FAO in the 2020 humanitarian appeals

For the past three years the number of people facing acute food insecurity has been persistently above 100 million. Conflict and insecurity are the main drivers of hunger, exacerbated by climate shocks and economic instability. Many countries are facing a combination of two or all of these drivers at the same time, resultingin major food crises.

Conflict and climate shocks have had devastating impacts on food security and agriculture. For example in 2019, drought in southern Africa, consecutive cyclones (including Cyclone Idai which hit Mozambique, Zimbabwe, and Malawi in March 2019) and flooding have disrupted and destroyed harvests.

Economic instability has also led to rising food and fuel prices, along with the cost of other essential items, severely undermining the food security situation in numerous countries and eroding vulnerable households’ capacity to cope with shocks.

In times of crisis, protecting livelihoods saves lives and contributes to strengthening resilience to future shocks. Rapid and e‡icient response in the agriculture sector also promotes recovery and reduces the gap between dependency on food assistance and self-reliance. For instance, supporting food production rapidly increases and sustains food availability, while generating an income to protect the agriculture-based livelihoods on which the majority of crisis-hit people rely.

In 2020, FAO is appealing for over USD 860 million to continue to scale up its response to strengthen the resilience and livelihoods of 35 million people. This will help to address the root causes of increased food insecurity and malnutrition, particularly of those most exposed and vulnerable to shocks.