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Call for Expressions of Interest: Next FSC Information Management Tool Training, 9-12 December in Rome

Photo: gFSC and Juan Saenz

The gFSC is hosting the next Food Security Cluster Information Management (IM) Tool Training at FAO Headquarters in Rome, Italy from Tuesday, 9 December until Friday, 12 December 2014.

We are now calling for expressions of interest from current IM Officers and other staff members working with or interested in Cluster IM to participate in this training. Priority will be given to Information Managers currently working in (or to be deployed to) L3 emergencies. It is intended that after the training, participants can start using the IM Tool in their respective country-clusters.

At the end of the training, it is planned that:

  • Participants have gained an understanding of core IM concepts and how the IM tool can be used to facilitate IM.
  • Participants are able to manage and use the gFSC IM tool in their respective cluster. Participants understand how to train FSC partners to use the gFSC IM tool.
  • Participants know how to produce basic reports and maps with the IM Tool and have learned how to use pivot table for advanced analysis.

Please visit the FSC website for more information and instructions on how to apply by 17 October 2014.

 

Remember! Next Global FSC Partners' Meeting: 26-28 November in Rome

The next global Partner Meeting will take place 26-28 November at WFP in Rome. Partners who would like to suggest ideas for topics of discussion are asked to send them to  info@foodsecuritycluster.net by 7 October.

 

L-3: Central African Republic

  • The L-3 classification has been extended from 12 September until 12 December both at IASC-level and by WFP and FAO.
  • The Cluster is working on various assessments which will feed into the preparation of the Humanitarian Needs Overview and the Strategic Response Plan for 2015. The assessments are the following:
  1. PK5 enclave: this is the minority enclave in Bangui whose population is suffering greatly from isolation, restriction of movements and security threats. The cluster carried out a first phase of focus group assessments/discussions to identify vulnerability criteria, and is now proceeding with the household survey.
  2. EFSA is on-going, results are expected the beginning of October
  3. CFSAM: preliminary resultshave been presented, final report is expected in the coming weeks
  4.  IPC analysis: this is planned for the second or third week of October.
  • The cluster has been working on the integration of food security into the Rapid Response Mechanism surveys.
  •  In an effort to improve the liaison and communication between the national coordination platform and the sub-national clusters, the team has started travelling to sub-national locations. A first visit took place in Bambari.
  • The Cluster has launched the Cluster performance monitoring exercise through a web-based survey, whose results will be presented and discussed at the cluster meeting.
  • A mission of the Global Coordination to CAR is being discussed and should take place in October.
     

L-3: Iraq

  • Food Security, agricultural production and livelihoods are severely threatened by the escalating conflict in Iraq and continue to require immediate attention.
  • The FSC estimates that approximately 2,820,000 Iraqis are food insecure as a result of the conflict, while acknowledging that a large proportion of these people reside within areas of extremely limited or non-existent access. As a consequence, the cluster is targeting 2 million individuals in need of immediate assistance via food aid or via livelihoods interventions.
  • Immediate food assistance and distribution across Iraq has remained the primary intervention amongst food security partners since March 2014 to present. As of end September, the total number of beneficiaries receiving food assistance reached over 1 million.
  • FSC partners continue to maintain increasing levels of assistance, and are expanding their reach into governorates and districts where food security of IDP's and host populations is assessed as being at risk and which have had mixed levels of access. In addition to IDPs, the FSC also targets non-displaced people residing in areas controlled by armed opposition groups, as access permits, and host communities who are at risk of food insecurity due to their absorption of large numbers of displaced people.
  • The ongoing violence and large-scale displacement has caused the abandonment of many agriculture-based livelihoods, reducing food availability. While almost 70 percent of the population lives in urban areas, food insecurity and poverty are disproportionately concentrated in rural areas, where two-thirds of food insecure people are located, and where more than half of the agricultural labour force is women.
  • Delivery of livelihood support such as provision to crisis-affected farmers of seeds and fertilizers, in time for the October/November cereal planting season (where open field cultivation is possible), animal feeding, backyard vegetable, poultry production, cash for work, employment creation, income generating activities, is increasing rapidly in urgency.
     

