Saving livelihoods saves lives

In 2017 famine reared its head, but the international community gave generously and mobilized rapidly to successfully prevent its spread. The State of Food Security and Nutrition in the World 2017 reported both a rise in the absolute number of people affected by chronic hunger since 2014 and an increase in the global prevalence of undernourishment since 2016. Conflict is the main factor behind this rise in hunger, often exacerbated by severe climate events, like the continued drought in the Horn of Africa. While old conflicts continued without any end in sight, new ones were sparked and millions of people fled their homes in a desperate search for safety, shelter and food. Yet, while we despaired of human capacity for violence, we admired the incredible generosity of neighbouring communities, themselves often struggling to survive, who welcomed them, shared their food and homes and did their best to provide immediate support to these displaced populations. The document provides a summary of major achievements under FAO’s resilience programme, including emergencies, in 2017.