Communication from the Commission to the Council and the European Parliament Humanitarian Food Assistance {SEC(2010)374}
Date: 2010-03-31
Institutions: European Commission
Subjects: EU aid, cooperation policy, developing countries, development policy, emergency aid, food aid, food resources, humanitarian aid, security of supply

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EUROPEAN COMMISSION 

Brussels, 31.3.2010 
COM(2010) 126 final 

COMMUNICATION FROM THE COMMISSION TO THE COUNCIL AND THE 
EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT 

Humanitarian Food Assistance 

{SEC(2010)374} 

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1. 

INTRODUCTION 

In accordance with the orientation of the Humanitarian Aid Consensus1, and more generally 
to promote best practice  in the  provision of humanitarian food assistance  by the EU and  its 
Member States, the principal aims of this Communication are to: 

(1)  maximise the effectiveness and efficiency of EU food assistance, in accordance with 
the Commission's humanitarian mandate defined by the humanitarian legal framework, 
and in accordance with the Financial Regulation2; 

(2) 

(3) 

improve  policy  coherence,  coordination,  and  complementarity  between 
Commission, Member States and other donors, in the provision of food assistance;  

the 

inform  partners  and  stakeholders  of  the  Commission's  objectives,  priorities  and 
standards in the delivery of humanitarian food assistance. 

This  Communication  therefore  sets  out  the  policy  framework  for  EU  humanitarian  food 
assistance. It explains the issues and trends to be taken into account; the concepts, definitions 
and  objectives  that  should  drive  humanitarian  food  assistance;  the  principles  that  should 
underscore this work; and the scope of activities undertaken.  

The  accompanying  Staff  Working  Document  explains,  from  a  more  detailed  operational 
perspective, how the Commission programmes, implements and coordinates its humanitarian 
food assistance.  

This  Communication  should  be  read  in  conjunction  with  the  Commission's  Communication 
on food security ("An EU policy framework to assist developing countries in addressing food 
security challenges"). Two separate Communications on these interrelated topics are deemed 
necessary  in  order  to  respect  the  distinction  between  their  policy  focus  i.e.  food  assistance 
linked  to  humanitarian  objectives  for  populations  affected  by  crises  in  emergency  contexts 
and  food  security  linked  to  development  objectives.  The  two  policy  frameworks  have  been 
designed in such a way as to ensure coherence and safeguard against uncoordinated overlap. 

2. 

BACKGROUND 

There  is  an  increasing  incidence  of  natural  disasters,  often  exacerbated  by  the  impact  of 
climate  change,  affecting  more  people  than  in  the  past.  Conflict  and  repression  continue  to 
undermine  people's  ability  to  pursue  their  day-to-day  livelihoods,  and  often  generate  large 
numbers  of  refugees  and  internally  displaced  persons.  Rapid  population  growth  increases 
existing pressures on natural resources. In many parts of the developing world, these factors 

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2 

In  December  2007,  the  Council  of  the  European  Union  adopted  the  Humanitarian  Aid  Consensus 
(European Consensus on Humanitarian Aid: 2008/C 25/01). In the accompanying Action Plan, adopted 
as  a  Staff  Working  Paper  in  2008  (European  Consensus  on  Humanitarian  Aid  –  Action  Plan: 
SEC(2008)1991),  the  European  Commission  implicitly  acknowledges  the  fast-evolving  field  of  best 
practice in the food sector, and articulates a specific commitment to elaborate diversified approaches to 
food assistance and adjust policy accordingly. 
COUNCIL REGULATION (EC, Euratom) No 1605/2002 of 25 June 2002 on the Financial Regulation 
applicable to the general budget of the European Communities (OJ L 248, 16.9.2002, p. 1) 

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force vulnerable populations to further compete for natural resources and potentially lead to 
increasing incidences of conflict.  

