37th CFS Plenary Session, 17-22 October 2011, Rome
The CFS is the United Nations' forum for reviewing policies concerning world food. It is the most inclusive international and intergovernmental platform for all relevant stakeholders to work together to ensure food security and nutrition.
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23 September 2011 –Djibouti, one of the countries most severely affected by the current drought and famine in the Horn of Africa, today used the podium of the General Assembly to call on the world to not only provide immediate aid but also take the longer-term steps to prevent a recurrence.
November 15, 2010 - An International Monetary Fund mission led by Mr. Carlo Sdralevich visited Djibouti during October 30–November 13, 2010 to hold annual Article IV discussions1 and discuss the second and third review of the three-year arrangement supported by the Extended Credit Facility (ECF). During the visit, IMF staff held discussions with the Minister of Finance and the Governor of the Central Bank. The team also met with senior economic and financial officials, legislators, and representatives from the diplomatic, banking, and business communities. At the conclusion of the visit, the mission issued the following statement:
3 November 2010 – United Nations agencies and the Government of Djibouti today appealed for nearly $39 million to enable them to continue providing assistance to an estimated 120,000 people who are experiencing severe food shortages after four years of inadequate rainfall in the Horn of Africa country.
An estimated 25,000 children under the age of five – 25 per cent of Djiboutian children in that age group – are suffering from acute malnutrition, according to the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA).
16 July 2010 – United Nations Emergency Relief Coordinator John Holmes today allocated some $41 million in emergency funding to boost humanitarian operations in nine countries where people are suffering the effects of hunger, malnutrition, disease, and conflict.
The money from the UN Central Emergency Response Fund (CERF) will help cover funding gaps in key humanitarian projects in Chad, the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), Yemen, the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK), Central African Republic (CAR), Djibouti, Eritrea, Republic of Congo and Nepal.
Humanitarian actors in Chad and the DRC received the largest individual portions of some $8 million apiece.
Press Release No. 10/253
22 June 2010 - A mission from the International Monetary Fund (IMF) visited Djibouti from June 2-9, 2010 to discuss progress under the Extended Credit Facility (ECF), which replaced the Poverty Reduction and Growth Facility (PRGF) approved in September 2008. Mr. Carlo Sdralevich, IMF Mission Chief for Djibouti, issued the following statement today:
14 June 2010 – As many as two out of three children in Djibouti are exposed to life-threatening situations because of poverty, the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) announced today, warning that urgent action must be taken to prevent the country from reversing the progress in basic care it has made in recent years.
“The intensity of the poverty situation in Djibouti tells us of the dangerous environment in which children live, one that exposes them to exploitation and abuse,” said Josefa Marrato, UNICEF Representative in Djibouti.
19 November 2009 – The United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) received a boost today for its emergency relief efforts feeding millions of hungry people in the Horn of Africa, with the announcement of a $112 million donation from Spain.
“This extraordinary contribution brings hope and help to the 20 million most vulnerable people that we are committed to assisting in the Horn of Africa,” said WFP Executive Director Josette Sheeran.
WFP has scaled up aid efforts to people living in Kenya, Ethiopia and Somalia who have been struck hard by prolonged drought, recurring conflict, stubborn high food prices and the global financial crisis.
14 October 2009 – The United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) sounded the alarm on the worsening humanitarian situation in the Horn of Africa today, noting that nearly five million children under the age of five in the region are now hungry.
This marks an increase of 1 million since May, while the number of people in need of emergency assistance in the region has also risen, climbing from 20 million earlier this year to 24 million, the agency said.
During 2009, some 500,000 under-five children will suffer from life-threatening severe acute malnutrition.
The food insecurity has been in large part triggered by prolonged drought resulting in less than half the normal rainfall, which has lead to enormous losses in livestock and surging food prices.
The spike in food prices of last year (2008) underscored what experts have been telling us for many years: the world's food systems are in crisis