FAO at the ECOSOC Humanitarian Affairs Segment 2022
Follow the latest takeaways and FAO engagements from the ECOSOC HAS, taking place in New York from 21 to 23 June.
An essential platform for discussing the activities and issues related to strengthening the coordination and effectiveness of the humanitarian assistance of the United Nations, the 2022 ECOSOC HAS provides an opportunity for Member States, the United Nations system, development actors, the private sector, and other humanitarian partners at large to discuss current and emerging humanitarian challenges and priority themes and share experiences and lessons learned.
Of particular importance this year, the ECOSOC Meeting on the Transition from Relief to Development, held on 20 June immediately preceding the HAS, was convened under the theme “Recurrent crises and sustainable solutions: building resilience and addressing rising food insecurity and displacement”.
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23 June, New York – During today’s High-level Panel 3 ‘Humanitarian impacts of the climate crisis: escalating risks, challenges and actions,’ FAO stressed the importance of moving the climate action policy needle, looking at agrifood systems not just seen as a contributor to climate change but also as part of the solution and as contributors to the fight against hunger and malnutrition.
Delivering the statement from the floor on behalf of FAO was Conor Elliot from FAO's Liaison Office with the UN in New York.
“Agrifood systems must urgently transition and transform from being a problem driving climate change, to becoming one of the main climate solutions, while also ensuring food security and wellbeing for all,” Elliott said. “Agriculture absorbs more than 26 percent of the overall impact caused by medium- to large-scale climate-related disasters,” he added, warning that this figure increases to an alarming 80 percent when looking solely at drought events.
Discussions centered on the humanitarian impacts of slow-onset and sudden-onset climate-related disasters and their consequences, including displacement, migration, rising food insecurity, and loss of livelihoods and land. The implications for the humanitarian systems stemming from the latest Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) were also discussed. Against this backdrop, the need to scale up risk analysis, preparedness, early warning, anticipatory action and response were mentioned by many Member States and other stakeholders.
23 June, New York – At this afternoon’s side event ‘Addressing gender-based violence impacts of food insecurity for women and girls in the Sahel and Horn of Africa,’ participants categorically agreed on the scourge that is food insecurity, especially among women and girls. Discussions centered on the undeniable link between hunger and prevalence of gender-based violence. As such, speakers touched on how food insecurity is a protection crisis that calls for the integration of gender-based violence protections in broader, inter-disciplinary solutions to rising hunger levels.
Delivering a statement on behalf of FAO was Conor Elliot, FAO Liaison Office with the UN in New York. “Humanitarian emergencies, food insecurity and poverty are increasing the prevalence of gender-based violence, undermining our efforts to ensure household and national food security and nutrition,” he said, pointing out that “when rural women have access to resources, services and opportunities, they become a driving force against hunger, malnutrition and rural poverty”.
Speaking of FAO’s work to this regard, Elliott outlined in his statement the Safe Access to Fuel and Energy (SAFE) initiatives in South Sudan, Somalia and Kenya, among others, which include the provision and/or production of fuel-efficient stoves and alternative fuels, investments in sustainable natural resources for fuel, or promotion of less wood-fuel-intensive livelihoods.
Likewise, the Junior/Farmer Field and Life Schools (J/FFLS) were cited as leading to positive transformations in household relationship and gender role dynamics. These schools work to improve and strengthen men and women’s life skills and knowledge of agronomic practices while raising awareness on human and women’s rights and gendered stereotypes. Finally, FAO spoke of the Dimitra Clubs are a signature programme proven to transform gender relations and empower rural men and women.
Read the full statement delivered by FAO here.
23 June, New York – As part of the closing session of the ECOSOC HAS and following the conclusion of the general discussions from the week, Draft Resolution E/2022/L.11, entitled ‘Strengthening of the coordination of emergency humanitarian assistance of the United Nations’, was adopted by consensus.
In their statements delivered during the closing session, Member States reiterated their commitment to find sustainable solutions to humanitarian challenges by addressing humanitarian crises at their root causes and building long-term resilience. Climate change was also mentioned by many as being one of the greatest humanitarian challenges and driver of other humanitarian crises, including hunger.
