National Workshop on SDG Indicator 2.1.2 (Lusaka, Zambia)

The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), in collaboration with the Central Statistics Office (ZAMSTATS), is hosting a capacity-building workshop on the Food Insecurity Experience Scale (FIES) in Lusaka, Zambia from September 16 to September 20, 2024.

As the custodian agency for food security SDG Indicator 2.1.2, FAO is responsible for building technical capacity in member countries to monitor progress towards SDG Target 2.1: End hunger and ensure access for all people, particularly the poor and vulnerable, to safe, nutritious, and sufficient food all year round by 2030.

Overall, the workshop aimed to enhance the capacity of national food and nutrition security analysts to effectively utilize the FIES methodology for monitoring and analyzing food security data. It focused on the FIES 30 Days Module methodology, data collection, analysis, and interpretation, with the goal of supporting evidence-based policies and interventions to improve food security in Zambia, given the recently declared state of national disaster. Data from the Zambia Vulnerability Assessment Survey of June 2024 was utilized.

Outcomes:

• Enhanced understanding of the FIES and PoU methodologies and their applications in food security analysis.
• Developed skills in data collection, analysis, and reporting of food insecurity indicators using FIES.
• Strengthened capacity to generate reliable and comparable food insecurity estimates at national and sub-national levels.
• Promotion of the use of FIES and PoU data for evidence-based decision-making in food security and nutrition programming.
  

Participants:

Among the participants were members of the Zambia Vulnerability Assessment Committee (ZAMVAC), including representatives from government ministries, UN agencies, NGOs, and other relevant stakeholders involved in food security and nutrition monitoring and assessment.