DOCSLIB.ORG

World Food Program 1

Total Page：16

File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb

Download full-text PDF Read full-text
World Food Program 1 MONTREAL UNITED NATIONS CONFERENCE BACKGROUND GUIDE World Food Program 1 LETTER FROM THE CHAIR Dear Delegates, Welcome to the World Food Programme! My name is Kareem Faraj and it is my honor to be chairing this committee. I am currently majoring in Political Science at McGill University with a minor in History. By the time MUNC 2020 rolls around, I will have spent 6 years on the Model United Nations circuit and have had the pleasure of occupying positions ranging from that of committee page all the way to that of Secretary General across a variety of conferences around the island of Montreal and beyond. I would also like to take this occasion to welcome you to MUNC 2020, which, to this day, holds a very special place in my heart. Current events may have forced the conference online, but I remain convinced that this year’s conference will continue to grow and improve on its previous iterations. While I am disappointed that I will not be able to meet and interact with you in person during committee, I have no doubt that this new format will offer new opportunities for the entire MUN community. Past MUNCs have provided me with the opportunity to make lasting memories and friendships over the years. I hope your experience at MUNC will be just as educational and enjoyable as mine was. As the chair of a Blue Division committee, it is my wish that this committee be as accessible and inclusive as possible for all delegates, regardless of prior MUN experience. The move to an online platform will a new experience for many, including myself. I understand that such a change can be intimidating and promise that I will do my utmost to make this transition as seamless as possible. I invite you to raise any questions or any fears you might have to my assistant chairs or to myself at any time before or during the simulation. We are here to help you. Humankind has a long history with hunger. It is an incredibly complex subject that sadly continues to have very real implications for many people around the world. The global pandemic has not only demonstrated how interconnected the world of today truly is, it has revealed how fragile the global economy and global food system can be. Although multilateral organizations, such as those of the UN system are currently facing increased challenges in the 21st century, I remain convinced of the continued place of food aid as a cornerstone of the humanitarian world. In these trying times, the WFP must continue to play its integral part helping save lives around the world. Sincerely, Kareem Faraj Chair, World Food Programme 2 COMMITTEE OVERVIEW Introduction The World Food Programme (WFP) is the world’s largest humanitarian agency. It assists almost 100 million people in 83 countries around the world.1 It distributes some 15 billion rations at an estimated average cost per ration of US$ 0.61.2 The WFP is currently striving to fulfill the strategic goals and objectives set out in its 2017-2021 Strategic Plan. These include supporting countries to achieve zero hunger by protecting access to food, improving nutrition, and achieving food security.3 The drive to end world hunger is currently the second Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) of the United Nations (UN).4The WFP additionally seeks to support its partners in implementing other SDGs (SDG 17). The WFP is primarily funded by governments. This support is entirely on a voluntary basis.5 Contrary to some other UN organizations, the WFP “receives no dues or portions of the UN assessed contribution”.6 The WFP has no independent source of funds. In addition to the average group of 60 countries that regularly fund the WFP, corporations and individuals can also make donations. Countries in which the WFP operates are provided with a Country Strategic Plan (CSP). Each CSP is unique and are designed to reflect the distinct national needs of each country.7 CSPs are a useful tool which synthetises an entire country’s humanitarian and development portfolio.8 Purpose and Functions The World Food Programme (WFP) defines itself as the “food aid arm of the United Nations system”.9 The ultimate goal of this food aid is the elimination for the need for food aid. Food aid is used to support economic and social development, meet refugee and emergency food needs and promote food security. Food aid is primarily destined to save lives, to improve the nutrition of the most vulnerable people at critical times as well as to promote self-reliance in poor people and communities.10 1 “Overview”, United Nations World Food Programme, accessed August 5, 2020, https://www.wfp.org/overview 2 Ibid. 3 “Corporate strategy”, United Nations World Food Programme, accessed August 5, 2020, https://www.wfp.org/corporate-strategy 4 “Goal 2: Zero Hunger”, Sustainable Development Goals, United Nations, accessed August 5, 