Guiding Principles and Recommendations
Unlike foot and mouth disease, the avian flu, e-coli or listeria, the COVID-19 pandemic has not spread directly through livestock or agriculture commodities, and has therefore not directly disrupted on-farm production. However, the crisis is undermining the ability of farms and agri-enterprises to e...nsure consistent supplies of food to markets due to enforced closures, labour shortages resulting from illness, and slowdowns in operations caused by physical distancing and lockdowns.
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Malawi is a small landlocked country in Sub-Saharan Africa with a population expanding rapidly at 3 percent per year.
With most livelihoods dependent on rainfed agriculture, the population is highly vulnerable to the effects of natural disasters, prolonged dry spells and flash floods.
Operational Updates
Emergency Relief & Nutrition Rakhine: A significant increase in internal displacements due to continued armed conflict between the Myanmar military (Tatmadaw) and Arakan Army was reported in northern and central Rakhine State increasing from 6,000 people in February to 20,000 i...n March. WFP delivered a one-month ration of food to 2,220 newly displaced people in central Rakhine State, with plans to extend support to additional displaced populations based on coordination with other actors meeting current needs, including the Government and ICRC. WFP continued providing emergency relief assistance to 96,050 conflict-affected people from 173 Muslim, Buddhist and Hindu villages in Buthidaung and Maungdaw townships of northern Rakhine State. In addition, WFP reached over 16,300 children under 5 years through nutrition interventions. In central Rakhine, 4,740 pregnant and lactating women (PLWs) and 24,160 children under 5 years were reached with nutrition interventions, and over 128,040 food-insecure people received relief assistance.
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(Advance unedited version)
Desk Review and Recommendations for Private Sector Engagement
The World Climate and Security Report (WCSR) 2021 from the Expert Group of the International
Military Council on Climate and Security is a global assessment of the security dimensions of a changing
climate and effective means to address them. It is intended to inform timely climate and security po...licy
and action, and builds upon the analysis in the first WCSR, released in February 2020.
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It is widely understood that the food insecurity crisis in the Sahel and the Horn of Africa is one of the world’s fastest growing and most neglected crises. It lacks sufficient global focus, resources and urgency. As in so many crises, women and girls are disproportionately affected and shoulder t...he consequences of protracted neglect, with unconscionable impacts on their safety, life chances and agency.
Gaining a holistic view of the gendered drivers, risks and impacts of food insecurity in the Sahel and the Horn of Africa is difficult. This is due to a lack of data and prioritization, and the large geographical and socioeconomic terrain covered by both regions. However, what we do know about this crisis is more than enough to urgently address the needs of women and girls.
An OCHA discussion paper on this topic (which will be published imminently, and from which this policy brief is drawn) found that there is:
A strong risk of profound regression in gender equality gains made to date in the countries of concern, including on education, sexual and reproductive health, and the economic independence of women and girls (with knock-on effects on broader humanitarian and development outcomes).
An increasing challenge to reverse what must be recognized as a protracted and growing gender-based violence (GBV) emergency in the Sahel and the Horn of Africa.
The food insecurity crisis in the Sahel and the Horn of Africa is protracted, multidimensional and highly gendered, with spiralling impacts on gender equality and food security outcomes. It is driven by interwoven and overlapping factors, including climate change, political instability, conflict, socioeconomic conditions, migration and displacement and, more recently, COVID-19 and the war in Ukraine. Interlinked with these factors are gendered structural drivers of food insecurity, including deeply entrenched gender inequalities and harmful social norms. Gendered risks and impacts of food insecurity include alarming limitations on access to education, sexual and reproductive health rights, women’s agency and participation, and dramatic increases in different existing forms of GBV and the emergence of new ones. Recognition of such gendered dimensions of food insecurity and of the need for a multisectoral approach in the response is key to addressing the crisis, along-side sustained commitment and adequate allocation of resources. This policy brief draws out key findings from the OCHA discussion paper on this topic, which includes a desk review of studies, assessments and reports, and interviews with local women’s organizations on the front lines of the food insecurity crisis in communities across both regions.
Below are the most pressing gendered drivers, risks and impacts of food insecurity (not in order of priority), as well as key gaps in the current humanitarian response to food insecurity, and recommendations to take forward.
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Safe sanitation is essential for health, from preventing infections to improving and maintaining mental and social
well-being. Lack of adequate sanitation contributes to diarrhoeal diseases, parasitic infections, and undernutrition, as
well as posing significant risks and causing anxiety, especial...ly for women and girls. Achieving universal access to safe
sanitation, which protects health, privacy, and dignity, is a global development goal and a recognized basic human right.
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Disaster Management Reference Handbook Series Overview.
Floods, storms, and wind account for large proportions of displacement compared to other disasters. Floods are the most frequent type of disaster whereas wind-related disasters constitute the biggest losses in terms of economic damage, displac...ement, and number of affected people. ASEAN has succeeded in developing institutions not only for addressing the threat posed by natural hazards but also for building resilience into communities at risk
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The companion Handbook on Humanitarian Access presents the normative framework pertaining to humanitarian access in situations of armed conflict, and therefore serves as a useful reference source for humanitarian practitioners on the normative framework.
This initial version of the Field Manual –... labeled Version 1.0 – was elaborated by Conflict Dynamics International in collaboration with the FDFA and the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA).
Development of the structured approach and guidance contained in this Manuel
involved a consultation process which included bilateral meetings with humanitarian organizations, regional consultation events and consultations during several field visits, including dedicated field missions
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Global concerns: Implications for the future
Child Mental Health Atlas
This sourcebook aims to detail why health needs to be part of urban and territorial planning and how to make this happen. It brings together two vital elements we need to build habitable cities on a habitable planet: 1) Processes to guide the development of human settlements – in this document ref...erred to as “urban and territorial planning (UTP)”; and 2) concern for human health, well-being and health equity at all levels – from local to global, and from human to planetary health.
This sourcebook identifies a comprehensive selection of existing resources and tools to support the incorporation of health into UTP, including advocacy frameworks, entry points and guidance, as well as tools and illustrative case studies. It does not provide prescriptions for specific scenarios – these should be determined by context, people and available resources.
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