The impact of these trends deepens the vulnerability of the world's poorest, most notably their 
food and nutritional vulnerability. Chronic food insecurity, where insufficient food production 
or  an  inability  to  purchase  enough  nutritious  food  leads  to  sustained  and  persistent 
inadequacies in the quantity or quality of food consumed, is a driver of chronic malnutrition. 
This in turn has irreversible and damaging consequences for child development and long-term 
productivity,  which  further  exacerbates  poverty  and  vulnerability.  The  poorest,  with  least 
resilience, also carry the greatest exposure to the consequences of disasters. These can prompt 
more  temporary  but  dramatic  interruptions  in  food  consumption  (transient  food  insecurity), 
leading to acute malnutrition and heightened risks of morbidity and mortality.3  

Indeed,  the  number  of  undernourished  people  affected  by  both  chronic  and  transient  food 
insecurity2 has increased by 172 million, from 848 million in 2006 to 1.02 billion in 20094. 
95% of those undernourished live in developing countries and a growing proportion of these 
live  in  urban  settings,  thus  especially  exposed  to  the  impact  of  volatile  food  prices  and  the 
economic/financial crises. The prevalence of acute malnutrition has risen, affecting 8% of the 
world's  under-five  children  in  the  period  1995-2003,  increasing  to  11%  in  the  period  2000-
20065. 

Approximately 10% of those who are undernourished are food insecure as a consequence of a 
disaster  or  emergency  situation,  and  it  is  anticipated  that  related  humanitarian  and 
development  food needs will continue to increase. It is therefore essential that the available 
humanitarian resources are used in the most efficient and effective way, adapting to this more 
complex  and  pressured  environment,  and  that  decisions  are  informed  by  fast-evolving  best-
practice. 

3. 

DEFINITIONS AND OBJECTIVES  

Humanitarian food assistance aims to ensure the consumption of sufficient, safe and nutritious 
food  in  anticipation  of,  during,  and  in  the  aftermath  of  a  humanitarian  crisis,  when  food 
consumption  would  otherwise  be  insufficient  or  inadequate  to  avert  excessive  mortality6, 
emergency  rates  of  acute  malnutrition7,  or  detrimental  coping  mechanisms.  This  includes 
ensuring  food  availability,  access  to  nutritious  food,  proper  nutrition  awareness,  and 
appropriate feeding practices. Food assistance may involve the  direct provision of food, but 
may  utilize  a  wider  range  of  tools,  including  the  transfer  or  provision  of  relevant  services, 
inputs or commodities, cash or vouchers, skills or knowledge. 

Humanitarian food assistance can also be used to protect and strengthen the livelihoods of a 
crisis-affected population, to prevent or reverse negative coping mechanisms (such as the sale 

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See Glossary in Annex A of accompanying Staff Working Document 
The U.N.'s Food and Agricultural Organisation (FAO), 19 June 2009. 
The  United  Nations  Childrens'  Fund  (UNICEF)  "State  of  the  World's  Children"  Statistics  2005  and 
2008. 
"Excessive" is considered to combine absolute measures in relation to established emergency thresholds 
(as defined by the Sphere handbook, UNICEF and the UN Standing Committee on Nutrition (SCN)), 
and relative measures in relation to context-specific baselines. 
As  defined  by  the  UN  Standing  Committee  on  Nutrition  (SCN)  and  the  World  Health  Organisation 
(WHO) 

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of  productive  assets,  or  the  accumulation  of  debts)  that  could  engender  either  short-term  or 
longer-term harmful consequences for their livelihood base, their food-security status or their 
nutritional status. 

Adequate  food  consumption  may  not  in  itself  ensure  adequate  nutrition.  Poor  health  may 
inhibit  the  digestion  and  utilisation  of  nutrients  leading  to  malnutrition.  Therefore, 
complementary interventions, including those that ensure safe food preparation (e.g. provision 
of  cooking  fuel),  or  access  to  potable  water,  hygiene  and  health  services,  may  also  be 
required, alongside direct food assistance, to prevent or treat malnutrition.  

At the conceptual level there has been an important shift over the last 15 years from the use of 
in-kind  commodity  food  aid  as  a  default  response  to  emergency  food  needs,  towards 
consideration  of  a  broader  set  of  humanitarian  food  assistance  tools  tailored  to  tackling  the 
diverse causes and symptoms of transient food insecurity. 

