The gFSC has introduced a global dashboard to provide a quick snapshot of the country-level Food Security Clusters around the world. The updated dashboard shows that as of June 2015, country-level Food Security Clusters remain only 44 percent funded against their yearly requirements.

The dashboard can be downloaded through this link.

To ensure that Food Security Cluster Coordinators have a better understanding of the roles and responsibilities of country food security clusters and coordinators in particular in response to an IASC Level 3 emergency, the global Food Security Cluster has developed a learning process for Food Security Cluster Coordinators.

Latest training, organized specifically for Stand-by Partners, was hosted by the German Federal Agency for Technical Relief (THW) in their training facilities in Neuhausen, Germany and facilitated by Humanitarian Productions with technical support from the global Food Security Cluster team.

A total of 18 people attended the training: 6 participants that are currently Food Security Cluster Coordinators and one Information Manager. Overall, the group consisted of 5 NGO representatives, 7 NRC Roster participants, 1 DRC Roster participant, 1  Red R Roster participant, 1 participant from SDC,  2 participants from FAO; and 1 participant from WFP. 

The next Cluster Coordinator Training is scheduled for 6-10 July in Rome, Italy. The Training will then head back to the THW facilities in Neuhausen, Germany in November 2015.

For more information about the trainings, please contact Evan Sheldon, evan.sheldon@wfp.org

At last December's Global Humanitarian Appeal launch, a record request was made for US$16.4 billion to meet the needs of more than 57 million people in 2015 - doubling the number of people in need of aid in just over a decade.

On 8 June, OCHA’s Global Humanitarian Appeal status report found requirements have risen a further $2.7 billion to a record $18.8 billion needed to meet the needs of 78.9 million vulnerable people in 37 countries, including in new crises such as Vanuatu and Nepal. With the launch of the Yemen revised HRP the total has risen to $19.7 billion to help some 82.5 million people.

In order to tell the evolving story of humanitarian financing more efficiently and effectively and to show how funds translate into life-saving aid for the people we strive to assist, OCHA has recently launched www.unocha.org/stateofaid, an interactive platform giving a global overview of current humanitarian needs and funding requirements, a snapshot of what humanitarian partners have done with the funds received so far, and a sense of the challenges we continue to face. The site also features an interactive map, pulling data from FTS, which shows in a visual way the funding status of country and regional appeals.

• Update on the response: During the first phase of the response, FSC partners were able to reach over 2 million beneficiaries with responses aiming at ensuring immediate access to food for the most vulnerable groups thanks to the provision of food assistance (basic food ration). Livelihood support was also delivered to over 71,000 households across 6 districts. The second phase of the response is currently being conducted to reach 1.4 million people with food and a million with  livelihood support.
• Update on food security situation: The results of the Food Security Cluster household assessment and District Food Security Network meetings - both led by WFP and the Government’s Nepal Food Security Monitoring System (NeKSAP) and carried out between 8-20 May in the 11 prioritized districts - show that the earthquake has severely impacted food security. A total of 3.1 million people live in those affected areas, of which roughly 1.4 million need food assistance. Food security has deteriorated in all the affected areas, and is particularly worrisome in remote mountain areas, where close to 70% of households have poor or borderline food consumption, and close to half have poor diet diversity.
• A major concern for both immediate and longer term food security is widespread losses of household food stocks.
• Food markets are now largely functional in less affected areas and are fast recovering in the seismic belt. In remote mountain areas, however, markets remain mostly closed or difficult to access for both suppliers and households, due to destroyed roads or landslide risk.
• The Food Security Cluster agricultural livelihoods assessment, led by FAO, reveals that the earthquake resulted in a significant loss of  standing crops, mainly spring maize, as well as spring rice, potato and wheat in a lower extent as most had already been harvested.
• Food Security Cluster priorities: The overall strategy of the Food Security Cluster revolves around ensuring increased access to food and improved livelihoods and nutritional wellbeing of the most vulnerable people across the 12 affected districts. The strategy will focus on two main humanitarian priorities: ensuring continued and regular access to food for the most vulnerable populations through food and cash assistance mechanisms for a targeted 1.4 million people; protecting and rehabilitating the livelihoods of the most vulnerable through sustainably restoring, protecting and maintaining livelihood production capacities (essential crops and vegetable’s, livelihood assets and tools) for 220,000 households (approximately 1 million people).
• Find out more information in the FSC Nepal Bulletin from June 2015

• As per the 2015 Humanitarian Response Plan, 4.4 million people are in need of food asstance across 18 governorates in Iraq. An associated website has been created at www.save-iraq.info. Food security specific information can be found at www.save-iraq.info/response-plan/food-security/
• More than 3 million people across Iraq have been displaced since January 2014.
• Emergency distributions to people displaced by ongoing fighting continue through the Rapid Response Mechanism (RRM), in collaboration with partners. The focus remains on those individuals displaced from ongoing violence in Anbar, Kerbala and Salah al-Din governorates.
• In-camp distributions for approximately 180,000 individuals (35,000 families) for June are underway. As of 21 June, some 251,000 individuals have been reached.
• Voucher distributions for June are ongoing, with approximately 319,000 individuals out of a planned 440,392 having received their voucher thus far.
• Below photo gallery includes photos from recent FSC Iraq visit to Qushtapa Refugees Camp in Erbil. All photos: FSC Iraq.

