The EU and the FAO have announced late on Monday a new EU fund of €5.9 m ($6.7 m) to support the UN agency's work to build the country's capacity to monitor threats to food security and collect key data on hunger and malnutrition. The new fund comes as the fragile peace in Yemen holds, with serious food insecurity concerns persisting, according to a statement from the FAO. The FAO stressed the importance of accurate and comprehensive data and information on threats to livelihoods and households' food security status, in order to effectively target humanitarian assistance to where and when it is most needed. The international organisation aims to improve the ability of the state in Yemen to monitor emerging threats to food security and livelihoods, such as poor weather or crop pests and diseases, so that appropriate livelihood support – irrigation services, or feed for livestock, for example – can be provided, before impacts are felt. “Availability of reliable and timely data not only means we can respond better when crises impact food security, as is the case now – it is also the foundation on which the government, humanitarian and development agencies can build up people's resilience, to withstand future food insecurity,” said the FAO's Country Representative in Yemen, Salah El Hajj Hassan. He added that “unfortunately, trends indicate that recurrent hazards and shocks will continue to threaten Yemen. But, if we support people to build up their resilience, they will be better positioned to cope with these adversities, thus averting the threat of hunger and humanitarian crises.” The FAO's support will include training on food security, livelihood and nutrition, market information, a geographic information system, and remote sensing. Support will be provided to different government institutions including the governorate focal units, the food security technical secretariat of the ministry of planning and international cooperation, Yemen's lead agency for collecting and channelling food security information to other government institutions, development partners, donors and communities.