Delivering a statement on behalf of FAO was Conor Elliott from the FAO Liaison Office with the UN in New York, who stressed once again that the world is facing an unprecedented food crisis, driven by conflict, climate change, economic challenges (including from COVID 19 restrictions) poverty, inequality and, as of recent, the war in Ukraine. Elliott also highlighted that at present starvation and death are a very real threat for 750,000 people – almost a 9-fold increase since 2016, and that the 193 million people who were acutely food insecure in 2021 are primarily food producers and traders, living in rural areas.
In this respect, Elliott underscored that “food assistance provided after the worst-case scenario is essential, and saves lives,” but stressed that “unless equal priority is given to boosting local food production and making agriculture more resilient, acute hunger will continue increasing”. He added: "We know that investing in agriculture and rural livelihoods is strategic, and 7 to 10 times more cost-effective than traditional assistance, but currently, only 8 percent of all food security funding in emergencies goes to assist agricultural production. This must change".
Also as part of the closing session and echoing FAO’s messaging throughout the week, Assistant Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs and Deputy Emergency Relief Coordinator, Joyce Msuya, in her closing remarks, recalled that for hundreds of thousands of people, the threat of famine is all too real. This, once again, stresses the urgency of the global hunger crisis, with needs rising at alarming rates, she said. She also mentioned that Humanitarian Response Plans lack 80 percent of the funds they need and called for this gap to be closed, pointing out that one of the key themes that has emerged from the ECOSOC HAS this year has been the shift towards anticipatory action.
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22 June, New York – Co sponsored by the United States, Ireland, Canada, Burkina Faso and the Dominican Republic, today saw the FAO-led side event 'Fighting food insecurity and famine: A call for coordinated action and multi-stakeholder solutions against global hunger'. This side event highlighted approaches and best practices that effectively address the multidimensional causes of food insecurity, seeking to prevent its further deterioration through a multi-sectoral, inter-disciplinary approach. FAO's calls to working together through linking coherent short, medium and long-term strategies to fighting food crises was well reflected across the statements and calls to action from speakers representing Member States, UN entities, and local and international civil society organizations.
Setting the scene was Director of the FAO Emergencies and Resilience Division, Rein Paulsen, who stressed FAO had warned about an upward trajectory of acute hunger since 2016, with the outlook for 2022 and 2023 still looking challenging on the backdrop of the ripple effects of the COVID-19 pandemic and the war in Ukraine. With some three-quarters of a million people currently living in catastrophic conditions, risking imminent starvation and death, Paulsen said, this is a number five times as high as from 2020.
"These are predominantly rural populations being hit by relentless and repeated shocks and crises," he added, stressing that many of them make their living from agriculture, and yet, just 8 percent of humanitarian funding to the food security sector is going to emergency agricultural interventions.
A panel discussion ensued, featuring voices and perspectives from contexts such as Afghanistan, South Sudan, Yemen and Mali, reflecting on country-level actions and initiatives to fight against growing food insecurity and famine risk. All panelists, called for more sustained and flexible funding, as well as for investments in multi-sectoral projects that would address the root causes of food insecurity and greater support for nexus-based approaches that build resilience and livelihoods, with agriculture playing a vital role in humanitarian response.
22 June, New York – Also taking place today was the High-level Panel ‘Reaching people in need, supporting humanitarian assistance for all in times of conflict and promoting good practices in the application of international humanitarian law’.
Panelists called for full, safe and unhindered humanitarian access to reach the ones most in need and underscored the responsibility of host countries to make every effort to unlock bureaucratic and administrative impediments that hamper and delay humanitarian operations.
FAO delivered a statement from the floor, which highlighted the link between conflict, the impact on food systems and the risk of famine, all elements restated in UNSC Resolution 2417. FAO also referred to Resolution 2573, in particular the need to refrain from depriving civilians of objects indispensable to their survival, including food, crops, livestock, agricultural assets, drinking water installations and irrigation works.
With only about 8 percent of humanitarian food security funding going to agriculture, "well-sequenced, layered and financed responses, a new attention to agriculture and ensured access through the fulfillment of international humanitarian law obligations by all parties, is what we need," said Conor Elliott, FAO Humanitarian and ResilienceProgramme Officer, who spoke on behalf of FAO. With conflict negatively affecting the means of production, Elliott added, access to agricultural inputs is limited or denied, agricultural lands are rendered unusable, and trade and the provision of services and markets are disrupted.