2020, https://www.un.org/sustainabledevelopment/hunger/ 5 “Funding and donors”, World Food Programme, accessed August 5, 2020, accessed August 15, 2020, https://www.wfp.org/funding-and-donors 6 Ibid. 7 “Country strategic planning”, World Food Programme, accessed August 15,2020https://www.wfp.org/country- strategic-planning 8 Ibid. 9 “WFP Mission Statement”, World Food Programme, accessed June 28, 2020, https://documents.wfp.org/stellent/groups/public/documents/newsroom/wfp076289.pdf 10 Ibid. 3 The WFP’s work can be classified along several main lines: • Technical assistance and country capacity strengthening The WFP offers “nationally-tailored technical assistance and capacity development to strengthen government capacities” in order to improve a nation’s ability to “withstand shocks and stress factors which limit the availability of food or constrain access to it”.11 This technical assistance can also include helping country’s elaborate “disaster risk management plans, robust social systems and inclusive economic and social programs”.12 Such work is a boon for developing countries who face food security problems, but who sometimes lack the necessary expertise or resources required to address them. Effective WFP solutions are often shared between developing countries, bolstering South-South cooperation. • Emergency relief Humanitarian emergencies occur when a large-scale event causes human suffering and threatens livelihoods, during which the country’s government does not have the means to respond effectively.13 Disasters can be natural, man-made, or a combination of both. In such contexts, the WFP provides life saving aid when local governments would otherwise fail. • Cash and in-kind food assistance A relatively new program dating back to the late 2000s, cash-transfers represent new a strategic “shift from the traditional concept of food aid to that of food assistance”.14 Food assistance “involves a more complex understanding of people’s long-term nutritional needs and the diverse approaches required to meet them.”15 Cash-transfers can be “physical bank notes, vouchers, or electronic funds” can be spend directly by the recipients. This policy allows recipients of aid to play a more active role in the aid process because it gives them the tools to decide what food they would like to receive and how they would like to receive it. • Humanitarian support and services In order to “save more lives, faster, and at a lower cost to donors and the environment”, the WFP uses “vast expertise and capacity in supply chain, engineering and emergency telecommunications” to help its private partners. To this end, the WFP leads the Logistic Cluster and the Emergency Telecommunications Cluster and co-leads the Food Security Cluster.16 This allows the WFP to quickly coordinate different humanitarian partners during large-scale emergencies for maximum effectiveness.17 11 “Country capacity strengthening”, World Food Programme, accessed August 15, 2020, https://www.wfp.org/country-capacity-strengthening 12 Ibid. 13 “Emergency relief”, World Food Programme, accessed August 15, 2020, https://www.wfp.org/emergency-relief 14 “Food assistance: cash and in-kind”, World Food Programme, accessed August 15, 2020, https://www.wfp.org/food-assistance 15 Ibid. 16 “Humanitarian support services”, World Food Programme, accessed August 15, 2020, https://www.wfp.org/humanitarian-support-and-services 17 Ibid. 4 • Resilience building By building resilience within communities, the WFP can “lessen the effects of shocks and stressors” in the future.18 An example of such a program is the Food Assistance for Assets program which provides food assistance while encouraging beneficiaries to rehabilitate “assets such as forests, water ponds, irrigation systems, and feeder roads that will strengthen their resilience and food security in the long term”.19 The WFP has proven particularly effective at quickly providing emergency relief as well as playing a key role in the “continuum from emergency relief to development” – the crucial period of recovery in the immediate aftermath of a natural disaster of conflict.20 This is because of the WFP’s multilateral character, which enables it to operate with great flexibility throughout the developing world with little regard to the politics of governments.21 Such neutrality is often key to reaching the world’s most vulnerable. History The WFP was officially established by the United Nation (UN) General Assembly on November 24, 1961 in the context of US president John F Kennedy’s “Decade for Development”. The WFP was originally only an experimental three-year program of approximately $100 million, undertaken jointly by the UN and the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO).22 Its first Executive Director was Addeke Hendrik Boerma from the Netherlands.23 Not even a year after it was established, the WFP responded to its first emergency, distributing some 1,500 tons of wheat, 270 tons of sugar and 27 tons of tea to the survivors of an earthquake in northern Iran.
