Welcome to discussion room on "Global advocacy and collaboration".


This pathway captures WFP’s global role in terms of advocating zero hunger, sustainable development and peace, as well as leveraging its position and capabilities to strengthen collaboration and partnerships for the SDGs.


While advocating and collaborating for the SDGs can take many forms, the emphasis is on promoting strategic communications on SDG 2 and fostering a broad enabling environment of working together to support the SDGs, as well as enabling peace. In addition to its engagement with governments, WFP will strengthen its collaboration with other United Nations agencies, the private sector, financial institutions, and leverage South-South and triangular cooperation.


Please answer the following questions:

  1. What do you think are the critical long term and future shifts that are transforming how WFP can champion Global advocacy and collaboration?
  2. In that future, what WFP should do differently or better?

 

 

Comments (11)

Marisa Muraskiewicz (WFP)
Marisa Muraskiewicz (WFP) Moderator

Hello everyone!

It's nice to meet you. I work with the Research, Assessment and Monitoring (RAM) Division at WFP Headquarters and I'm currently collaborating with a team to develop WFP's new Strategic Plan (2022-2026). 

I'll be co-moderating this room's discussions and look forward to hearing your experiences and ideas around the consultation questions. 

Thank you for your engagement and valuable insights - speak to you soon!

Best regards, 

Marisa

Sarah Colbourne
Sarah Colbourne

WFP is increasingly called upon to provide capacity-strengthening services in complex settings along the humanitarian-development-peace nexus. In this context, it is important to build internal knowledge and understanding (e.g., on the CCS Framework and Toolkit), align (potentially clustered) country office structures with a medium-term perspective by enhancing contract stability, and partner with experienced stakeholders to learn from and complement each other's expertise on needs assessments and proven methodologies. This may help to make best use of limited resources.

Marisa Muraskiewicz (WFP)
Marisa Muraskiewicz (WFP) Moderator

Hi Sarah,

Thank you for mentioning capacity strengthening as part of WFP’s strategic role in the triple nexus.

For those who are not familiar with the triple nexus, this approach implies that humanitarian, development, and peace outcomes complement and contribute to each other with a vision to reduce the risks, vulnerabilities and needs among populations we serve. The underlying objectives for the approach are to: a) address and gradually reduce humanitarian needs, b) gradually implement and scale up integrated resilience interventions, and c) pursue social cohesion and peace outcomes.

WFP is especially committed to operationalizing the approach in West and Central Africa where protracted and complex crises in the region call for a layered and sequenced approach that simultaneously addresses short-term emergency needs, breaks the cycle of dependence on humanitarian assistance and addresses the root causes of instability, conflict, and food and nutrition insecurity.

The CCS framework and toolkit is definitely a useful resource for embedding capacity strengthening in WFP’s response to the nexus. Could anyone share their experiences, best practices or lessons learned on strengthening the capacity of institutions or local actors (including using the CCS framework!) to deliver quality programming and equitable services related the nexus?

Graan Jaff
Graan Jaff
  • What do you think are the critical long term and future shifts that are transforming how WFP can champion Global advocacy and collaboration? In that future, what WFP should do differently or better?

Similar to other flagship initiatives (ie School Meals, Social Protection, Nutrition, PHL, etc), WFP should position itself in the global policy arena, by investing and reinforcing “resilient global trade systems” showing the unique advantage on supply chains, where WFP has a clear global leadership role. This requires thought leadership, policy, advocacy, and investments.  

Marisa Muraskiewicz (WFP)
Marisa Muraskiewicz (WFP) Moderator

Hi Graan,  Thanks for mentioning ‘resilient global trade systems’ as an area where WFP has potential to contribute to global policy and dialogue! I'm wondering if there is any literature that outlines WFP’s position or key contributions in this area, or do you think these still need to be developed in the form of a policy document for example? 

Graan Jaff
Graan Jaff

hi Marisa - as of now, we do not have much literature on this, other than bits and pieces reflected in the various ACR/APR. But it is definitely and area of interest for our function if this pathway6 remains in the future WFP strategic plan. The idea would be to engage in a cross-functional dialogue with key divisions at HQ and collaborate with external stakeholders, member states and others with a view to developing a policy document on resilient trade systems. 

Barbara VANLOGCHEM
Barbara VANLOGCHEM

I must admit I do not understand why we are still talking about achieving zero hunger and achieving the SDGs by 2030 (ToC doc pt. 4-8). It lacks credibility and can even mislead us in terms of what we need to be prioritizing now to achieve zero hunger sustainably by 2050. Achieving lasting capacity strengthening and sustainable food systems and livelihoods takes time. WFP and the UN as a whole would do well to partner with the likes of Bill Gates to determine how our collective catalytic demand and comparative advantage can be used most effectively towards lowering the ‘green premium’ across various key sectors, so that we can achieve sustainable zero hunger and livelihoods across the globe by 2050 (see also Gates’ last book, ‘How to Avoid a Climate Disaster’).  This ‘How’ should be laid down in a new UN plan to 2050 and the entire UN must advocate with existing and new donors to accept green premiums that are wisely selected (i.e. in those areas where the green premium will come down as volumes increase and technologies develop, as is happening e.g. with electric vehicles – as opposed to investing only in what appear to be quick wins in the short term but draws away attention and money from where we need to be by 2050).