L-3: South Sudan

  • New IPC analysis: In partnership with the Government and other partners, the latest IPC analysis was released on 23 September with the following key findings:
  1. Food security across the country has begun improving in August and September and is expected to continue on a positive trend through December 2014 according to seasonal patterns, particularly in areas not affected by conflict.
  2. While there are significant improvements since the May IPC, the situation is much worse compared to a typical year at harvest time. 1.5 million people are projected to remain in Phase 3 (Crisis) and Phase 4 (Emergency) through December 2014, including one-third of the population of Greater Upper Nile.
  3. The outlook for 2015 is of great concern, with 2.5 million people projected to be in Crisis or Emergency from January to March 2015.
  4. The overall nutrition situation remains dire for September to December.
  5. In the areas it has reached, humanitarian assistance has reduced the number of people in Crisis and Emergency phases. However, deliveries remain inconsistent due to logistical constraints during the rainy season, continued insecurity, and insufficient funding.
  6. There is a short window of opportunity to take action before the end of the year when nearly half of households in Greater Upper Nile will have depleted their food stocks, and when new shocks may occur.

Updates of FSLC activities:

  • Rapid response operations: Food assistance distribution teams have completed distributions in Jiech, Gorwai and Rom for about 53,000 beneficiaries. Mobile teams are deploying to: Camel (Pigi County), Pagil (Ayod), Pochalla (Pochalla), Gum (Luakpiny/Nassir), Ulang/Nyangole (Ulang), Haat (Ayod), Jikmir (Luakpniy/Nassir), Mandeng Luakpiny/Nassir) and Makak (Ulang). Currently food assistance mobile teams are operating in Whajtak, Pathai, Ganylel and Pagak.
  • Livestock vaccines dispatched: Vaccines with the capacity to treat 31,000 animals were dispatched in Unity and Upper Nile States. Since the beginning of the crisis, vaccines to treat 1.26 million animals had been distributed in all ten states and in the Abyei Administrative area. Livestock vaccinations have been ongoing  in Lakes State. In addition, animal health kits are under distribution in Lakes State.
  • Post-planting assessments: To monitor the emergency response, “Post-Planting” assessments are being conducted around the country. Field monitors are completing the final assessments in Leer, Unity State.
  • Data collection on-going: Partners continue data collection efforts with daily monitoring the weekly market prices, daily rainfall, crop and livestock performance, and supply of fish among other relevant indicators.

L-3: Syria

  • The Syria Food Security Cluster/Sector has been working to link various hubs of coordination in Turkey, Jordan, Syria, Iraq and Lebanon so that operational partners are able to work with a more coherent approach.
  • An operational partners’ meeting took place in Istanbul on 24 September with a view to moving a step further towards the Whole of Syria approach. The meeting was facilitated by the Food Security and Livelihoods Working Group Co-Coordinator in Turkey and ad-interim Whole of Syria Cluster/Sector (FSC/S) coordinator based in Jordan.
  • The co-chairing NGO of the FSC/S in Turkey together with the global Cluster Co Leads - WFP and FAO - welcomed the participants and stressed on the importance of partnership to capitalize on each other’s strengths. It was noted that the humanitarian community working in Syria is gradually establishing new standards and procedures that are in line with the complexity of the coordination dimension. Thus, there will be a need to devise practical solutions to the challenges faced in delivering assistance in Syria, especially in light of scarce funding and human resource capacity.
  • Together, the group discussed short term goals of determining people in need for the food security sector for effective needs, response, gaps analysis and for feeding into upcoming Humanitarian Needs Overview for Whole of Syria. Discussions on medium term goals of harmonizing assessments and providing food security analysis for the Whole of Syria were also addressed.
  • From a food security programmatic standpoint, determining a mechanism for sharing more knowledge on programme quality issues such as targeting and selection criteria and post-distribution monitoring were brought up to institute training and capacity development programs for implementing partners to maintain quality standards.

West African Regional Ebola Response

  • The Ebola outbreak is proving to have a wider security, economic and livelihood impact on all affected countries and on the West African region as a whole, including impacting the food security situation in the area.
  • The Food Security Cluster has been activated in Liberia.  In other affected countries, food security partners have been working with national Governments and civil society to strengthen the existing coordination mechanisms, ensuring joint strategic response planning in line with the five strategic objectives and thirteen mission critical actions as established by the UN Senior Coordinator for Ebola.
  • Regional Appeal was launched on 16 September.
  • The UN Mission for Ebola Emergency Response (UNMEER) has been established following the unanimous adoption of General Assembly resolution 69/1. UNMEER headquarters is in Accra, Ghana. There will also be offices in: Liberia, Sierra Leone and Guinea. The mission will support national efforts and reinforce government leadership.
  • UNMEER will provide a platform for wide-ranging international efforts and will have five priorities: 1) stop the outbreak, 2) provide treatment, 3) provide essential services, 4) preserve stability and 5) prevent outbreaks in non-affected countries.