Speaking of Tigray as a telling example of the importance of producing food where it is most needed, Elliott said: "Where access is constrained, survival on locally produced food is critical. Last year in Tigray, despite extremely low funding for the agriculture sector, local farmers were able to produce some 900 000 tonnes of food, about five times more than entered through food assistance".
21 June, New York – Following yesterday's Meeting on the Transition from Relief to Development, where the FAO Chief Economist participated, today saw the opening session of the 2022 ECOSOC HAS.
Speaking at this morning's session was the UN Secretary-General, António Guterres, who highlighted that millions are currently living under the threat of looming starvation, from Afghanistan to the Horn of Africa. Against this backdrop, the Secretary-General called for an improved humanitarian system – one that has the resources to work in tandem with development and peace actors to find sustainable solutions. He also touched on the importance of humanitarian responses guided by actionable science and data, especially with regards to anticipating shocks and taking preventive action.
Touching on the war in Ukraine and its impact on global food prices, the Secretary-General also stressed that it is essential to bring an end to hunger by stabilizing food prices and encouraging the free flow of goods to countries at risk of facing food crises.
The above was echoed by Under Secretary-General and Emergency Relief Coordinator Martin Griffiths, who pointed to the up to three quarter of a million people on the verge of famine in Afghanistan, Ethiopia, Somalia, South Sudan and Yemen.
Looking ahead, ERC Griffiths provided six recommendations: (i) ensure a free flow of food across the planet by making surplus stocks available and removing blockages of trade in food and fertilizers; (ii) work towards more accountability for those the UN serves; (iii) reject any artificial barriers that prevent us from finding solutions and building resilience, tapping into the humanitarian-development-peace nexus; (iv) work towards more humanitarian negotiations and access; (v) prioritize anticipatory approaches; (vi) advocate for bigger roles for local NGOs, civil society and aid agencies in humanitarian response.
From his part, the President of the General Assembly, Abdulla Shahid, also stressed the urgency of responding to the current food crisis along with other humanitarian challenges, making reference to the now 46 countries at risk of facing famine-like conditions.
Watch the recording.
21 June, New York – Today also saw the first of two side events co-organized by FAO during ECOSOC HAS. Entitled 'Scaling up and mainstreaming anticipatory approaches through empowered locally led action,' today's event examined avenues through which to further scale up and mainstream anticipatory action in humanitarian response. Participants also shared solutions to address humanitarian impacts of the climate crisis.
Representing FAO at the side event was the Director of FAO Emergencies and Resilience Division, Rein Paulsen. He stressed that anticipatory action is an urgent instrument to help curb acute food insecurity trends, given the importance of agriculture and the livelihoods derived from it, especially among the poorest and hungriest.
"We are beyond a proof-of-concept approach – we need to move to financing anticipatory action at scale," Paulsen said, who also stressed the importance of ensuring that "affected communities be at the center of this shift from reaction to anticipation". In this light, he added that scaling up anticipatory action has to do with government ownership and sovereign decision making.
21 June, New York – This afternoon also saw the High-Level Panel 1 'Humanitarian assistance and lessons learned from the COVID-19 pandemic: working together to ensure children and women are not left behind'.
The panel discussion explored lessons learned from across the humanitarian system from the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, taking into close consideration the implications for future action particularly through the lens of children and women. Among other key areas of work moving forward, discussions centered on lessons for improved and more inclusive preparedness in the face of future major catastrophes.
With women and children disproportionally affected by humanitarian crises, FAO delivered a statement from the floor to shed additional light on FAO's efforts to ensure the most vulnerable could access food, support livelihoods so people can continue to produce food, and ensure continuity of markets, while reducing the risk of transmission of COVID-19 to food chain actors.
"Alongside on-the-ground livelihoods support, one major effort has been the improved measurement of multiple risks and real-time assessment and monitoring of the impacts of COVID-19 in 26 food crises countries, through FAO’s new Data-in-Emergencies Hub," said Conor Elliott from the FAO Liaison Office with the UN in New York, who delivered the statement on behalf of FAO.
Watch the recording and read the full statement delivered by FAO.