The  following  conceptual  framework  captures  the  various  root  causes,  exacerbators, 
symptoms and consequences of food insecurity, which in turn underscore the definitions and 
objectives for humanitarian food assistance adopted by the Commission: 

COMPROMISED LIVELIHOODS / 
DETRIMENTAL COPING STRATEGIES 
- Migration. – Sale of assets. – Debt. 
 - Livelihood erosion.  

MALNUTRITION 

Food Consumption 

- Energy Intake 
- Nutrient Intake 

Disease Status 
Affects how food is used 
by the body 

Food Access and 
Availability  
-  Safe  access  to  adequate 
and safe food throughout the 
year, through: 
- Food production 
- Purchase / barter 
- Gifts, other sources. 
- Food safety and quality. 

Food Utilisation including Care and 
Feeding Practices 

- Child care 
- Infant and child feeding 
- Eating habits 
- Food preparation 
- Intra-household food distribution 
- Capacity to care for dependent individuals. 

Public Health 

and 

-  Water  quality 
quantity. 
- Hygiene and sanitation. 
-  Access  to  and  use  of 
health services. 

Socio-economic and political environment 
Demography, education, macro-economy, policy environment, natural resources, climate, market conditions, livelihood 
systems, social institutions, cultural attitudes, security. 

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Adapted from UNICEF Conceptual Framework for Malnutrition 1997  

In  line  with  the  main  objectives  of  EU  humanitarian  aid  as  laid  out  in  Council  Regulation 
(EC) No 1257/96 of 20 June 1996 concerning Humanitarian Aid , the principal objective of 
humanitarian  food  assistance  is  to  save  and  preserve  life,  to  protect  livelihoods,  and  to 
increase  resilience,  for  populations  facing  on-going  or  firmly  forecasted8  food  crises,  or 
recovering from them.  

This  is  to  be  achieved  through  the  specific  objectives  of  humanitarian  food  assistance,  as 
follows; 

(1) 

(2) 

(3) 

to  safeguard  the  availability  of,  access  to,  and  consumption  of  adequate,  safe  and 
nutritious  food  for  populations  affected  by  ongoing,  firmly  forecasted,  or  recent 
humanitarian  crises  so  as  to  avoid  excessive  mortality9,  acute  malnutrition,  or  other 
life-threatening effects and consequences; 

to  protect  livelihoods  threatened  by  recent,  ongoing,  or  imminent  crises,  minimise 
damage  to  food  production  and  marketing  systems,  and  establish  conditions  to 
promote the rehabilitation and restoration of self reliance; and 

to  strengthen  the  capacities  of  the  international  humanitarian  aid  system,  to  enhance 
efficiency and effectiveness in the delivery of food assistance. 

4. 

PRINCIPLES  

In  pursuit  of  these  objectives,  the  following  principles  should  underscore  the  delivery  of 
humanitarian food assistance. These are consistent with the general principles governing the 
delivery of EU humanitarian aid, as laid down in the European Consensus on Humanitarian 
Aid:  

The  modalities  of  food  assistance  must  respect  the  fundamental  humanitarian  principles  of 
humanity,  impartiality,  neutrality  and  independence.  Decisions  on  the  allocation  of 
humanitarian  food  assistance  will  be  strictly  needs  based.  Funding  will  be  allocated  in  an 
objective manner, according to these principles, to improve the food consumption of those in 
greatest need, without bias or prejudice. 

To  this  end,  the  EU  and  its  Member  States  will  ensure  that  their  Humanitarian  Food 
Assistance  responses  are  preceded  by,  and  based  on,  detailed  needs  assessments  and  causal 
analyses that are as accurate and up to date as possible. 

Financing of humanitarian food assistance interventions will be prioritised according to (i) the 
severity of the crisis and the scale of the unmet needs (ii) the immediacy of the crisis, and (iii) 
the  expected  impact  of  the  response.  However,  the  EU  is  also  committed  to  demonstrating 
solidarity on a global basis, to sharing the burden of urgent unmet humanitarian food needs 
and to responding to forgotten crises. 

