Monitoring Food Security in Countries with Conflict Situations (a Joint FAO/WFP Update)
Publisher: Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations and World Food Programme
Date: 2017
Topics: Conflict Causes, Humanitarian Assistance, Livelihoods
According to the consensus-based Global Report on Food Crises 2017, 108 million people across 48 countries are experiencing unacceptably high levels of acute food insecurity. This figure is 35 percent higher than in last year’s report when 80 million people were in the same situation. Major food crises are the result of conflict, record-high food prices at local level and abnormal weather patterns caused by El Niño. Civil conflict is the driving factor in 10 of the 13 worst crises, underscoring the strong linkage between peace and food security. Conflicts have left large numbers of people food insecure and in need of urgent assistance. Currently, areas of South Sudan are classified in Famine, while other areas of Somalia, Yemen and northeastern Nigeria face a risk of famine. In some cases, such as Yemen, food crises are widespread and severe, affecting entire populations. In other countries, such as Nigeria, they are more localized. Moreover, spillover effects from conflict have had a significant impact on neighbouring countries (e.g. the Syrian refugee crisis and Lake Chad Basin crisis). The demand for humanitarian life- and livelihood-saving activities as well as resilience assistance is therefore escalating. The 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development calls for more collaborative approaches to conflict prevention, mitigation, resolution and recovery. The 2030 Agenda recognizes peace as a vital threshold condition for development, as well as a development outcome in its own right. Given that conflicts can inhibit sustainable development, Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 16 aims to significantly reduce all forms of violence and to work with Member States and communities to find lasting solutions to conflict and insecurity. Similarly, eradicating extreme poverty and hunger, achieving food security and making agriculture sustainable are recognized as critical elements for meeting the goal of ensuring peaceful and inclusive societies. In most of the countries covered by this report, eight out of ten people affected live in rural areas. Investing in agriculture and rural development while providing lifesaving food assistance is key to limiting the negative impact and addressing the root causes of conflicts. Adequate investments in crisis prevention and recovery call for a robust understanding of the situation and for joint efforts to respond to the crisis. The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) and the World Food Programme (WFP) are at the forefront of these efforts. This report is an important part of them.