The Role of International Organisations in Food & Health (DP IB Geography): Revision Note

International Organisations Food & Health

Roles of International Organisations 

• International organisations are important in the fight against food insecurity and disease

• They provide:

  • Key policies for food provision

  • Funding for food production and consumption

  • Education 

  • Research 

• They also influence the Nutrition Transition, working towards improving food and reducing disease

World Food Programme

• The World Food Programme (WFP) was founded by the United Nations in 1961

• Mission: Ending the global hunger crisis and food insecurity, and supporting sustainable development 

  • Food support during emergencies and crises

  • Helping communities with nutrition and resilience 

  • Development aid and relief 

• Main focus points of the WFP:

  • Emergency response and preparedness

    • Response to natural disasters, pandemics and conflict

    • Preparing for emergencies, reducing the impact and providing early warning systems

• Climate Action

  • Disasters caused by climate change e.g. floods or droughts can damage food production systems

  • Preparation, mitigation strategies and insurance support 

  • Forecast-based Financing - providing money to at-risk families, to purchase food and make their homes more resilient to disaster e.g. Bangladesh flooding in 2019

• Nutrition

  • Battling malnutrition (deficiencies and surplus) to support Sustainable Development

  • Programmes to support healthy diets for vulnerable groups e.g. pregnant women, children and immunocompromised people (HIV)

• School-based programmes

  • Provision of school meals to support child nutrition and education 

  • Homegrown school feeding sources food locally, bringing income to local farmers 

  • Also working to provide water, sanitation and deworming

• Small farms

  • Helping small farms produce sustainable food with business training 

  • Improving infrastructures like roads to transport food to markets 

• Resilience

  • Food Assistance to Assets Programme - provides money for people to afford food, so their focus goes towards other vital projects e.g. climate disaster resilience

  • Cash Assistance - provision of money or vouchers to improve food choices. This also supports local food production and the economy

  • Country Strategic Plans - educating those who work in the public, private and civil sectors, to better mitigate disaster and improve food security. It also provides investment into early warning systems for disasters 

    • E.g. The Ethiopian government received support in using drones to track flooding areas

• It is donation-based and is currently experiencing a funding crisis, with a heavy financial shortfall in 2023 

• In 2022, the WFP supported around 160 million people, a new record

Food and Agriculture Organisation of the United Nations (FAO)

• Part of the United Nations, which focuses on ending world hunger and ensuring food security

• Founded in 1945  

• Mission:

  • Ending food insecurity, malnutrition and world hunger

  • Improving sustainability and productivity of agriculture 

    • Ensuring agricultural efficiency to reach food security

  • Lower poverty in rural areas

    • Hunger and food insecurity are higher in rural areas 

  • Inclusivity and efficiency in agricultural systems 

    • The globalisation of agriculture has caused inequality for small-scale farmers

  • Disaster protection 

    • Natural disasters or conflicts can affect vital food resources, impacting those dependent on food production and consumption 

• An example of an FAO programme:

  • Brazil-FAO International Cooperation Programme:

    • School feeding projects in Latin America and the Caribbean

    • Latin America and the Caribbean Without Hunger 2025 initiative

    • Sustainable Rural Development in Latin America and the Caribbean

    • Development of sustainable aquaculture in Latin America and the Caribbean

World Health Organization 

• The World Health Organization (WHO) is the leader in health emergency response

• The organisation:

  • Is working towards improving health care access, preventing diseases and supporting wellbeing 

  • Is part of the United Nations

  • Was founded in 1948

  • Working towards Goal 3 of the UN Sustainable Development Goals:

    • ‘Ensure healthy lives and promote well-being for all at all ages’

  • Funded through the 194 member states’ ‘memberships’ and other voluntary donations from organisations and the private sector

  • Vital for leading the world on health advances, research, creating policies and tracking world health 

  • Led successes e.g. the eradication of smallpox

Role of Governments 

• Governments are vital in providing policies and research that support food security:

  • Import policies and subsidies e.g. the EU Common Agricultural Policy (CAP)

    • Stabilises food supply, protects farmers and their money, and maintains the environment and rural beauty 

    • Ensures food is of good quality, safe and affordable

    • Ensures there is enough food

    • Improves standard of living for farmers

    • Main ideas:

      • Viable food production 

      • Sustainable resource management

      • Balancing rural development

  • CAP uses roughly 40% of the EU’s budget

  • It has been criticised as it increases prices for consumers and increases competition for developing countries 

  • It has also resulted in food dumping from an overproduction of food

• Local projects, e.g. in the UK

  • Free school meals

  • Meals on wheels 

• Government support in combatting disease:

  • Laws or policies for disease control

    • COVID-19 lockdowns, border closures and other mitigation strategies

    • Ebola in the Democratic Republic of the Congo; the CDC supported the country with personnel aid, including surveillance, testing, tracing and education 

  • Vaccine rollouts 

    • Global COVID-19 vaccine

    • The Malaria Vaccine Implementation Programme 2019 (by the WHO) began the rollout of the first malaria vaccine 

  • Health education 

    • In 2008, the Chinese Government introduced the National Health Literacy Promotion Project

      • Media advertisements about important healthcare information 

      • Health literacy to become part of school learning 

      • Health education in workplaces and other public areas

      • Extra support where development is lower

Role of NGOs

• NGOs or Non-Governmental Organisations are non-profit or charity organisations 

• This means they are primarily donation and volunteer-based

The Trussel Trust

• This is a UK-based foodbank initiative

• There are 1300 Trussel Trust foodbanks across the country

• The organisation:

  • Provides food to those in need, through food donations

  • Provides support to help improve people’s lives

  • Works towards ending the need for UK food banks

• In 2022/2023, the Trussel Trust provided nearly 3 million food parcels 

NothingButNets (United to Beat Malaria)

• This is part of the United Nations Foundations

• It is a grassroots organisation, working to combat Malaria 

• The organisation:

  • Has supported 39 million people with nets and other resources

  • Pushes for more global assistance and funding

  • Gives high priority for the most vulnerable groups e.g. children, pregnant women, displaced people and rural communities 

MSF (Medecins Sans Frontiers) - Doctors Without Borders 

• Provides Medical support to those in need e.g. people hit by disasters, conflicts, epidemics

• Founded in 1971 by French doctors, following the war in Nigeria 

• The founding principles of MSF are:

  • Impartiality

  • Independence

  • Neutrality

  • Bearing witness to inequalities

  • Being transparent

• Donation-based, with volunteers and permanent staff