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Such “forecasting” should be based on early warning indicators, and should show a critical inadequacy 
or  deterioration  in  food  consumption  which,  unless  prompting  an  early  response,  will  become  life-
threatening within a timeframe consistent with the EC's humanitarian remit. 
See Footnotes 6 and 7 

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The  EU  and  its  Member  States  will  support  humanitarian  food  assistance  operations  with 
flexible  resources  so  as  to  deliver  the  most  appropriate  and  effective  response  in  a  specific 
context.  The  design  of  any  response  should  compare  alternative  activities  and  tools  on  the 
basis of their cost-effectiveness for meeting the defined needs. 

When food aid is deemed to be the most appropriate tool, local purchase (i.e. purchase in the 
country  of  operation)  or,  secondarily,  regional  food  purchases  (i.e.  procuring  from 
neighbouring  countries)  are  favoured,  so  as  to  maximise  acceptability  of  food  products, 
protect or support local markets, and reduce transportation costs and delivery timeframes.  

EU  humanitarian  food  assistance  should  be  results-based,  measuring  outcomes  and  impact 
across its operations (as well as from the practice of other players, and from relevant research) 
and using it to inform the design of subsequent humanitarian food assistance interventions.  

The EU and its Member States will therefore endeavour to ensure that all humanitarian food 
assistance operations that are financed can be monitored, without hindrance. 

The  EU  and  its  Member  States  will  strive  to  do  no  harm  in  the  process  of  providing 
humanitarian  food  assistance.  For  instance,  they  will  ensure  that,  as  far  as  possible, 
humanitarian food needs are met in ways that do not create undue dependency on the relief 
system,  nor  disrupt  the  functioning  of  markets,  nor  expose  beneficiaries  to  undue  risk  in 
receiving  assistance,  while  minimising  negative  environmental  impacts  and  ensuring  that 
conflicts over natural resources are not ignited or antagonised. The EU and its Member States 
will  ensure  that,  especially  in  conflicts,  protection  risks  and  protection  opportunities  are 
properly  evaluated  in  considering  the  consequences  of  both  intervention  and  non-
intervention10. 

The  EU  and  its  Member  States  will  incorporate  nutritional  perspectives  into  all  food 
assistance  needs  assessments  and  responses,  and  will  pay  particular  attention  to  the  specific 
nutritional  needs  of  defined  vulnerable  groups  (including  children  under-two  and  pregnant 
and lactating women). 

The EU and its Member States will ensure that human dignity is respected in the provision of 
humanitarian food assistance. They will seek the involvement of beneficiary communities in 
identifying  needs,  and  designing  and  implementing  responses.  They  will  ensure  that  the 
special needs  of vulnerable groups  within their beneficiary caseloads  (e.g. disabled, elderly, 
chronically ill) be factored into the design of humanitarian food assistance responses.  

Recognising the different needs, capacities and roles of women, girls, boys and men, the EU 
and  its  Member  States  will  systematically  seek  to  mainstream  gender  considerations  within 
humanitarian  food-needs  assessments,  in  the  design  of  humanitarian  food  assistance 
responses, and in analysing their impact.  

Humanitarian food assistance operations and food security development interventions should 
be designed and implemented in such a way that together they ensure an optimal coverage of 
emergency  and  development  needs,  whether  they  succeed  each  other  in  a  continuum  or 
coexist in a contiguum2, as in many fragile states. They should be coordinated and eventually 
dovetailed with each other so as to maximise opportunities for sustainable and durable impact, 
pursuing the ultimate objective of self-reliance for victims of food crises. 

10 

See DG ECHO's Funding Guidelines for Humanitarian Protection; 21 April 2009  

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EU  humanitarian  food  assistance  will  therefore  uphold  Linking  Relief  Rehabilitation  and 
Development (LRRD) principles and facilitate LRRD objectives, in accordance with the 2001 
Commission Communication on LRRD11, with the 2007 EU Humanitarian Aid Consensus12, 
and within the stipulations of the Framework Partnership Agreement13.  