Load more

Recommended publications
  • Grow, Nourish, Sustain. Together
    FAO at 75 Grow, nourish, sustain. Together Required citation: FAO. 2020. FAO at 75 – Grow, nourish, sustain. Together. Rome. https://doi.org/10.4060/cb1182en This publication was prepared by the Publications Branch of the FAO Office of Communications. Writer: André Vornic (introduction, chapters 1–4) Technical consultant: Karel Callens Research assistant: Daniela De Pascalis Illustrations: Del Hambre Graphic designer: Fabrizio Puzzilli The designations employed and the presentation of material in this information product do not imply the expression of any opinion whatsoever on the part of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) concerning the legal or development status of any country, territory, city or area or of its authorities, or concerning the delimitation of its frontiers or boundaries. The mention of specific companies or products of manufacturers, whether or not these have been patented, does not imply that these have been endorsed or recommended by FAO in preference to others of a similar nature that are not mentioned. ISBN 978-92-5-133359-4 © FAO, 2020 Some rights reserved. This work is made available under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 3.0 IGO licence (CC BY-NC-SA 3.0 IGO; https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/3.0/igo/legalcode). Under the terms of this licence, this work may be copied, redistributed and adapted for non-commercial purposes, provided that the work is appropriately cited. In any use of this work, there should be no suggestion that FAO endorses any specific organization, products or services. The use of the FAO logo is not permitted.
    [Show full text]
  • Staff of FAO
    Commemorating 60Y E A R S of the work of the Staff of FAO Former FAO and Other UN Staff Association Table of contents Introduction . 1 The.origins.of .the.idea. 2 The.beginning. 7 Six.Directors-General.1945–1993. 8 Before.the.move.from.Washington. 12 The.transfer.on.the.“Saturnia”. 12 The.arrival.in.Rome. The first years. 15 The.start.of .the.Freedom.from.Hunger.Campaign. 16 Man’s.Right.to.Freedom.from.Hunger. 18 Sixty years of FAO’s Constitution Sixty years of FAO’s Constitution and of FAO’s activities in the legal field . .20 FAO’s Fisheries Department, 1945–2005. 22 Sixty years of FAO’s Forestry Department. 25 A new UN Programme comes into being. 26 The World Food Programme and FAO. The early years. 28 The beginning of ICT in FAO. 31 The Senior Agricultural Adviser/. FAO Country Representative. 34 The.Great.Sahelian.Drought FAO coordinates UN system’s emergency response . .36 Le.problème.du.Sahel. 38 Bio Warfare in the Sky The NWS eradication programme in North Africa 1988–1992 . .40 Seconded to IFAD. 46 Postscript. 47 Introduction Rome, March 2006 his brochure was produced through the World War and during the following period when new combined efforts of the retired staff of FAO, nations were created and others became independent TIFAD and WFP. It took shape thanks to the countries. For many of them it was the best period of generous assistance of the Information Division of FAO their lives which gave meaning and added value to the whose dedicated cooperation and valuable expertise we years they spent serving FAO, IFAD and WFP.
    [Show full text]
  • Octobre 2010
    VOL. 69, NO. 4 Octobre -- October 2010 Table des matières Table of Contents Page Page DÉJEUNER AAFI-AFICS – SAVEURS AAFI-AFICS LUNCH – AUTUMN D’AUTOMNE ................................................... 2 FLAVOURS .................................................... 2 ÉDITORIAL ........................................................... 3 EDITORIAL ........................................................ 20 AAFI-AFICS FÊTE SES 70 ANS .......................... 4 CELEBRATING 70 YEARS OF AAFI- LA FAFICS FÊTE SES 35 ANS ....................... 7 AFICS ........................................................... 21 39ème SESSION DU CONSEIL DE LA FAFICS CELEBRATES 35 YEARS ................... 24 FAAFI ............................................................. 15 REPORT ON THE 39TH SESSION OF THE COMITÉ MIXTE DE LA CAISSE FAFICS COUNCIL, 2010 .............................. 32 COMMUNE DES PENSIONS ....................... 17 REPORT ON THE 2010 SESSION OF THE PETITS RIENS ET GRANDS MOMENTS .......... 18 PENSION BOARD ........................................ 33 HUMOUR ............................................................ 19 OF CABBAGES AND KINGS ............................ 35 NOUVEAUX MEMBRES .................................... 44 ANYONE FOR SHAKESPEARE? ..................... 36 ILS NOUS ONT QUITTÉS .................................. 45 HUMOUR ........................................................... 39 UK CONSULAR SERVICES .............................. 40 LETTERS TO THE EDITOR .............................. 41 NEW MEMBERS ..............................................
