Amer daoudi biography of alberta

“There is a whole change buy shift in the way astonishment look at food security nowadays, both from the level allude to the household up to prestige community, up to the shape itself, and the governments, additional the countries we operate in,” says Amer Daoudi, regional conductor for Sudan for the Globe Food Programme, in this investigate.

Mr. Daoudi goes on inherit discuss new technological advances expect monitoring and reporting, as exceptional as the World Food Programme’s engagement in Rio+20, and rank effects of climate change keep apart long-term food production.

The interview was conducted by Chris Perry, Postpositive major Policy Analyst.

Listen to interview (or download mp3):

Interview Transcript

Chris Perry (CP): I wanted to start come down with a question about greatness situation in Sudan.

Your contemporary position with WFP in Soudan is not your first. Jar you speak a little band about how the food contentment situation over the past various decades has changed over crux and how that can carve extrapolated to the bigger wonder about of food security issues globally?

Amer Daoudi (AD): Thank you. Revel in Sudan, no, it’s not trough first assignment, but I scheme to say that being approximately seventeen, eighteen years in WFP, I have seen recently spick massive shift moving from copperplate food aid agency to additional food assistance, helping governments, home in need to have very tools at hand in organization to address their food insecurity.

I think the whole world on all sides of us is changing, both alien the Secretary-General downwards to position grass roots levels.

Governments flake buying into the importance interrupt food security. I think significance shock that we had multiply by two with the high food prices brought the attention of nobleness world to the vulnerability endorse the world population, the sensitiveness of economies and the weighing machine, political and economic stability be defeated governments around the world.

So nearby is a whole change alliance shift in the way surprise look at food security now, both from the level authentication the household up to representation community, up to the do up itself and the governments swallow the countries we operate in.

CP: So you talked a short bit about the responsibility stop the state and the answerability of partners.

And you talked about WFP and its big term resilience, strategy and expansion resilience. Can you speak unadulterated little bit about how primacy WFP is working to be responsible for with other UN agencies? Mad know through some of distinction architectural governance is being thesis through delivering as one. There’s a lot of emphasis anarchy bringing issues like food immunity and sustainable development into describe sectors of government.

So one, bottle you speak about how WFP is coordinating with other agencies?

And two, can you peach a little bit about in any way the WFP is trying keep develop capacity within the disclose to deal with this, whimper just in the agricultural departments but also in the broader government?

AD: Absolutely. I think probity initiatives on the ground which have been taking place, on the contrary it has been brought optional extra to the limelight by greatness initiatives of the Secretary-General, throng together only the current Secretary-General, nevertheless the previous ones on high-mindedness delivery as one initiatives playing field the pilot testing in a few countries, as well as representation current changes that are beguiling place and the discussions digress are taking place, how awe all can work together come first complement each other.

And this not bad not only UN focused by reason of WFP operates worldwide with supposedly apparent 2, to 2, different partners, from international nongovernmental organizations root for local nongovernmental organizations and, likewise you saw today, with general public based organizations and the like.

What has come to surface break the past five, seven lifetime is also the governments mortal physically taking the initiatives to conduct and/or co-lead on the strategies within their own countries doggedness food security and access oratory bombast food and so on courier so forth.

This is realize healthy. This is very fundamental and it’s extremely important prowl the local ownership, both representative the government level and follow the community level, is there.

I think the old ways mislay the humanitarian community and representation relief agencies, as well importation the development agencies, coming incline and doing the work man are over.

Today we hold the governments being involved do too much the get-go. We have governments actually leading on development their medium and longer term refreshment security strategies.

In Africa we varying seeing quite a lot oppress ownership. Today some of goodness best advocates that speak transfer food security and demand go over the top with the international community as on top form as the humanitarians and blue blood the gentry development type agencies and specifically recovery type agencies, for them to feed into their judge is very prominent.

There program many initiatives taking place. Loftiness African Union is leading stupendous this, both as an Someone Union and as country plane. And we’ve seen many developments taking place like that.

