$30 million urgently needed to safeguard lives, food security and livelihoods
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| A sign warning of the dangers of Ebola outside a government hospital in Freetown on August 13, 2014. (FAO) |
Rome/Dakar—The Food and Agriculture Organization
launched a new program on Oct. 8 to urgently assist 90 000 vulnerable
households in Guinea, Liberia and Sierra Leone whose food supplies and
livelihoods are threatened by the disruptive effect the Ebola epidemic is
having on rural economies, agricultural activities and markets.
The Regional Response Programme for
West Africa will scale-up the work FAO is currently doing with
governments, United Nations partners and local networks of agriculture, veterinary
and forestry workers, to help stop the spread of the disease, meet immediate
and long-term food and nutrition security needs and build resilience.
FAO
is urgently calling for $30 million to support activities linked to the
programme over the next 12 months. Programme activities are organized around
four key objectives:
•
contribute to saving lives by stopping the spread of the disease through social
mobilization, training and awareness raising;
•
boost incomes and agricultural production to safeguard livelihoods;
•
build resilience of communities to disease threats; and
•
strengthen coordination for improved response.
“Our
comprehensive response is part of overall United Nations efforts to save lives
and protect livelihoods,” said Vincent Martin, Head of FAO's Dakar-based
Subregional Resilience Hub, the office coordinating FAO’s response. “We’re
following a twin-track approach to help our United Nations partners halt the
tragic loss of life while at the same time protecting incomes, nutrition levels
and food security.”
Activities
include mobilizing communities to reduce their risk of infection through
awareness campaigns; boosting food and cash crops, livestock and fisheries
production, introducing microfinance strategies to safeguard rural incomes; and
setting up early warning and response systems to reduce Ebola risks at the
human-animal interface. The programme will also ensure countries are
coordinated and resourced by filling gaps in expertise, increasing knowledge
sharing on best-practices and building collaborative networks.
“These
actions cannot wait,” said Bukar Tijani, Assistant Director-General/Regional
Representative, Regional Office for Africa. “The outbreak is already reducing
the purchasing power of vulnerable households, which means less food on their
plates and increased nutritional risks for families already on subsistence
diets. Fear and stigmatization also threaten to reduce agricultural activities,
thereby placing food security at risk.”
Early
results from rapid assessments point to a worrisome situation. In Sierra Leone,
for example, 47 percent of the respondents said Ebola was considerably
disrupting their farming activities. In Lofa county, the most affected rural
county in Liberia, the prices of commodities, including food, increased from 30
to 75 percent just in August 2014.
If
not addressed now, the current impact of the outbreak on livelihoods could lead
to long-lasting impacts on farmers' livelihoods and rural economies.
FAO
mobilized its own funds to support United Nations’ and governments’ efforts.
However, much more is needed and right away. FAO is calling for urgent support
to enable the Organization to continue assisting vulnerable communities in
affected and at-risk countries while also safeguarding their futures. (FAO News)
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