Partners responding to the Ebola outbreak can contact Emma Fitzpatrick to be included in the FSC communications.


Bangladesh

  • The FSC provided extensive technical support for a Joint Needs Assessment (JNA) investigating the extent of flood damage in Bangladesh. The JNA mobilized 183 staff from 28 organisations to visit 300 location in  4 days. The report is available via the Bangladesh FSC website
  • The FSC facilitated a Joint Response Plan with the WASH and Nutrition clusters to address the needs of flood affected communities. The plan has established standard assistance packages and estimated potential funding requirements to assist resource mobilization and donor advocacy. Approximately 120,000 households were estimated to be affected and in need of assistance.

Cross-Cutting Issues and Programme Quality

  • ACF: "Technical Guide for ACF Field Workers and Partners on ‘Enhancing Climate Resilience & Food and Nutrition Security" has been produced to missions and partners in the development of programmes on Climate Resilience. This technical guide offers a set of concrete practical orientations to enhance climate resilience and food and nutrition security.
  • IASC: Resident Coordinators were sent the Common Framework for Preparedness: one of the eight Transformative Agenda Protocols. The Common Framework commits organizations to work together “to build national and local capacity for preparedness.”
  • The "Global Estimates" report from Norwegian Refugee Council shows that 22 million people were displaced in 2013 by disasters brought on by natural hazard events – almost three times more than by conflict in the same year.
  • The FAO Global Information and Early Warning System (GIEWS) has launched a new Food Price Monitoring and Analysis (FPMA) Website, which provides latest information and analysis on domestic prices of basic foods, complementing FAO analysis on international markets.
  • A blog post "Children on the frontline: climate change & humanitarian crisis" by David Miliband (IRC) and Courtenay Cabot Venton discusses the impacts of climate change on children, as well as the ways in which climate change combined with humanitarian crisis is putting children at great risk.
  • The Global Cluster on Early Recovery (GCER) is hosting training for prospective Early Recovery Advisors (ERAs) from the 5th-10th of October at MSB’s Training Centre in Sandö, Sweden. If you are interested in attending this course, please forward your reply along with a copy of your CV to Mr. Mahmood Zahir (mahmood.zahir@undp.org). Additionally, please fill out a brief on-line questionnaire.
  • FAO: the second issue of the e-Newsletter for the Capacity building project on Integrating nutrition and food security programming for emergency response and resilience building is available online.
  • ICPS organizes a course "Professional Certificate in Strategic Food Security Planning", on 8th - 12th December 2014 in London, UK. For more information, visit the ICPC website.
  • The High Level Panel of Experts on Food Security and Nutrition (HLPE) of the Committee on World Food Security of the United Nations (CFS) has published a note on Critical and Emerging Issues in the area of food security and nutrition. This HLPE note and related documentation are available the HLPE website.
  • The Global Protection Cluster Thematic Roundtable on Cross-Border Humanitarian Relief Operations convened in Geneva on 8 July 2014. The document is also available on the GPC Website.

Vacancy Announcements

  • Cash Learning Partnership (CaLP): Capacity Building Officer - Asia (apply by 5 October).

The Capacity Building Officer (CBO) for Asia will be hosted by Oxfam GB in the Manila, the Philippines Country Office but with extensive travel regionally and globally as required. In collaboration with the Regional Focal Point, the CBO will be responsible for the implementation of a regional 9-month strategy that includes capacity building, in particular: blended learning training material development (including the use of more innovative approaches), establishing rigorous training evaluation methodologies and communications in trainings. For more information and to apply, please visit here.

  • The Food Security and Livelihoods Cluster in South Sudan is looking for an Information Management Assistant (national position, apply by 10 October 2014).

Those interested please send your Cv to George.Khartoum@fao.org  , Esther.Wani@fao.org  and Suzy.Wajo@fao.org  specifying on the subject of the email: VACANCY ANNOUNCEMENT NO: 23/14/FSS
 

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