5. 

SCOPE OF HUMANITARIAN FOOD ASSISTANCE ACTIONS 

In  order  to  achieve  the  objectives  outlined  above,  the  core  role  of  humanitarian  food 
assistance  work  is  defined  as  saving  lives,  through  delivering  assistance  to  meet  basic 
humanitarian  food  and  nutrition  needs.  However,  it  also  aims  to  fulfil  supportive  functions, 
specifically contributing to reducing risk and vulnerability, and improving the appropriateness 
and  effectiveness  of  humanitarian  food  assistance  through  capacity-strengthening  and 
advocacy.  

5.1. 

The operational scope of the Commission’s Humanitarian Food Assistance 

The Commission can trigger a humanitarian food assistance response where: 

(1) 

(2) 

due  to  inadequate  food  consumption,  emergency14  rates  of  mortality  or  acute 
malnutrition  have  been  reached  or  exceeded,  or  are  anticipated,  on  the  basis  of  firm 
forecasts15; or 

compromised  livelihoods  or  extreme  coping  strategies  (including  sale  of  productive 
assets, stress migration, resorting to unsafe or insecure survival practices) pose, or are 
firmly  anticipated  to  pose,  a  severe  threat  to  life,  or  a  risk  of  extreme  suffering, 
whether arising from, or leading to, inadequate food consumption. 

Recognising that a food crisis sometimes begins, and should be reacted to, before nutritional 
status  deteriorates,  the  Commission  will  not  necessarily  wait  for  rising  rates  of  acute 
malnutrition  before  providing  humanitarian  food  assistance,  but  will  also  respond  to  well 
defined  humanitarian  risks  that  pose  a  threat  to  life.  Nor  does  the  Commission  require  a 
formal disaster declaration in order to respond. 

In considering whether and how to respond to a given food crisis, the Commission will pay 
close  attention  to  the  comparative  advantages  and  disadvantages  of  its  humanitarian 
instruments.  This  will  be  founded  on  a  careful  analysis  of  the  needs  and  causes;  on 
consideration of the type of response that will best tackle those needs in the most appropriate 
way without doing harm; and on a close review of the alternative funding sources available.  

The  Commission  recognises  that  its  humanitarian  instruments  do  not  have  a  comparative 
advantage  in  addressing  chronic  food  insecurity.  In  principle,  it  will  not  use  humanitarian 
food  assistance  to  address  chronic  food  insecurity,  except:  where  non-intervention  poses 

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EC Communication on LRRD, 2001: Conclusions. 
EU Humanitarian Consensus, 2007: Section 2.4, Article 22; Section 3.4, Article 53; Section 5; Annex. 
DG ECHO Framework Partnership Agreement 2008: Article 8. 
The EC defines an emergency based on a combination of absolute thresholds (eg Sphere, WHO etc) and 
relative indicators set against a contextual norm. 
Such  “anticipation”  should  be  based  on  early  warning  indicators  that  show  a  critical  inadequacy  or 
deterioration  in  food  consumption  which,  unless  prompting  an  early  response,  will  become  life-
threatening within a timeframe consistent with the EC's humanitarian remit. 

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immediate  or  imminent  humanitarian  risk16  of  significant  scale  and  severity;  where  other 
more  appropriate  actors,  including  its  own  development  instruments,  are  either  unable  or 
unwilling  to  act,  and  cannot  be  persuaded  to  act;  and  where,  in  spite  of  its  comparative 
disadvantages, positive impact can be expected within the time limitations of its intervention. 
In such cases, the Commission will only engage humanitarian food assistance on the basis of 
dialogue,  coordination  and  advocacy  with  potential  development  players,  where  they  exist, 
and  with  a  clear  and  realistic  exit-strategy  defined,  ensuring  coordinated  transition  and  thus 
avoiding uncoordinated overlap. 

