In the context of the Global Food and Fuel Crisis, funding shortfalls are a growing challenge for assistance to meet refugees’ basic needs, resulting in a need to prioritize the most vulnerable. This is highly problematic as in many countries, refugees have limited access to economic opportunities and often are largely reliant on humanitarian assistance to meet their basic needs. What is more, challenges in meeting basic needs undermine the ability of refugee households to invest in livelihoods and move towards self-reliance.

This Humanitarian Talk will highlight country level experiences of stepped-up collaboration facilitated by the WFP-UNHCR joint hub for programme excellence and targeting to tackle growing humanitarian needs in resource-constrained environments through an evidence-based approach to targeting and prioritizing of humanitarian assistance, while promoting a long-term perspective to strengthen inclusion and joint programming in support of operationalizing the nexus approach. When there are scarce resources for assistance; evidence-based prioritization of the most vulnerable is critical to ensure those most in need are assisted and to avoid the exacerbation of most severe coping strategies, and to support protection outcomes. Meanwhile, expanded partnerships are essential to address the underlying causes of refugee food insecurity and supporting greater self-reliance and socio-economic inclusion.

Organisers: UNHCR, WFP

Speakers:

• Mrs Jane Lewis, Coordinator of the UNHCR-WFP Joint Programme Excellence and Targeting Hub
• Mr David Kaatrud, Director, Humanitarian-Development Division, Programme and Policy Department (WFP)
• Mrs Alia Al-Khatar-Williams, Deputy Director of the Division of Resilience and Solutions (DRS), UNHCR
• Mrs Elizabeth Eyster, UNHCR Representative to Mauritania

Moderator : Mr Claus Sörensen, former DG of ECHO