Regional Hunger & Vulnerability Programme

RHVP context  Growing caseload of chronically vulnerable to hunger.  Continued reliance on short term responses ... And limited menu of short term response options – primarily food aid  Concerns regarding the reliability of current vulnerability assessments to guide appropriate responses  Concerns regarding the need for vulnerability assessment systems to capture the complex nature of vulnerability to guide appropriate responses

RHVP – The big picture  Goal Reduce hunger & vulnerability in southern Africa  Purpose Improve national and regional policies & systems for addressing hunger & vulnerability in the SADC region

How will we achieve this? 3 content areas  Improving knowledge Generate, synthesise, interpret & disseminate evidence for better policy response  Improving human & technical capacity Enhance human & technical capacities to provide and interpret information on vulnerability for better policy response  Promoting policy uptake Enhance policy-makers’ capacity to main stream hunger and vulnerability issues in national policy frameworks

RHVP POLICY CHANGE ENHANCED CAPACITIES EVIDENCE CONCEPTUAL FRAMEWORK knowledge and its application VAA and broader approaches adopting broader policy options and mainstreaming them in PRSPs

How will we achieve this? Approach  A demand driven resource ... But on merit not an entitlement  Provide a regional perspective  Support countries’ own initiatives  Develop tools and evidence to support improved assessment, analysis & policy-making  Building capacities to support improved assessment, analysis & policy-making

How RHVP will add value – the regional dimension  Technical Consistent and comparable methodologies Establishing key common indicators Cross border information systems Developing regional “engine” to generate needed human and technical capacity  Lessons Comparative studies to identify best practices (intra/extra regional) Retrospective evaluation of the accuracy of VAA predictions Preparation of generic handbooks/implementation manuals  Advocacy Preparing generic policy guidelines Bringing lessons to the attention of policy makers Externalities of national policy choices

How RHVP will add value – the national dimension  Technical: Building capacities in existing institutions Supporting the institutionalisation of existing systems  Lessons: Synthesising existing policies and instruments Commissioning national evidence based research  Advocacy: Promoting the inclusion of hunger and vulnerability issues in national policy frameworks Promoting the provision of predictable resources to meet the needs of the predictably vulnerable

What RHVP is and isn’t Isn’t about  Imposing a blueprint OR  Dictating national or regional level priorities Is about  A demand driven resource  Providing evidence & identifying lessons on best practice  Building national & regional capacities

What RHVP is and isn’t Isn’t about  Abandoning food aid OR  Wholesale replace- ment of food aid with cash transfers Is about  Predictable resources for predictable needs  On-budget funding  Placing food aid within a social protection context  Looking at longer term options

What RHVP is and isn’t Isn’t about  Replicating or replacing existing institutions OR  Replicating or replacing existing tools and methods Is about  Working with existing institutions  Promoting evolution of tried and tested tools  Enabling VAA to better serve evolving user needs in reducing hunger & vulnerability

What do we hope to leave behind– regional level  Stronger regional coordination & cooperation on hunger and vulnerability responses: A stronger regional capacity to generate skills, methodologies and research to support hunger & vulnerability assessment & responses A stronger regional capacity to manage information & evidence on hunger & vulnerability

 Increased Government responsibility and accountability for reducing hunger & vulnerability: Better VAA systems – relevant, accurate, reliable and sustainable Hunger & vulnerability issues incorporated in national policy framework Adequate on budget resources provided to meet needs of the predictably vulnerable Broader range of short and long term instruments to respond to chronic vulnerability What do we hope to leave behind- national level

Thank you