The  Commission  will  consider  phasing  out  its  humanitarian  food  assistance  interventions 
when  indicators  of  acute  malnutrition,  mortality  and  extreme  coping  (linked  to  inadequate 
food  consumption  or  poor  food  utilisation),  are  stable  below  emergency  levels17,  or  are 
expected  to  stabilise  below  such  levels  independently  of  the  Commission's  humanitarian 
support. This should result from the majority of the crisis-affected population achieving, for a 
sustained period and for the foreseeable future, improvements in food consumption and food 
utilisation, without resorting to detrimental coping strategies.  

The  Commission  will  also  consider  phasing  out  its  humanitarian  support  where  non-
humanitarian players (e.g. state or development actors) are able to cover the population’s food 
gap  or  where  the  humanitarian  needs  of  the  population  are  fully  covered  by  other 
humanitarian donors and actors. 

The Commission will at all times evaluate its humanitarian exit strategies on the basis of its 
comparative  advantages  relative  to  other  available  actors,  and  will  avoid  creating 
disincentives to the engagement of other more appropriate actors arising from its own delayed 
exit. It will advocate for the engagement of the most appropriate actors across the relief and 
development spectrum, according to the context and needs. 

The  Commission  will  also  consider  exiting  from  humanitarian  food  assistance  operations 
where  the  core  principles  of  humanitarian  food  assistance  cannot  be  respected,  and 
particularly  when  the  risk  of  doing  harm  outweighs  the  potential  benefits  of  remaining 
engaged.  

5.2.  Meeting Basic Food and Nutrition Needs of Crisis Affected Populations 

The EU and its Member States will respond to the diverse symptoms and underlying causes of 
transient  food  insecurity  and  acute  malnutrition  with  a  variety  of  activities  and  tools  to 
directly address problems of food availability, food access and food use. They will facilitate 
complementary, multi-sectoral and integrated programming to ensure that humanitarian food 
needs are addressed holistically and effectively.  

The choice of the most appropriate intervention and transfer instrument (e.g. cash-based or in-
kind) must be context-specific and evidence-based, and be regularly reviewed. The relevance 
and comparative advantage of the proposed option –or the combination of tools to be used – 
must  be  demonstrated,  based  on  needs  assessments  and  causal  analyses  that  are  as  accurate 
and up to date as possible. 

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17 

See Glossary in Annex A of accompanying Commission Staff Working Document 
See footnote 14 

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Humanitarian  food  assistance  will  pay  particular  attention  to  providing  beneficiaries  with 
timely access to safe and well balanced food, of sufficient quantity and quality18 to meet their 
dietary  requirements.  Where  possible,  food  assistance  should  also  conform  to  local  dietary 
preferences and be acceptable to beneficiaries.  

The  reinforcement  or  protection  of  agricultural  and  non-agricultural  livelihoods  (e.g. 
providing  veterinary  services  for  vulnerable  livestock  herds,  or  improving  agricultural  crop 
storage) is a legitimate and appropriate emergency response in some humanitarian contexts, 
so  long  as  it  is  prompted  by  emergency  needs  and  meets  humanitarian  objectives  within  an 
appropriate and finite timeframe. 

Alongside  food  assistance  measures  that  directly  address  food  consumption  requirements, 
complementary measures (e.g. public health measures) are considered vital, even though they 
do  not  impact  directly  on  food  availability,  access  or  use.  They  have  a  critical  influence  on 
how the human body is able to utilize food and thus influence nutritional outcomes. The EU 
and  its  Member  States  recognise  the  special  food  and  nutritional  needs  of  specific  groups 
within  their  overall  beneficiary  caseloads  (e.g.  young  children,  particularly  children  under 
two19, pregnant / lactating women, the elderly, people living with HIV/AIDS20). Where these 
groups are included in humanitarian food assistance operations on the basis of their food or 
nutrition  needs,  the  response  should  take  into  consideration  their  particular  requirements  by 
providing sufficiently nutritious and adapted foods.  

5.3. 