In the meantime we must continue to prioritize maintaining our excellence in emergencies. During the COVID19 crisis many COs have shown us how important it is to keep innovating in our core business of in-kind and cash-based assistance. Following the success of the global common services C19 response we are now rightfully investing in the expansion of logistics services, however the same cannot be said for our core supply chain operations, whether in-kind or cash based. I would advocate for a review of the IRM, which has made supply chain and especially logistics more invisible and suffering from lack of investment and cuts – when SC spans across all Activities, are often a driver of change and the first to be called upon in emergencies. We can no longer depend only on our CSPs to maintain our logistics excellence and emergency response capacity. This should be addressed at the strategic level. The SC function in turn should invest in stronger performance in the delivery of cash-based emergency response.

Marisa Muraskiewicz (WFP)
Marisa Muraskiewicz (WFP) Moderator

Hi Barbara, 

Thank you for raising the importance for WFP to partner with non-traditional donors to maintain a longer term vision and achieve zero hunger sustainably by 2050. Are there any areas or ways where you see WFP leading on these advocacy efforts, or will WFP’s role be more collaborative with other actors ?

Thank you for also raising the need to ensure attention to WFP’s excellence in emergencies and maintain a strategic angle on supply chains so that they can continue to effectively and sustainably deliver essential goods and services to people. You mention that the SC function should invest in stronger performance of the delivery of cash-based emergency response; could you please specify any areas of CBT delivery in emergencies that in particular need strengthening? This is also a question that other colleagues are welcome to reflect on and share their views, thank you!

Barbara VANLOGCHEM
Barbara VANLOGCHEM

Marisa Muraskiewicz (WFP) 

Winning the Nobel Peace Prize has given us more influence and created a tremendous advocacy opportunity for WFP in the fight against hunger and malnutrition. There are many facets to hunger and our advocacy needs to recognize and reflect these. ‘Hidden hunger’ is one, when the quality of food consumed does not meet the nutrient requirements and malnutrition prevails, and we should advocate for improved access to quality nutritious foods. Hunger in Conflict is another. Nothing will move progress in fragile context as much as peace. In our region, the bulk of our portfolio relates to displacement and crisis resulting from conflict. I can think of no better way to shift the dial on this than by using the momentum received from the Nobel Prize to advocate and influence more with governments, regional and international entities to help build peace and to support this narrative with interventions that pursue nexus outcomes where possible.

As to how the SC function can strengthen its impact cash-based response. I do not have all the answers. As a function, more attention and investment seems to go towards expanding service provision than towards topics like cash based transfers and social protection. We are comfortable with service provision to strengthen the operations of others; yet we’re not comfortable with concepts like social protection, when a lot of what we do there concerns the strengthening of operations of others. We could apply more of a service provision lens to cash-based assistance,  to strengthen market operations, preparedness and the delivery of cash in emergencies. I would be happy to discuss this in more detail with colleagues.

Dragica Pajevic Alp
Dragica Pajevic Alp

WFP’s expertise and capacity to make things work in fragile supply chains is unparalleled and, in my opinion, is something we should not be undermining. Rather, we should proudly use it to (re)position ourselves as an organization that can “move mountains”, one that always comes though when needed and one that can not only make things work in fragile supply chains but also partner with others enabling them do the same in their own areas of interests and needs. I suggest we capitalize on this while we still have the reputation of an able partner in this area and still reasonable degree of know-how.

In today’s environment of economic crises, climate change, competition for resources and conflicts, (re)positioning oneself as the a) doer, b) enabler and c) advisor towards making things work in fragile supply chains is in my view not only logical path for WFP but it is also something we owe to the world. Or, as a minimum, we must say that we are “no longer doing that” thus make the room for someone else to step in (as some are already trying and succeeding to some extent).  

Marisa Muraskiewicz (WFP)
Marisa Muraskiewicz (WFP) Moderator

Hi Dragica,

Thank you for highlighting WFP’s excellence in fragile supply chains and the opportunity to capitalize on this expertise by enabling others and strengthening partnerships. WFP definitely has a role to share knowledge, data, advice or guidance on supply chains with partners, capacitating them to deliver.  

I’m curious if you think WFP’s role as an enabler in this area is limited to the countries where WFP has operational presence or could it also extend to middle or higher income level countries?


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