Building Bridges & Mobilizing Means

Carla Mucavi, Director of the FAO Liaison Office with the United Nations in New York

 

Distinguished Delegates,

FAO welcomes the opportunity to join this discussion on priorities of SIDS across the sustainable development agenda.

SIDS have unique vulnerabilities and multidimensional challenges that need to be addressed if we are to ‘leave no one behind’.

Specific needs of SIDS manifest themselves, for example, in the area of food security and nutrition, including high overweight obesity levels, limited availability of land, and underused fisheries resources as a source of nutrition.


Distinguished Delegates,

The Global Action Programme for Food Security and Nutrition in SIDS (GAP), developed responding to a request of the SAMOA Pathway, represents a positive step forward and FAO is using it as a guide of some of its work in SIDS. But this is not enough. We need more ownership from national governments and partners to step up cooperation to achieve SDG2 and SDG 1 in SIDS and contributing to the 2030 Agenda as a whole.

We are encouraged to see that food security and nutrition and sustainable food systems are highlighted in the mid-term review of the SAMOA Pathway as part of its call for action.

In response, FAO is already increasing its support to this process in two main ways:
First, in January 2020 FAOcreated its Office for SIDS, LDCs, and LLDCs. The office will coordinate FAO’s work in support of national government priorities of all SIDS countries through an approach aligned to the specific needs of these populations and countries.
Second, the Office will facilitate the implementation of FAO’s Hand-in-Hand Initiative in priority countries.

The Hand-in-Hand is an evidence-based, country-led and country-owned initiative of FAO to accelerate agricultural transformation and sustainable rural development to eradicate poverty and end hunger and all forms of malnutrition.

The initiative is a matchmaking platform that will identify recipient needs and match needed support from other countries, including donors, private sector, academia and other actors, be it in terms of financing, knowledge-sharing, technology transfer or other areas.

There are currently 44 priority countries under the initiative. They are mainly SIDS, with a special focus in least developed SIDS, LDCs and LLDCs and food crisis countries.

FAO will provide support through the initiative engaging external actors and partners, including you – Small Island states and resource partners - while intensifying its engagement with, and linkages to, international frameworks in place to support SIDS, LDCs, LLDCs.

We look forward to intensifying our cooperation to promote sustainable development in SIDS.

Thank you for your attention.