• Mid year update on South Sudan Humanitarian Response Plan: The Mid-year Update for South Sudan Humanitarian Response Plan 2015 was published on 16 June. Food insecurity is deepening as a result of conflict and insecurity, limited market functionality, high food prices caused by fast rising inflation and depreciation of the local currency, diminishing purchasing power, depletion of household food stocks and high cost of living. In April overall food insecurity rose to 7.7 million (IPC Phase 2, 3, and 4) and was expected to further increase to 7.9 million people between May and July, with 4.6 million of these at crisis or emergency levels. Those people at stressed levels of food insecurity (level 2) cannot sustain their livelihoods or meet their food needs without engaging in negative coping strategies.
• Overall, The Food Security and Livelihoods Cluster is tarteging to assist 2.1 million people with food assistance, 1.2 million people with asset creation and 3.5 million people with livelihoods interventions. (Source: Mid year update on South Sudan Humanitarian Respose Plan).
• Operational updates: FSLC Partners’ multi-agency operation delivering lifesaving survival kits was launched in mid-June in southern Unity, reaching 4,427 households. The operation plans to reach 28,000 households with the kits  which include short maturity vegetable seeds, fishing kits, nutritional biscuits, mosquito nets, hydration salts and other items.
• FSLC partners continue with air operations to deliver emergency kits to hard to access areas in the country. So far, over 850 mt of agriculture inputs have been distributed by air, this is in addition  to  distributions by road and through Input Trade Fairs.
• The FSLC commenced preparations for the second round of  the CHF’s standard allocation including selection of Peer Review Team members and the start of the CHF prioritization strategy paper. (Source: WFP South Sudan Situation Report, 21 June 2015).

• The sector/cluster continues to operate under the Whole of Syria (WoS) sector coordination structure/framework with fully functioning hubs in Southern Turkey (Food Security and Livelihoods Cluster), Syria (Food Security and Agriculture sector) and Jordan (Food Security sector). As of April 2015, all hubs had the required staff of coordinators, co-Coordinators and information management officers with a combination of staff from the two co-lead Agencies and NGO co-chairs.
• The Food Security Sector response for food assistance is on track during the reporting period, January – April 2015. Overall, the sector has assisted 6.3 million people under SO1 which includes monthly food basket at its peak in February 2015 and cumulative emergency food ration as of April 30, 2015 against an overall target of 7 million people per month.
• The Food Security Sector response for livelihoods and agriculture is mostly on track during the reporting period and is aligned with the seasonal calendar. Overall, the sector has assisted 540,599 people under SO2 as of April 30, 2015 against a target of 2.5 million people.
• In 2015, a few key assessments are currently ongoing, planned or completed which will provide a comprehensive understanding of food security (including livelihoods and agriculture) in Syria.

• The 2015 agricultural campaign has been planned within the framework of the Food Security Cluster. While agriculture is the main source of food and income in the Central African Republic, cluster members and lead agencies are joining their efforts to improve access to essential agricultural inputs (seeds and tools) to maintain production and assets, protect food access and markets. Find out the latest updates on the agricultural campaign in the FSC Bulletin from June (in French).
• The 2nd Standard Allocation of the 2015 Common Humanitarian Fund (CHF) has been launched for a total of 12 million USD. This allocation is closely linked to the Periodic Monitoring Review of the SRP just finalized by clusters. For food security, the priority is to create the conditions for the voluntary return of displaced population by strengthening local capacities and facilitating socio-economic rehabilitation in areas of return. Activities aiming at preventing conflicts between farmers and breeders will also be critical in the coming months of the ongoing crop season.

• WEBINAR Recording: Accountability to Affected People: Taking Account, Giving Account and Being Held to Account – Buzzwords or Benefits for People in Crises? Practical Lessons from Field Operations. In this 90-minute webinar the question of what AAP practically means in humanitarian operations is explored. The panellists discuss the differences between accountability and participation, and between collective and individual accountability, and share concrete examples and tips for how to practically implement the AAP commitments. Through examples from the Philippines, South Sudan and Kenya it is explored what changes should be seeing in humanitarian operations as a result of greater accountability to affected people.
• Gender Equality Update No 2 by Inter-Cluster Gender Task Force for the Response to the Nepal Earthquake provides a summary of key facts and figures, initiatives, progress, challenges, needs and opportunities related to gender equality and women’s empowerment in the context of the Nepal earthquake emergency response.
• ALNAP Study on Exploring coordination in humanitarian Clusters examines what ‘effective coordination’ means for the humanitarian Clusters and how the Clusters achieve this success. Using a spectrum of coordination, the study looks at these questions and at what is the right level of coordination for Clusters. It examines many factors that can contribute to achieving this level; from clear information management procedures, to trusting relationships and the role of the Cluster Lead Agency.
• The fifth issue of the e-Newsletter for the Capacity building project on integrating nutrition and food security programming for emergency response and resilience building can be accessed through this link.
• The second edition of the LEGS Handbook has arrived! You can download the free pdf here. A number of launch events are marking the publication of the 2nd edition – click here to find out more.
• The Report of the Urban Working Group face to face meeting on 12 May is now published online, please find it here.

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