Please do not forget to sign-up for the next Global Partner Meeting by writing to Vanessa Bonsignore, vanessavita.bonsignore@wfp.org

We would also like to remind partners to confirm their participation in the Working Group Face-to-Face Meetings on 6 May at FAO, scheduled as follows:

• Programme Quality Working Group - 9:00-12:00
• Food Security and Urban Livelihoods Working Group - 14:00-17:00
• Cash & Voucher Working Group - 12:00-14:00

For more information on the meeting, please visit the Food Security Cluster website.

The final draft of the revision of the Coordination Reference Module has been sent to global clusters for last comments. All of the previous comments received by partners and cluster coordinators have been addressed. However, the gFSC Secretariat will send the draft to anyone who would like the opportunity to re-read and submit final comments.

• The IPC Training took place last week and the analysis workshop is scheduled for 23-25 April.
• The Working Group on Cash and Vouchers is currently working with Oxfam to identify a common strategy.
• The cluster is also meeting with the new Director General of the Ministry of Agriculture to discuss the modalities for collaboration between cluster partners and the Ministry of Agriculture.
• The cluster will meet with the Statistics National Centre for Agriculture to define the terms for reactivating the service.
• The cluster has also met with the cluster focal point at the Ministry of Rural Development in Central Africa (MCDR).
• A Working Group has also been established to develop an action plan for the reallocation of vegetables.
• A list of potential candidates funded by ECHO has been compiled to be sent to ACTED for final recruitment.

• During the calendar month of March 2014 FSAC member reached nearly 622,478 people through General Food Distributions and 485,285 with cash assistance. WFP reached majority of these beneficiaries; 606,067 (GFD) and 478,235 through cash assistance.
• The FSAC (with the Technical support of FAO) and Philippine Coconut Authority (PCA) have finalized the Terms of Reference for the Coconut Technical Working Group.  The Coconut Technical Working Group is being established following recommendations of the Consultative Meeting for Farmers Livelihoods Recovery Plans for Region 8 which was conducted on 17-18, February 2014 at the Visayas State University. The CTWG will coordinate and harmonize on-going and planned activities to fast track the recovery of livelihoods of coconut farmers and communities affected by Typhoon Yolanda. The CTWG also follows the establishment of the Fisheries Technical Working Groups which are already operational in regions VI and VIII.

• The active national cluster is the Livelihoods and Food Security Cluster, led by the Ministry of Rural Development. It is being supported by FAO and UNDP.
• From the regional Pacific Food Security Cluster, two people have been deployed to the Solomon Islands: one to support the formulation/design of needs assessments for livelihoods and food security, which will include work on an eventual PDNA, and the other to assist with coordination and information management.
• The cluster isnow  focusing now on developing harmonized ‘livelihood kits’ for agricultural inputs, working closely with the Ministry of Agriculture and Livestock to provide guidance on recommended seed varieties, suppliers, phytosanitary and pest-control measures.
• Assessments of the level of damage to agriculture remain ongoing in the broader Guadalcanal province.  However, the current planning number of affected households is approximately 12,000.  The most affected elements are vegetables and root crops, which affect not only the food security of the affected households, but are already showing impacts on the markets.  Livestock has also been affected, both by losses (deaths) and by now a lack of food.  Full extent of this damage and loss is still being assessed.

• As of 24 April, food partners had reached about 726,605 people under the emergency operation. Food assistance has also been provided to 534,290 other food-insecure people, including refugees and displaced people in areas not directly affected by violence.
• The IPC Analysis workshop began on 24th April in Yei with analysts from the government, FEWSNET, FAO, WFP and other partner agencies. The IPC will integrate data from various assessments including the FSMS and EFSAs, along with secondary data from various sources including the government to form a comprehensive analysis of the food security situation in South Sudan. Once the group analysis is complete, the findings will be shared with the Global Support Unit supported IPC Emergency Review Committee for final technical endorsement.
• The response is facing significant logistical constraints, and procurement delays mean that supplies that can be moved overland now might have to be airlifted as the rains continue to close roads.

• FAO Regional Workshop and Training of Trainers - Sahel (9-14 June 2014) Workshop on "Integrating nutrition programs and food security in emergencies and for strengthening resilience" aims to strengthen the capacity of humanitarian professionals to better integrate nutrition and food security all along the project cycle.
• Wageningen University: Course on Food Security in an Urbanizing Environment, 2 to 13 June 2014. For more information, please visit this link.
• Harvard University Course on Urban Humanitarian Emergencies, July 16 - 18, 2014. For more information, please visit this link.
• Achieving Strategic Change in Fragile Settings, organized by he Barcelona International Peace Resource Center jointly with CDA, 16-19 June 2014,  is a 4-day intensive course that combines lessons learned and practical tools from two of CDA's collaborative learning programs: Do No Harm (DNH) and Reflecting on Peace Practice (RPP).
• OCHA and DARA new report on Effective Risk Management: The United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), in collaboration with DARA, has launched its 2014 Flagship Policy Report Saving Lives Today and Tomorrow: Managing the Risk of Humanitarian Crises. The report calls for aid groups and donors to begin the shift away from responding to crises in a purely reactive manner and to instead adopt an approach that proactively anticipates and prevents crisis through effective risk management.

1. ALNAP: There have been 21 new posts in the last week. You can browse all the listings by going to the Jobs and Consultancies section of the ALNAP website.

2. FAO: Operations Officer (P-3), Juba, South Sudan

The Operations Officer will provide support in the analysis, development and implementation of operational activities of emergency, rehabilitation and long-term development projects in the duty station. For more information and to apply by 2 May, please see this link

3. FAO: Operations Officer (P-2), Juba, South Sudan

The Operations Officer will provide support in the analysis, development and implementation of operational activities of emergency, rehabilitation and long-term development projects in the duty station. For more information and to apply by 2 May, please see this link.

4. FAO: Liaison and Operations Officer (P-4), Juba, South Sudan

The incumbent will provide support in the analysis, development and implementation of operational activities of emergency, rehabilitation and long-term development projects in the duty station. For more information and to apply by 2 May, please see this link.