The European Commission has allocated € 5 million to support the protection of livelihoods of vulnerable populations in the disaster-prone regions of south-east African and south-west Indian Ocean. This aid will promote disaster preparedness by providing short-term food security, short-term livelihood support, and other support activities in Comoros, Madagascar, Malawi and Mozambique.

South-east Africa and south-west Indian Ocean are two of the most natural disaster-prone regions in the world. In addition to permanent threats from earthquakes and volcanic eruptions, the region has in recent years experienced a dramatic increase in the frequency of floods and cyclones. This high recurrence of natural disasters has seriously reduced the possibility of sustainable recovery.

The principal objective of this new Decision is to link disaster risk reduction to food security actions, with short-term livelihood support and short-term food-security, in order to decrease the vulnerability of communities exposed to the risk of natural catastrophes. Assistance will be provided through multiple interventions such as seeds, tools and livestock support and capacity building activities at household and community level. The funding will also be used to provide coordination and technical support to partner operations, and to finance awareness-raising and advocacy campaigns.

Humanitarian Food Assistance

In March 2010 the Commission adopted a € 6 million Decision to launch its second DIPECHO (Disaster Preparedness ECHO) Action plan in the south-east African and south-west Indian Ocean region, which aims to increase resilience and decrease the vulnerability of local communities to enable them to better prepare for, mitigate and respond adequately to natural disasters.

Global hunger and malnutrition have increased in recent years, affecting human development, social and political stability and progress towards achieving the Millennium Development Goals (as well as causing widespread suffering and loss of life. The food price rises of 2007-2008, and the financial crisis, have also had a serious impact on developing countries.

The new EU policy will help developing countries strengthen the four pillars of food security in both development and emergency settings: (i) increasing availability of food, (ii) improving access to food, (iii) improving quality and ensuring intake of suitably nutritious food, and (iv) boosting the effectiveness of crisis prevention and management. The EU will also seek to make the global organisation on food security more effective. The Commission therefore proposes:

• A focus on support for ecologically efficient agricultural intensification for smallholder farmers, and in particular women;
• A substantial increase in support to demand-led agricultural research, extension and innovation, aiming to reach 50% by 2015;
• A joint initiative with the African Union to accelerate the implementation of the African Land Policy Guidelines;
• Support for the establishment or expansion of targeted and flexible social safety nets adapted to local contexts;
• Promoting better integration of nutrition in development policies, including in education and health and related capacity building;
• Support for the reform of the Committee on World Food Security to become the pivotal global institution on food security.

For emergency response, the EU will also seek to strengthen the capacity of the international humanitarian system to deliver effective and appropriate responses in a timely and efficient way.

The European Commission will also contribute almost €3 billion in 2010-2012 within the initiative on global food security agreed at the G8 summit of world leaders in 2009.