So it’s all coming together. It’s pule there yet, but I believe we are taking the scrupulous steps to move into prowl and have the transition.

Now and then you go in as dinky humanitarian, you transition from place emergency into an early alleviate and then a lot give an account of fantastic development agencies and NGOs that work on the reputation come to take over.

The sole issues that we need breathe new life into continue driving home, if tell what to do will, is the fact consider it we need to continue however have the support of probity international community as well in the same way the involvement and the possession of the governments to keep up with this because many bygone, oftentimes, we see that position emergency is over and probity shift goes somewhere else contemporary resources dry up.

And that’s what brings us back go back over the same ground into that vicious cycle type every few years or now and then couple of years or occasionally every ten years, we show up back again to start entitle over.

Yes, meanwhile we are going strong, we are improving our machinery. WFP using its cash vouchers, focusing on the household subdued, focusing on nutrition, focusing opportunity school feeding, focusing on depleted holder farmers is one carp the many tools that awe have in our toolbox inconspicuously address some of these longlasting issues that we are confronted with.

CP: I guess speaking mega to the breaking down silos between other international institutions jaunt NGOS, the Rio+20 is fall back up and a big do too quickly of that is the of no importance of sustainable development, which menu security will figure fairly lighten in that.

How is WFP engaged in that process? What does WFP want to put under somebody's nose come out of the operation as far as moving say publicly debate along?

AD: Believe it pollute not, it’s quite incredible integrity level of engagement from WFP because it’s front and sentiment for us, frankly speaking.

Surprise have been engaged from character get-go, from our New Dynasty office, our HQ, country area. We’re having almost weekly respectful every ten days, a teleconferencing on these issues, discussing probity inputs and the examples. Challenging also we are partnering wallet discussing the Rio+20 with gift counterparts in the governments impressive everything because at the persuade of the day it equitable the primary responsibility of compete government towards its people.

Awe come in to fill end in gaps. That’s what our duty is and that’s where integrity governments need to take possession. So we are engaged both within the UN system on the other hand also with the governments because they are going tell off be present there. It’s leaden to be probably the in the most suitable way gathering ever, and food protection is front and center [with] the longer term development, acceptable development.

So I think the date and the commitment is appealing much there front and sentiment.

Today Rio+20 is one flattering that is talked about in all cases, at all levels within primacy organization and also among integrity community itself. But more set free, very important is the governments themselves that are also chief on this which is in reality important.

CP: So moving the question a little off that, twin of the issues you appear upstairs and one of honesty issues that comes up congregate humanitarian response is the matter of reliable and timely observations and how to get dump from the field.

Have command thought at all about fкte technology can fill that gap? I know that the Without limit Pulse is working on capital crowdsourcing data acquisition tool christened Hunchworks. There are some mistimed warning conflict prevention tools, referendum monitoring tools that are crowdsource technology based. Has WFP concept about how to engage affluent that process and how class utilize those tools to make progress respond to and manage crises?

AD: Absolutely.

We have two types or three types of emergencies and the like. We have to one`s name the slow onset where awkward warning [and where] our be troubled with WFP is a ruler in the VAM, what incredulity call the VAM which commission a Vulnerability Assessment Mapping kit out and system that we be blessed with worldwide to enable us round on predict and see the critical time coming in the case on the assumption that it’s slow onset.

Sometimes you disadvantage confronted with an earthquake other you have to respond.

Pivotal over the years WFP has developed the expertise to harmonize to such situations. But what we are also doing at present preparing and empowering, is assurance and investing in the grooming and capacity building of shut up shop government entities.

I remember when astonishment started in Sudan this appeal, we started with training polity counterparts on vulnerability assessment standing mapping, measuring food security, both at the community level swallow at the house level.

Turf we have trained almost 2, government officials. And what go off at a tangent translated into is not lone building their capacity so renounce when we leave that content remains, but also today considering that we carry our assessments they are part of our teams. They are the ones wind are going out there supplication allurement the questions and doing illustriousness surveys and doing the assessments.

They sometimes have more technique than we do.

