Food and Nutrition

“The right to adequate food is enshrined in Article 25 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.

In the forced migration context, population movements often result from a complex confluence of conflict, environmental conditions and famine. After displacement occurs, food issues continue to pose challenges for relief efforts when, all too often, the recipients of assistance lack sufficient access to food or receive inadequate rations.”

The Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) of the United Nations has designated 16 October as World Food Day – this date was selected to commemorate the day that the FAO was founded in 1945. It serves as a reminder of the millions of people around the world – currently, around 840 million – who suffer from chronic hunger.

The focus for 2004 is “Biodiversity for Food Security” highlighting biodiversity's role in ensuring that people have sustainable access to enough high-quality food to lead active and healthy lives

Documents

Selected full-text documents on "Food and Forced Migration: Causes and Consequences" (for more, search in the Digital Library)

Green, R.H. "The Four Horsemen Ride Together: Scorched Fields of War in Southern Africa" (1992)
Hansch, S. "Rations, Markets and Diets in Refugee Camps" (1994)
Leopold, M. and B. Harrell-Bond. "Flight, Food Aid and Famine: Forced Displacement & Consequences of Food Assistance" (1992)
Macrae, J. and A. Zwi. "Food as an Instrument of War in Contemporary African famines" (1992)
Refugee Studies Programme, "Report of the International Symposium Oxford, 17-20 March 1991 'Responding to the Nutrition Crisis Among Refugees: The Need for New Approaches'"
Waldron, S.R. "Food for Thought: Refugee Survival Strategies and Administrative Control in Organized Settlements" (1992)

Web Resources

Selected web-based information resources (for more, search the FMO website)

Combatting Hunger

The focus of World Food Day 2003 was a call to action towards achieving the World Food Summit goal of halving the number of hungry and under-nourished people by 2015: Working Together for an International Alliance against Hunger (in English, Arabic, French, Spanish, Chinese, and Italian).

Declaration of the World Food Summit: Five Years Later (in English, Arabic, French, Spanish, Chinese, and Italian) (International Alliance Against Hunger)
State of Food Insecurity in the World - SOFI (FAO) (in English, Arabic, French, Spanish, Chinese)
Food Insecurity and Vulnerability Information and Mapping Systems (FIVIMS) Glossary (in English, French, Spanish)
ELDIS Food security resource guide
Food and Nutrition library 2.2 (includes publications of the United Nations University, United Nations System Standing Committee on Nutrition (SCN), the World Food Program, GTZ-GATE, NS-BOSTID, Peace Corps, IFPRI and many others)

Famine Early Warning Systems

FEWS NET: Famine Early Warning Systems Network (USAID)
GIEWS: Global Information and Early Warning System on Food and Agriculture (FAO) (in English, French, Spanish, Arabic and Chinese)

Emergency Food and Nutrition Assistance

Famine-Affected, Refugee, and Displaced Populations: Recommendations for Public Health Issues (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention)
Field Exchange (Emergency Nutrition Network)
Nutrition Information in Crisis Situations (NICS): Report on the nutrition situation of refugees and displaced populations (UN Standing Committee on Nutrition)
UNHCR Health, Food & Nutrition Toolkit (Health and Community Development Section)

The Humanitarian Charter and Minimum Standards in Disaster Response (Sphere project). See the Food and Nutrition section. FMO have collaborated with the Sphere Project to provide online the texts listed in the bibliographies of their 2004 revised handbook.