Tracking Food Security in Palestine

Location

Amman, Jordan

ESCWA is organizing a workshop targeting officials from the State of Palestine from various governmental institutions to introduce the ESCWA Arab Food Security Monitoring framework and review the preparation of reports building on the Voluntary National Reviews (VNRs). The workshop covers the 24 indicators underlying the monitoring framework to assess food security outcome and causal factors as well as the dashboard for result visualization and interpretation.

The workshop provides a platform to exchange views on indicator selection, data sourcing and analyses and result interpretation. The aim is to support decision-making, determine needed actions and overview the guiding principles for preparing VNR reports building on ESCWA’s work, the experience of Jordan during the 2022 VNR cycle and the recent Palestinian VNR.

Experts from Jordan, the Arab Organization for Agricultural Development, the Food and Agriculture Organization and ESCWA participate in the workshop.

Outcome document

Meeting outcome

Conduct regular and comprehensive food security monitoring building on the Arab Food Security Monitoring Framework indicators which are wide-ranging to cover the multi-faceted aspect of food security.
Widen as much as possible the scope of the food security monitoring to include multiple governmental institutions and major actors while also localizing it to ensure no-one is left behind.
Report food security monitoring results building on the VNR report preparation process to ease the integration of analyses in future VNRs while avoid the multiplication of efforts.

Discussion

Session I: Arab Food Security Monitoring Framework: Concept

Session I introduced the concept and process underlying the Arab Food Security Monitoring Framework and how the framework could help assess the conduct within Food Systems notably following the widening of the food security concept to empower people while ensuring sustainability. Participants exchange views on appropriate indicators for monitoring comprehensively food security.

Session II: Arab Food Security Monitoring Framework: Indicators

Session II focus on introducing the 24 indicators comprising the Arab food Security Monitoring Framework distributed along a core dimension comprising 3 outcome indicators and the 4 food security dimensions of availability, access, utilization and stability comprising 21 causal indicators. An overview of how to access and manipulate the data to generate a food security dashboard was also provided together with a close examination of the most recent food security dashboard of Palestine.

Session III and IV: Practical Application and Analysis of Country Dashboards

Session III and IV were devoted to group discussions and collaborations aimed at collecting data and building the most recent food security dashboard following which a plenary to discussion was conducted to ensure participants are able to interpret the results of the food security tracking. Participants highlighted the challenges faced by Palestine in its state of Occupation, which hampers the country’s effort to ensure food security for all.

Session V: Follow-up and Review of the 2030 Agenda: VNR preparation

Session V allowed participants to become acquainted with the preparations of Voluntary National Reviews (VNR) reports through a generic regional overview on key developments notably in the aftermath of the 2022 global VNR process, which concluded recently in New York. Participants were also introduced to the VNR preparation process as conducted by Jordan in 2022 with a particular focus on its food security component both of which touched on all developmental aspects of Jordan through a comprehensive and multi-stakeholder process.

Session VI: Regional Support for Enhanced Food Security

Session VI provided an overview of 2 key SDG food security indicators, prevalence of undernourishment and food insecurity experience scale, monitored by FAO including the intricacies underlying their measurement. The regional approach for collecting data and other food security related information were also presented by AOAD including an overview of its most recent food security and agriculture report.

Session VII: Palestine Follow-up and Review of the 2030 Agenda

Session VII introduced the previous VNR preparatory process of Palestine include the latest food security monitoring and assessment conducted in anticipation of the next VNR preparation process. Finally, overview on global best practices, timeline, process and report arrangement was provided.

Participant list

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