Addressing Integrated Coordination in Food Security Crises: A Brief Assessment of the Role, Mandate, and Challenges of the Global Food Security Cluster

In May 2011, the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) and World Food Programme (WFP) formally launched the global Food Security Cluster (FSC) as the UN’s global mechanism for coordinating food security responses in emergencies. The creation of the global cluster coincides with a period in which the number of food security actors has continued to grow, the operating environment has become more complex, and the range of responses has required greater levels of skill in analysis, planning, implementation and monitoring. All of this underscores the need for greater coordination.
This paper, commissioned by the Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency (SIDA), briefly summarizes the mandate of the newly formed global FSC, presents an analysis of the major issues and challenges it faces, and provides recommendations to donors and the global FSC for possible ways to address these issues. The six major issues facing the FSC include: the leadership of clusters and coordination; coordination linkages and challenges at the global level; transitions, exit and the “boundaries” of food security coordination in emergencies; accountability, effectiveness and funding.