    [Show full text]
  • Congratulating Paris Conference on Its Successful Conclusion "February
    10 March 9, 1973 Congratulating Paris Conference On Its Successful Conclusion "February 28" Uprising in Taiwan Province Marked Talking of Women's Liberation PEKING Vol. 16, No. 10 March 9, 1973 A REVIEW Published in English, French, Spanish~ Japanese and German editions CONTENTS THE WEEK 3 Learn From Comrade Lei Feng Spring Farming Home From Paris Goodwill Delegation From Pyongyang Sung Wei-pin Crosses Over ARTICLES AND DOCUMENTS Congratulations to the Paris International Conference on Its Successful Conclusion-- Renmin Ribao editorial 5 Act of the Interndtionol Conference on Viet Nam 6 Head of Chinese Delegation Chi Peng-fei's Speech u After the signing of the Act of the International Conference on Viet Nam 8 Support Somdech Sihanouk's lust Statement--Renmin Ribao Commentator 9 "February 28" Uprising in Taiwan Province Marked--At meeting sponsored by the National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference 9 The "February 28" Uprising .... 11 International Working Women's Day: Talking of Women's Liberation -- Ou'r Cor- respondent 12 Asian-African-Latin American Countries: Developing Notional Economies 16 NOTEBOOK 17 ROUND THE WORLD 19 Laos: Vientlane Government Violates Agreement Norway: Workers' Communist Party (M-L) Founded South Korea: "National Assembly Election" Farce Western Europe: Another Dollar Selling Wave Workers Strike F,R.G,: Defence Minister on European Security ON THE HOME FRONT 22 Women Students' Study Group Sanitation Workers in Peking New Wheat and Rice Strains by Pollen Culture Published every' Friday by PEKING REVIEW, Peking (37), China Post Office Registration No. 2-922 Printed in the People's Republic of China ......................................
    [Show full text]
  • FAO: Its Origin, Formation and Evolution 1945-1981
    its origins, formation and evolution 1945-1981 FOOD AND AGRICULTURE ORGANIZATION OF THE UNITED NATIONS --,''''' ":1,, , FAO: its origins, formation and evolution 1945-1981 by RALPH W. PHILLIPS FOOD AND AGRICULTURE ORGANIZATION OF THE UNITED NATIONS Rome 1981 First published 1981 All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying or otherwise, without the prior permission of the copyright owner. Applications for such permission, with a statement of the purpose and extent of the reproduction, should be addressed to the Director, Publications Division, Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, Via delle Terme di Caracalla, 00100 Rome, Italy. © FAO 1981 foreword In July 1935 my wife and I set out from Amherst, Massachusetts, on our first trek to Europe. We sailed out of Montreal on the S.S. Duchess of York, and late in the afternoon of the first day we passed the city of Quebec, which offered us a striking view of the Chateau Frontenac perched on a bluff high above the St. Lawrence River. We had no premonition that, within just over ten years, World War II would have been fought, or that in the aftermath of that war the representatives of many nations would have gathered in the Chateau Frontenac on 16 October 1945 to found the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations ( FAO ) Neither did we have any way of knowing that this new Organization would have a pervasive influence on much of the remainder of our lives.
    [Show full text]
  • 7578/11 JPS/Lf 1 DG B COUNCIL of the EUROPEAN UNION
    COUNCIL OF Brussels, 10 March 2011 THE EUROPEAN UNION 7578/11 AGRI 203 FAO 6 CONUN 24 NOTE From : Presidency To : Council Subject : FAO - institutional questions - background paper Delegations will find attached in Annex the background paper prepared by the Presidency in view of the discussion over lunch at the Council (Agriculture and Fisheries) on 17 March 2011. _________ 7578/11 JPS/lf 1 DG B EN ANNEX "FAO - institutional questions" Presidency Background paper for the lunch of the Ministers for Agriculture The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) leads international efforts to defeat hunger. Serving both developed and developing countries, FAO acts as a neutral forum where all nations meet as equals to negotiate agreements and debate policy. FAO is also a source of knowledge and information. FAO assists developing countries and countries in transition to modernize and improve agriculture, forestry and fisheries practices and to ensure good nutrition for all. Since its founding in 1945, FAO has focused special attention on developing rural areas, home to 70 percent of the world's poor and hungry people. At the end of 2005, FAO’s governing bodies commissioned a comprehensive Independent External Evaluation of the Organization, carried out by a team of high-level consultants. The evaluation concluded with a central message of “reform with growth”. It was examined by the November 2007 session of the FAO Conference. Then an extensive process of analysis and intergovernmental discussion of the evaluation’s findings took place during 2008. This culminated in the adoption of Resolution 1/2008 by the 35th (special) session of the Conference in November 2008.
