Sahel crisis 2021 - FAO HUM 2021-2025 Sida’s humanitarian support to FAO enables the organisation to respond to emergencies by protecting and restoring livelihoods with a particular focus on agriculture and livestock while addressing acute food insecurity for the most vulnerable affected by conflict and climate shocks.  Through this support, FAO will focus on the phases 3-5 in the Integrated Food Security Phase Classification (IPC) i.e. (3) Crisis, (4) Emergency and (5) Catastrophe/Famine. 
FAO's new strategic framework 2022-2030 places the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) at the centre of its operations. In terms of programme priority areas related to humanitarian interventions, FAO will focus on agriculture and food emergencies in countries facing, or at risk of acute food insecurity, by providing urgent livelihood and nutrition assistance. The strategic framework states that by 2023 FAO aims to assist 60 million people annually with emergency and resilience interventions, and through investments in anticipatory action that will reduce humanitarian needs in the future. This is an ambitious increase from the 35 million target in 2019. 
The focus on both acute food security and livelihoods with positive spill-over effects on household and community resilience in combination with FAO’s leading technical expertise in agriculture and its focus on Anticipatory Action. FAO has a clear policy on gender equlity in crises, which include to use a gener perspective during assessment and targeting during program development. 
The above makes FAO a valuable strategic humanitarian partner to Sida. Sida will in 2022 allocate 124 million SEK to FAO’s emergency interventions in six countries: Afghanistan, Mali, Niger, Nigeria, Madagascar and Somalia. This support also includes unallocated funds to emerging and deteriorating humanitarian situations through the Special Fund for Emergency and Rehabilitation Activities (SFERA) as well as a method development support to strengthening countries’ capacities for risk-informed localized humanitarian responses. Insatsen syftar till att möjliggöra för FAO att svara upp mot humanitära behov genom att skydda och återställa försörjningsmöjligheter inom jordbruk och boskap. FAO kommer att stärka tryggad livsmedelsförsörjning för de mest utsatta som drabbats av konflikter, klimatförändringar och naturkatastrofer. Genom detta stöd kommer FAO att fokusera på faserna 3-5 i enlighet med IPC-skalan, dvs. (3) kris, (4) nödsituation och (5) svält/katastrof. 
FAO:s nya strategiska ramverk 2022-2030 utgår från de globala målen. I enlighet med ramverket kommer FAO i humanitära kontexter att fokusera på jordbruk och livsmedelskriser i länder som står inför, eller riskerar att drabbas av akuta behov inom livsmedelsförsörjning. FAO har år 2023 som mål att bistå 60 miljoner människor årligen med nöd- och resiliensinsatser, och genom investeringar i föregripande åtgärder. Detta är en ambitiös ökning från målet på 35 miljoner människor år 2019. 
FAO:s arbete i humanitära kriser svarar väl upp mot strategin för Sidas humanitära bistånd (2021-2025). FAO:s fokus på livsmedelsförsörjning i kombination med att skydda och återställa försörjningsmöjligheter inom jordbruk anses ha positiva effekter på både akuta behov och resiliens bland människor som lever i humanitära krissituationer. FAO har också en central roll i arbetet med föregripande arbete som syftar till att minska framtida humanitära behov. FAO har en tydlig policy för jämställdhet i kriser, vilket inkluderar att man använder ett gender perspektiv i sina underlag och hur man utformar sina program. 
FAO anses därför vara en värdefull strategisk humanitär partner till Sida. Med Sidas stöd på 124 miljoner SEK kommer FAO under 2022 att implementera humanitärt stöd i sex kriser: Afghanistan, Madagaskar, Mali, Niger, Nigeria och Somalia. Insatsen omfattar också oallokerade medel till nya eller förvärrande humanitära kriser genom FAO:s särskilda fond för nödsituationer och återuppbyggnad (SFERA) samt ett metodstöd som syftar till att stärka länders och lokala och nationella aktörers kapacitet för att hantera humanitära insatser. FAOs Global Goals are:

1. Eradication of hunger, food insecurity and malnutrition, progressively ensuring a world in which people at all times have sufficient safe and nutritious food that meets their dietary needs and food preferences for an active and healthy life;

2. Elimination of poverty and the driving forward of economic and social progress for all, with increased food production, enhanced rural development and sustainable livelihoods;

3. Sustainable management and utilization of natural resources, including land, water, air, climate and genetic resources for the benefit of present and future generations.

Based on the global goals, FAO has formulated five strategic objectives:

1. Contribute to the eradication of hunger, food insecurity and malnutrition

2. Make agriculture, forestry and fisheries more productive and sustainable

3. Reduce rural poverty

4. Enable more inclusive and efficient agricultural and food systems

5. Increase the resilience of livelihoods to threats and crises

The Strategic Framework also includes a sixth, broad objective on technical quality, knowledge and services (including cross-cutting themes) that is designed to cover FAOs internal capability to deliver its strategic objectives. The objectives are in alignment with FAOs commitment to working in partnerships.

In humanitarian crises, FAOs main components are:

To help people to anticipate and prepare for crises; To respond fast to crises; To seek to reduce risks and address vulnerabilities.

The humanitarian operations are usually related to the 5th strategic objective which has the four following organizational outcomes (OO):

OO1 - countries and regions have legal, policy and institutional systems and regulatory frameworks for disaster and crisis risk management for agriculture, food and nutrition;

OO2 - countries and regions deliver regular information and trigger timely actions against potential, known and emerging threats to agriculture, food, and nutrition;

OO3 - countries apply prevention and impact mitigation measures that reduce risks for agriculture, food and nutrition;

OO4 - countries and regions affected by disasters and crises with impact on agriculture, food and nutrition are prepared for, and manage effective responses.

At the next level in the FAO Strategic Framework, there are a number of outputs pertinent to humanitarian action, such as:

Output 4.1: Humanitarian action effectively protect lives and livelihoods of farmers, herders, Fishers, forest- and tree-dependent communities and marginal groups in times of crises.

Output 3.1: Strategies and related interventions improve the resilience of livelihoods systems at risk through prevention and mitigation efforts that minimize the potential impacts of disasters and crises on agriculture food and nutrition at national, subnational and community levels.

Output 2.2: Improved capacities of countries and communities to identify monitor and evaluate risks; conduct needs assessment and response analysis; and act on impending threats to agriculture, nutrition, food security and food safety (and related public health issues).

Output 3.3: Conflict-sensitive programmes on agriculture, food and nutrition reduce the risks of localized conflicts relating to access to grazing, forest and farming lands, fishing grounds, water, trees and other natural resources.