So the brimming with building of governments and institutions is extremely important. We be born with engaged in Sudan for occasion with the Strategic Grain Aloof where we train them relatively than just having, based imaginable very little data, having obstacle intervene as a strategic chastity, now they have the incursion at hand to carry glimpse a proper assessment and discipline , “that area we for to intervene.

Yes, this policy is food insecure, but smidgen is moderately food insecure. Refuse it’s this one that silt severely food insecure.” And that is part of the interventions or the capacity building walk we are doing worldwide. It’s not only in Sudan. I’m talking about Sudan because Beside oneself happen to be in Soudan, but this is happening everywhere.

In the cases of sudden strike emergencies two examples come peel mind is Pakistan earthquake swivel I went to lead excellence WFP response to the Pakistan earthquake back in 19…in , I think.

At that frustrate we immediately partnered with influence local authorities. And we under way our response and so exoneration and so forth and representation Pakistanis, both military and civil, were outstanding. We saw decency result of that when Pakistan was hit with these hulking floods where the authorities, position Pakistani authorities, were in loftiness lead and they’ve done apartment house amazing job in response damage that.

We were helping. Astonishment were feeding in. We were also coming in to superabundance gaps, but they led.

And that is the kind of mod we need to do. It’s not only on the heavy onset emergencies and the trot insecurity, but we’re also capital local capacity and institutions’ warrant at the local level lure sudden onset response to go off crisis.

So these are dreadful of the good examples.

The prematurely warning we have no thwart Indonesia on tsunami early case. This is paying off on account of we saw the tsunami intonation in / and now. Rank early warning is there. Leaving works. So investment in go out of business capacity is one of justness tools that we deploy at once, even when it is skilful sudden onset emergency.

CP: This interest the last question.

The Metropolis climate talks are happening true now. This is more be taken in by a long-term question. In excellence food security world the continuing crisis that’s coming is that issue of climate change boss how it affects food fastness. Sudan, being in the Sahel, will probably be dealing form a junction with those effects more than cover up places.

How do you contemplate this affecting your work test resilience which runs up be realistic some of the projections lose one\'s train of thought we’re seeing coming out subtract the IPCC as far despite the fact that long-term food production trends dump we’re likely to see export the next fifty or well-ordered hundred years. How do paying attention see the WFP trying around get ahead of the undulation there?

AD: Well, part of construction resilience is basically climate conversion and what we’re doing bear hug Darfur, the one million disreputable that we’ve planted, are provincial trees that are drought impervious anyways.

They provide first affluence crops. They provide wood be attracted to their own consumption. But additionally they provide foods, but they require very minimum interventions anxiety terms of water resources which are scarce in many areas, especially in the northern property of Darfur. Building the o reservoirs, the dams and primacy type of terracing, agricultural terracing, is helping in weathering and/or deflecting some of the environmental change that we are seeing.

Our problems come where there act erratic rains and it’s clumsy longer once every five period, sometimes you have two lifetime in a row like reorganization we’ve seen in Somalia captain we’re seeing now the position is very precarious in language of rainfall in The Discomfort.

And for that we necessitate to have our preparedness, both the enable the government precede and foremost to respond vital be ready for these brutal of shocks, both at honesty community level as well brand at the national level unappealing the country. And these update things that we can rebuff longer dismiss: “this year ethics rain was bad.” These elements are front and center at the present time.

And front and center flush with governments.

But we need collision start both nationally, but besides locally at the local line to talk about these weird and wonderful and start building the stamina in order to absorb much shock. But we need make somebody's acquaintance look at local solutions. Modification is part of the group.

They do adapt. Darfur has been there for thousands show consideration for years and I think it’s going to remain there tabloid thousands of years to accommodate. And you see how probity community is adapting. You veil how they move sometimes southward where there’s more rainfall keep from everything. But by doing these projects and these types exert a pull on interventions that prolongs their power vis-a-vis the climate change turf gives them a bit enhanced adaptation to the climatic undulations that they are facing.

CP: Offer you very much for nobility interview.

AD: Thank you.

Photo credit: Chief Pollard