AIDF Food Security Summit, hosted at the UNCC on the 26th and 27th of November in Bangkok will go ahead with the aftermath of Typhoon Haiyan acting as a sobering backdrop. The summit will provide a key opportunity for discussions, networking and fundraising and will promote concrete solutions to tackle food insecurity in Asia and the Pacific.
Typhoon Haiyan has devastated vast parts of the Philippines, leaving suffering and destruction in its wake. NGOs from around the world have mobilized staff and resources and rushed to the scene to offer support. Emergency food, water and medicine supplies have begun to reach survivors but many are still in need of urgent care.
In reaction to the typhoon and to force policy change, the Philippines’ Climate Change Commissioner Yeb Saño announced a hunger strike at COP19 climate change conference in Warsaw, hosted by UNEP earlier this week. Typhoon Haiyan will also put a renewed urgency on the AIDF Food Security Summit, taking place at the UNCC in Bangkok on the 26th and 27th of November. Policy makers and sector leaders will meet to discuss effective measures for food security in Asia and the Pacific and will dedicate a special focus to disaster relief measures and how to ensure food security in the face of natural disaster.
Christopher Hoffman, Emergency and Post Crisis Specialist at the International Organization for Migration, who will be speaking at the event, commented “The AIDF Food Security Summit is a great opportunity to bring together those that need to make the decisions with those that operate in the communities”.
Mr Vinod Thomas, Director General of Independent Evaluation at Asian Development Bank, one of the keynote speakers at the AIDF summit said, “Climate change is often talked about as a long term concern. However its effects on agricultural productivity are already being felt and need to be addressed immediately. If climate change cannot be mitigated much more attention needs to be given to agricultural research and adaptation to ensure future productivity gains.”
Typhoon Haiyan serves as a timely reminder that issues such as food security and climate change should and must be addressed. The AIDF Food Security Summit will bring together key stakeholders and encourage discussions, networking and fundraising, as well as promoting the delivery of effective and concrete solutions to food insecurity in Asia and the Pacific.
Keynote speeches will be from Mr. Shun-ichi Murata, the Deputy Executive Secretary of UN ESCAP, Mr. Hiroyuki Konuma, Assistant Director-General and Regional Representative of FAO (Asia and the Pacific) and Mr. Vinod Thomas, Director General of Independent Evaluation at Asian Development Bank.