    [Show full text]
  • TESI Raffaella IMP.Job
    Alla mia forza di volontà. A questa città, Padova, che sarà per sempre parte della mia essenza. To my willpower. To this city, Padova, that will be forever part of my essence. 2 Contents Introduction ...................................................................................................................................................... 6 Chapter I United Nations World Food Programme. The birth of WFP ........................................................... 8 1.1 Historical background. Antecedents: FAO’s pioneering work ............................................................. 8 1.2 UN World Food Programme’s birth .................................................................................................... 16 1.3 1960s: Initiatives at United Nations .................................................................................................... 20 “We began 2011 with even greater challenges, but with the 1.4 Food aid during the Second UN Development Decade of the 1970s .................................................. 22 confidence that ending hunger is possible. 1.5 Food for Development: institutionalizing project food aid ................................................................. 28 1.6 WFP Emergency and Relief Operations .............................................................................................. 31 We will continue to adapt and transform the way we work to meet the immediate needs of the hungry today Chapter II Fighting Hunger Worldwide ........................................................................................................
    [Show full text]
  • Statistical Appendices
    Statistical Appendices Statistical Appendix 1 Regional WFP cumulative commitments for development projects and relief and emergency operations by category and type approved up to 31 December 1995 (values in US$ million) Category/type Sub-Saharan Asia Latin America Africa and Pacific and Caribbean No. Value No. Value No. Value Human resource development Mothers and infants 58 303 36 715 50 352 Primary schools 103 957 16 61 44 461 Secondary schools 34 191 1 9 1 3 Training programmes 26 51 4 23 11 23 Higher education 9 10 7 3 5 2 Literacy programmes 3 1 4 135 4 9 Hospitals 24 73 3 1 13 34 Public health 2 8 1 1 – – Economic and social infrastructure Housing/public utilities 12 28 15 71 5 15 Transport/communications 22 143 21 53 4 33 Community development 49 211 15 63 57 301 Directly productive projects Land development 48 299 137 1,442 15 61 Land settlement 49 221 35 173 19 34 Refugee assistance 57 132 6 9 4 7 Crop production 37 166 2 16 21 75 Animal production 33 155 19 272 17 165 Forestry 51 490 48 488 18 46 Fisheries – – 11 116 2 3 Industries/mining 3 33 2 1 – – Food reserves 22 77 1 1 – – Relief and emergency operations Sudden natural disasters 382 688 183 414 101 95 Drought/crop failure 96 1,038 10 37 5 11 Man-made disasters 12 166 1 — – – PRO 218 1,709 31 106 24 39 PDPO 68 1,625 8 24 8 20 Total 1,418 8,775 617 4,234 428 1,789 253 254 Statistical Appendix 1 Contd.
    [Show full text]
  • The History of International Food Safety Standards and the Codex Alimentarius (1955-1995)
    The History of International Food Safety Standards and the Codex Alimentarius (1955-1995) by Brigit Lee Naida Ramsingh A thesis submitted in conformity with the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy Institute for the History & Philosophy of Science & Technology University of Toronto © Copyright by Brigit Ramsingh 2011 ii The History of International Food Safety Standards and the Codex Alimentarius (1955-1995) Brigit Ramsingh Doctor of Philosophy Institute for the History and Philosophy of Science and Technology University of Toronto 2011 Abstract Following the Second World War, the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) and the World Health Organization (WHO) teamed up to construct an international Codex Alimentarius (or “food code”) in 1962. Inspired by the work of its European predecessor, the Codex Europaeus, these two UN agencies assembled teams of health professionals, government civil servants, medical and scientific experts to draft food standards. Once ratified, the standards were distributed to governments for voluntary adoption and implementation. By the mid-1990s, the World Trade Organization (WTO) identified the Codex as a key reference point for scientific food standards. The role of science within this highly political and economic organization poses interesting questions about the process of knowledge production and the scientific expertise underpinning the food standards. Standards were constructed and contested according to the Codex twin goals of: (1) protecting public health, and (2) facilitating trade. One recent criticism of Codex is that these two aims are opposed, or that one is given primacy over the other, which results in protectionism. Bearing these themes in mind, in this dissertation I examine the relationship between the scientific and the ‘social’ elements embodied by the Codex food standards since its iii inception after the Second World War.
    [Show full text]