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20 June, New York – At today’s Roundtable Session 1 of the ECOSOC Meeting on the Transition from Relief to Development, FAO Chief Economist, Máximo Torero, presented in person from the ECOSOC Chamber on the need to act early, differently, and based on reputable and actionable data to ensure limited humanitarian spending saves lives today and builds livelihoods tomorrow.
The FAO Chief Economist provided an overview of the current global food security situation, outlining how the major drivers and underlying factors – COVID-19, conflict, climate variability, and economic shocks and downturns – are mutually reinforcing, together worsening a global food crisis exacerbated by the current war in Ukraine and its impact on global food and input markets.
Torero also offered policy recommendations and solutions, anchored in (i) providing humanitarian assistance to Ukraine; (ii) support countries’ balance of payments challenges in the face of rising food import bills including, but not limited to, the Global Food Import Financing Facility; and (iii) building a more resilient global agrifood architecture, including by diversifying sources of food commodities and tapping into digital innovations to improve agricultural productivity, helping the most vulnerable and hungry produce food where it is needed the most.
Against the backdrop of the war in Ukraine, Torero said: “We need to have a rapid response, not only in humanitarian food assistance, but also providing inputs and cash to maintain critical production supporting agrifood supply chains”.
Ensuing discussions centered on assessing the scale and impact of food insecurity and on mobilizing collective action to address food insecurity and prevent famine in the most affected countries and regions, including through anticipatory approaches. Also high on the agenda was the need to strengthen collaboration and complementarity between humanitarian, development, and peacebuilding actors to address multi-dimensional challenges and drivers of acute food insecurity and risk of famine.
Also speaking to the session’s guiding theme was Deputy Secretary-General Amina Mohammed, who noted that some 193 million people have experienced food insecurity across 53 countries or territories in 2021, and that Ethiopia, Nigeria, South Sudan, and Yemen are ‘hunger hotspots’ facing catastrophic conditions, citing latest data from the Global Network against Food Crises.
DSG Mohammed offered key recommendations to address the global food crisis: (i) stabilize global markets, reduce volatility, and tackle the uncertainty of commodity prices; (ii) alleviate immediate suffering through humanitarian assistance and by investing in social protection systems; and (iii) adopt country-specific responses.
Watch the recording and revisit the presentation by the Chief Economist here.
20 June, New York – Roundtable Session 2 of the ECOSOC Meeting on the Transition from Relief to Development served to showcase humanitarian, development and peacebuilding efforts aiming to address rising displacement and build resilience.
Successful examples of joined-up approaches aiming at reducing vulnerability, build resilience and achieve solutions for the internally displaced were shared. To this end, panelists highlighted the crucial role peace plays in the delivery of humanitarian assistance and achievement of sustainable solutions.
FAO delivered a written statement to this end, pointing how “the agriculture sector has a critical role to play in both meeting immediate needs and as a means to turn humanitarian-development-peace nexus approaches into impactful solutions on the ground.” With agriculture as the main source of income and food security for many refugees, IDPs and returnees around the world, FAO’s written statement expressed that agriculture must therefore play a key role in strengthening their resilience and recovery.
Watch the recording and access the submitted written statement on behalf of FAO here.
20 June, New York – Today also saw FAO’s participation at the HAS side event ‘Displacement and the Climate Crisis: The imperative of localized, inclusive and gender-responsive climate action’.
Diverse actors in the humanitarian sector provided gave examples of how displacement linked to climate change can be addressed in gender-sensitive policy and strategy plans for disaster risk reduction, and how evidence based and anticipatory approaches are needed to address drivers and risks.
Delivering a statement on behalf of FAO was Knowledge Management for Sustainable Development Expert, Katherine Clyne.
“It is important to acknowledge that in many situations, climate change and displacement can heighten existing inequalities, worsen the already disproportionate domestic work burden of women and girls, and intensify protection risks,” Clyne said, pointing to how during periods of drought and erratic rainfall, often caused or exacerbated by climate change, and during periods of displacement due to disaster, women are forced work harder to gather resources for their families.
Other panelists echoed the sentiment, stressing that the impact of climate change is not gender neutral.
To this end, participants underlined that the international community must work in collaboration with displaced communities and local communities, and solutions must be delivered through a humanitarian-development-peace nexus approach.
Read the full statement delivered by FAO here.