FAO Media Advisory – www.fao.org [cid:image003.gif@01D11649.2E61A570] JOINT MEDIA ADVISORY UN Food Agencies’ chiefs to visit drought-hit Ethiopia Visit to highlight hunger crisis, need for greater investments in resilience 30 August 2017, Rome/Addis Ababa – The heads of the three UN food agencies will visit Ethiopia to highlight the critical food and nutrition security situation. Consecutive climate shocks have resulted in back-to-back droughts, which have caused hunger to soar and malnutrition rates to rise to alarming levels. The agency chiefs will discuss how best to strengthen their support to the Government and its systems so that Ethiopia can continue meeting its development goals while simultaneously addressing humanitarian challenges along the way. The UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO)’s Director-General José Graziano da Silva, the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD)’s President Gilbert F. Houngbo and the World Food Programme (WFP)’s Executive Director David Beasley will be in Ethiopia from 1-4 September. In the worst-affected parts of the country, in the south and south-east, rains have failed for the third consecutive year. More than 8.5 million people require food assistance in the second half of 2017. The response led by the Government has begun to stabilize the situation, however additional efforts and support is urgently needed to prevent the situation deteriorating further. The agency heads will witness first-hand the scale of the crisis during a field mission to Somali region where the drought has killed many heads of livestock, causing a breakdown in pastoral livelihoods and a jump in malnutrition. FOLLOW ON TWITTER FAO: @GrazianoDaSilva | @FAOnews | @FAOAfrica IFAD: @GHoungbo | @IFADnews WFP: @WFP | @WFPChief | @WFP_Africa FOR MORE INFORMATION FAO [log in to unmask] +251 911 861 293 [log in to unmask] +251 935 986 410 IFAD Joanne Levitan [log in to unmask] +251 988141897 +39 3665620977 WFP [log in to unmask] +251 115 172 131 +251 911 513 817 [log in to unmask] +254 707 622 104 The trio will meet drought-affected people who are receiving food rations, visit nutrition centres treating malnourished children and see distributions of essential support to keep the remaining livestock alive. The current food security and nutrition crisis cannot be resolved by emergency assistance alone. The longer-term solution lies in building communities’ resilience to better withstand shocks and avoid being plunged back into crisis. In Tigray region, the agency chiefs will see the dividends of investing in resilience. They will visit communities where the agencies’ complementary projects have boosted productivity, strengthened livelihoods and improved nutrition. In Addis Ababa, the three representatives will hold high-level discussions with Government representatives, and UN and other partner organizations, on the life-saving response and the need for greater collaboration and investment in resilience. Press Briefing Journalists are invited to attend a press briefing to be held at the conclusion of the visit. Where: Sheraton Hotel, Addis Ababa When: Monday 4 September, Time: 1700 Journalists & editors: For photos, audio clips, video material & b-roll, contact: (+39) 06 570 53625 or [log in to unmask]<mailto:[log in to unmask]>. Online tools: Photos via the FAOnews Flickr account<http://www.flickr.com/photos/faonews> FAO's online newsroom<http://www.fao.org/news/newsroom-home/en/> RSS feed<http://www.fao.org/news/rss-feed/en/> of FAO news releases @FAOnews on Twitter<https://twitter.com/faonews/> This media advisory was issued by the Media Office at the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO). To unsubscribe from this news service click the link below or send an email to [log in to unmask]<mailto:[log in to unmask]> with "signoff Media-G-Eng-L" as the only text in the message body. You can also manage your subscription online, here<https://listserv.fao.org/cgi-bin/wa>. FAO | Viale delle Terme di Caracalla, 00153 Rome, Italy | (+39) 06 570 53625 | www.fao.org<http://www.fao.org> ######################################################################## To unsubscribe from the Media-G-Eng-L list, click the following link: &*TICKET_URL(Media-G-Eng-L,SIGNOFF);