Supportive Actions 

EU humanitarian food assistance interventions must consider opportunities for mainstreaming 
disaster  risk  reduction  (DRR),  preparedness,  mitigation  and  prevention,  within  the  limits  of 
the  humanitarian  mandates,  regulations  and  food-assistance  objectives.  The  Commission's 
humanitarian food assistance strategy should be informed by the strategy contained within the 
Commission Communication on an EU Strategy for DRR in developing countries21.  

The Commission recognises that Disaster Risk Reduction initiatives (such as Early Warning 
Systems  and  Strategic  Food  Stocks)  often  demand  long-term  support,  national  or  regional 
ownership,  and  careful  consideration  of  economic  and  political  perspectives.  Therefore 
routine support for them is deemed to be beyond the comparative advantage of humanitarian 
actors.  However  the  Commission's  humanitarian  action  may  pursue  simultaneous  risk 
reduction outcomes whilst delivering food assistance, and may also participate in short-term 
reinforcement, piloting and scaling-up of DRR initiatives, in collaboration with development 
actors. Respecting the “do no harm” principle, actions should avoid increasing beneficiaries’ 
vulnerability and risk-exposure to other crises. 

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19 

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21 

Quantity, as measured in energy composition, and quality, as measured in food safety and its protein, 
macro-nutrient  and  micro-nutrient  composition.  SPHERE  /  WHO  standard  for  food  quantity  /  energy 
requirement  is  2100  Kcal  per  person  per  day,  averaged  across  all  age  groups.  WHO/UNICEF/World 
Food  Programme  (WFP)/United  Nations  High  Commission  for  Refugees  (UNHCR)  have  agreed 
standards for food quality /micronutrient composition (see Food and Nutrition Needs in Emergencies, 
Nov 2002) although these are currently under review.  
Children under-2 being those that are most at risk of illness and malnutrition, and for whom a window 
of opportunity exists to ensure long-term health and cognitive benefits through adequate nutrient intake. 
Please see DG ECHO's HIV Guidelines, adopted October 2008.  
See COM(2009)84 

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The  limited  experience  and  skill-set  of  humanitarian  actors  often  constrains  the  use  of  the 
most  appropriate  food  assistance  interventions.  Therefore  the  EU  and  its  Member  States 
recognise  the  need  to  invest  in  strengthening  the  capacity  of  the  humanitarian  system  to 
deliver more varied and more appropriate forms of food assistance.  

Increasing  levels  of  chronic  food  insecurity  equate  to  an  increasing  number  of  people 
vulnerable  to  future  crises.  If  unchecked,  this  will  multiply  the  demands  on  limited 
humanitarian  resources.  Coordination  and  advocacy  are  therefore  needed  to  influence  the 
public-policy  debates  and  the  resource-allocation  decisions  of  national  governments  and 
development actors towards meeting food-security objectives. Advocacy must be directed at 
state actors to fulfil their fundamental responsibility in safe-guarding the food-security of their 
people.  Advocacy  must  also  be  directed  at  development  actors  (including  governments)  in 
relation to the developmental needs of populations in crisis contexts.  

Effective integration of humanitarian and development assistance must be promoted through 
LRRD,  ensuring  that  the  international  aid  system  operates  consistently,  coherently  and 
transparently  to  address  hunger  and  vulnerability.  Advocacy  should  ensure  that  collective 
efforts  span  emergency,  transitional  and  developmental  needs  simultaneously,  and  promote 
enabling  conditions  linked  to  good  governance  and  conducive  national  and  international 
policies (e.g. for trade and migration). 

The  EU  and  its  Member  States  support  the  idea  of  inclusive  coordination  of  Humanitarian 
Food Assistance under strong and capacitated governance and leadership. This includes close 
coordination with relevant and viable national humanitarian actors. Within the framework of 
UN  and  Humanitarian  Reform,  the  Commission  endorses  the  cluster  approach  to 
coordination,  and  supports  all  efforts  to  make  it  work  effectively  for  the  food  and  nutrition 
sectors, ensuring that it also links with the global architecture for governance of agriculture, 
food security and nutrition. 

EN 

10 

   EN