FAO has only received 30% of its 2018 funding requirements and is urgently appealing for support

The Food and Agriculture Organisation of the United Nations (FAO) has released its mid-year funding update report, revealing the world’s most underfunded crises which require urgent support.

Without an increase in funding challenges such as droughts, floods, lean seasons and conflicts could force millions into hunger and food insecurity, FAO have warned.

Across all of its appeals the FAO has received less than 30% of the $1 billion funding it requested at the start of 2018 to support 33 million people who are urgently in need. For some of its appeals FAO has received just 6% of the funding required, leaving millions at risk.

The total funding gap for FAO is $744 million, within this $120 million is urgently required to reach 3.6 million people for the remainder of 2018.

The countries which are urgently in need of funding are Afghanistan, Bangladesh, the Central Africa Republic, Haiti, Iraq, Myanmar, the Sahel region, the Sudan and the Syrian Arab Republic.

The Syrian Arab Republic, where only 6.2% of funding has been received, is experiencing a dire humanitarian situation with drought exacerbating years of conflict and displacement, further threatening food security.

In Syria, the FAO is appealing for $20 million to support 500,000 of the most vulnerable people, with their overall requirement of $120 million to assist 2.3 million people.

Pastoralists in the Sahel are struggling to overcome last year’s drought, this coupled with ongoing conflict and insecurity has left millions in need of urgent food assistance to protect their herds and reduce hunger.

The FAO appeal for Sudan has received just 9.9% of the requested funding. The crisis in Sudan has been caused by high food prices, the upcoming lean season (which is expected to push food prices up again), displacement, the breakdown of livelihood, underlying poverty and drought.

The priority for FAO in Sudan is to secure $8 million to support 450,000 people by increasing agricultural production, enhancing livestock production, strengthening natural resource management and strengthening food security information.

In Haiti, where the majority of people rely on agriculture, FAO has prioritised strengthening livelihoods and coping capacity ahead of cyclone season. So far only 7% of the required funding has been received, a gap of $20.5 million. The FAO urgently requires $6.5 million to support 142,500 people increase their resilience.

Dominique Burgeon, Director of FAO's Emergency and Rehabilitation Division, Strategic Programme Leader – Resilience, commented on the report:

“We want to highlight critical needs in these underfunded crises where our resources to act are currently extremely limited"

"We must ensure that no one is left behind. We need to act now to provide urgent food security and livelihood interventions to save people's lives, safeguard livelihoods and strengthen their resilience in the face of future crises. With the support of our resource partners, we can help to avert a further deterioration of food security in some of the most neglected crises in 2018"

Join us at the 10th Anniversary AIDF Global Summit in Washington D.C on 5-6 September to discuss global challenges of food security, funding and resilience.

If you’d like to stay informed on the latest updates in aid and development, please sign up for the AIDF newsletter.

Image credit: FAO