Natural and man-made disasters strike in equal measure. Ninety per cent of the victims of these emergency situations live in developing countries, where they are the poorest of populations, forced to live in risk-prone areas due to rising poverty and population increases.

Documents and Tools

WFP New Emergency Food Security Assessment Handbook

In 2003, WFP launched a major initiative to strengthen assessment methods, augment related staff capacities and promote partnerships. The first edition of the WFP Emergency Food Security Assessment Handbook, finalized in mid- 2005, supports these goals.

An Increasing Vulnerability to Natural Disasters

Published in The International Herald Tribune, this article by Kofi A. Annan, Secretary-General of the United Nations, discusses the incidence and impact of emergency and disaster situations around the world and stresses the need for the political will to address them.

Humanitarian Coordination: Lessons for Recent Field Experience

An independent study commissioned by the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) in June 2001, which aims to draw lessons from recent experiences in humanitarian coordination and identify features of coordination arrangements which have provided added value.

Global Information and Early Warning System on Food and Agriculture (GIEWS)

The GIEWS system produces provides regular bulletins on food crop production and markets at the global level and situation reports on a regional and country-by-country basis, and so provides decision-makers with the most up-to-date information available on all aspects of food supply and demand, warning of imminent food crises, so that timely interventions can be taken.

FAO’s Role in Emergencies

This report describes the scope of FAO’s role in emergencies, ranging from undertaking needs’ assessments to providing agricultural inputs as well as technical assistance for the planning and management of sustainable recovery and rehabilitation of rural production systems.

FAO Geoinformation, monitoring and assessment.

Developed by the Sustainable Development Division of FAO, this Web site provides various tools and techniques for geoinformation data acquisition, analysis and dissemination.

Post-disaster rehabilitation and seed restoration in flood affected areas of Mozambique

One of the outcomes of a FAO regional project, ‘Gender, Biodiversity and Local Knowledge Systems to Strengthen Agricultural and Rural Development in Southern Africa’, was this report on the relief and rehabilitation efforts undertaken in the damaged agricultural sector in the Xai-Xai District of Mozambique.

Humanitarian Response to Children (1999)

This on-line publication gives an overview of how the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) faces different crisises around the world and provides special assistance to children in the following sectors: health and nutrition; education; water and sanitation; child protection and rights.

Worldwide Initiatives

Emergency Prevention System for Transboundary Animal and Plant Pests and Diseases (EMPRES)

EMPRES was established in 1994 in order to minimize the risk of emergencies caused by agricultural pests and diseases migrating or spreading across borders. Priority is given to two themes: animal diseases and the desert locust.

FAO's Emergency and Rehabilitation Programme : Humanitarian Appeal 2006

The annual humanitarian appeal is meant to draw the world's attention to these oftentimes forgotten emergencies and to remind the governments of donor countries of their international responsibility to protect and care for the most vulnerable of our fellow human beings.

FAO workshop on Social and Economic impacts of Avian Influenza Control

The workshop objectives were to identify potential social and economic impacts of alternative Avian Influenza control programmes and suggest a role for FAO in contributing to social and economic evaluation. It also tried to identify topics for studies and strategic planning that require attention and funding by national governments and donors.

Small Island Developing States struggle to survive - Globalization and natural disasters threaten island life

FAO convened a Special Ministerial Conference in Rome 18 November 2005 in support of the 38 countries that make up the Small Island Developing States and Low-Lying Coastal Countries, some of the world’s most vulnerable nations. Its objective was to explore how agriculture, forestry and fisheries can be better integrated into SIDS economies to improve the nutrition and food security needs of islanders and to provide better employment opportunities.

Tsunami Warning System

UNESCO is working to create a global early warning system similar to those already existing in the Pacific Ocean. The Pacific system was established in 1968 under the auspices of UNESCO´s Intergovernmental Oceanographic Commission (IOC) and many lives have been saved through its existence.

The International Strategy for Disaster Reduction

As the successor arrangement to the International Decade for Natural Disaster Reduction (IDNDR, 1990-1999), the International Strategy looks forward to enabling all societies to become resilient to the effects of natural hazards and related technological and environmental disasters.

Links

United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA)

Part of the UN Secretariat, OCHA coordinates UN assistance in humanitarian crises that go beyond the capacity and mandate of any single humanitarian agency.

Reliefweb

Relief web --- a project of OCHA --- strives to strengthen the response capacity of the humanitarian relief community through the timely dissemination of reliable information on prevention, preparedness and disaster response.

World Food Programme

In 2000, WFP fed 83 million people in 83 countries, including most of the world's refugees and internally displaced people. Its website includes comprehensive coverage of the action taken to assist the victims of floods, drought, crop failure and conflict.

UNDP’s Disaster Reduction and Recovery Programme

The Emergency Response Division (ERD) of UNDP’s Disaster Reduction and Recovery Programme provides on-line information on emergencies and UNDP’s field programmes per country.

UNFPA Relief Efforts

During conflict and natural disaster situations, the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) works to save the lives of women and newborn babies by providing comprehensive reproductive health care services, including HIV/AIDS prevention.

United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR)

UNHCR’s website offers users comprehensive, country-specific information about refugees around the world with data on the consequences of the latest conflicts in Kosovo, the Balkan Region, Asia, Africa, Latin American and the Caribbean.

UNICEF – Nutrition in emergencies

UNICEF works to prevent famine-related deaths and malnutrition in emergency situations, to reduce malnutrition rates, and to protect the nutritional status of the most vulnerable groups, especially young children and pregnant and lactating women.

FAO Emergency Relief and Rehabilitation Programme Website

The website provides information to various projects and programmes coordinated by FAO in cooperation with other agencies related to providing technical assisatance to member states in emergency sitautions.

FAO Website on Tsunami Reconstruction

The website provides information on FAO assistance in various affected member-states in the evaluation of the damages and rehabilitation needs in fisheries and agriculture in order to define appropriate interventions.

Asian Disaster Preparedness Center

The Asian Disaster Preparedness Center is a regional resource centre for promoting disaster awareness and the development of local capabilities in Asia ant the Pacific.

Centre for the Coordination of the Prevention of Natural Diasters in Central America (CEPREDENAC)

The Centre was established in 1993 by the Govenrments of Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Nicaragua and Panama to exchange experiences, technologies and information on natural disasters in Central America, to analyse common strategies and the channelling of external assistance.

Emergency and Humanitarian Action for Health

This WHO Web site offers the latest news on the organization’s work in the humanitarian arena, and includesinformation on health in emergencies and technical guidance on emergency response in specific regions and countries.

International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies

The International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies operates in almost every country around the world, working together to improve the lives of the most vulnerable people.

Save the Children UK – Food Security Unit

Save the Children works in more than 70 countries around the world providing relief interventions in famines and food crisis situations.

International Rescue Committee

The International Rescue Committee is a voluntary organization providing relief, protection and resettlement services for refugees and victims of oppression or violent conflicts.