Food Security Cluster Newsletter: operational updates, events and news from the field No images? Click here NEWSLETTERGLOBAL FOOD SECURITY CLUSTEROPERATIONAL UPDATES SPECIAL FOCUS: GAZA AT RISK OF FAMINE Between Nov. 24 and Dec. 7, over 90 percent of the population in the Gaza Strip (about 2.08 million people) was estimated to face IPC3 and above levels of acute food insecurity. Among these, over 40 percent of the population (939,000 people) were in IPC 4 Emergency, and over 15 percent (378,000 people) were in IPC 5 Catastrophe. The number of people in this category is four times higher in Gaza than in the rest of the world combined (129,000). Between Dec. 8 and Feb. 7, at least one in four households (more than half a million people) is projected to be facing IPC5 catastrophic conditions. December 31 latest FSC response update: Despite the access issues, the FSC partners are reaching average 285,715 people per day and overall reached near 2million people in a week. We are far from reaching the entire population indeed on a daily basis: access is required for FSC partners to provide life saving assistance. Food Insecurity Surge: IPC analysis has revealed a significant escalation in severe food shortages, a situation exacerbated by ongoing conflicts and the resulting limitations of aid entrance. The World Bank's report (Dec. 16), outlined the following damage to assets and operations of essential services: water and sanitation crisis, widespread housing damage, infrastructure collapse, critical fuel deficit, health facilities in shambles, and commercial facilities ravaged. Rapid Displacement Escalation: Over 1.93 million people are displaced, and over 800,000 people's homes have been destroyed or are uninhabitable. KEY ASKS Urgent Humanitarian Corridors: Secure and continuous access is vital for humanitarians to deliver life-saving aid throughout the region. Essential Fuel and Gas: Immediate supply of fuel and cooking gas is critical to sustain humanitarian efforts, keep essential services operational - like mills and bakeries - and ensure individuals have the means to prepare the limited food available to them. FSC Videos: what is the impact of funding cuts on food and livelihood assistance?Available resources & toolkitsGlobal Partners Meeting ReportThe annual in-person event gathered over 70 participants over 3 days at the FAO headquarters in Rome. This year’s edition triggered insightful conversations among all partners – NGOs, UN agencies including OCHA, and donors - on the constraints faced in the field and their impact on aid delivery and food security: a most necessary debate on the complexity, challenges, and reality of field conditions, calling for new ways of working and discussing the future of coordination. Global Humanitarian Overview 2024In 2024, 74.1 million people will need humanitarian assistance in East and Southern Africa. In West and Central Africa, 65.1 million people are in need. In the Middle East and North Africa, 53.8 million people require assistance, with the crisis in Syria resulting in 32.5 million people in need, both inside Syria and neighboring countries. In Asia and the Pacific, 50.8 million people are in need, of whom 30.6 million is due to the Afghanistan crisis. The Latin America and the Caribbean region is now home to 38.9 million people in need, 15.9 million of whom are impacted by the Venezuela crisis and in Eastern Europe, 16.8 million people are still in need because of the war in Ukraine. GLOBAL SUPPORT & SURGE MISSIONSPALESTINE AMMAN HAITI & DRC SUDAN (REMOTE) CHAD |