Food security in conflict and disaster zones

Submission status: Open

Open for submission from: 05 October 2023

Submission deadline: 08 October 2024

Food security is a fundamental human right but remains a global concern. Millions worldwide face inadequate access to sufficient safe and nutritious food. Communities in conflict and disaster zones often experience the disruption or complete destruction of the systems maintaining their food infrastructure, causing severe damage to their health and well-being. Addressing these challenges is a moral imperative to achieving the United Nations' Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) Goal 2: "Zero Hunger." This Collection seeks to bring together new research on the myriad challenges of maintaining food security in conflict and disaster zones and insights on how they might be resolved. We invite original contributions that explore the following topics, among others: • Food infrastructure disruption and its impact on food security: Examining how conflict and disasters affect food production, distribution, and access and their subsequent consequences on food security. • Humanitarian aid and interventions: Assessing the effectiveness of various interventions to ensure food security in crisis settings. (e.g. emergency food aid, cash transfers, and livelihood support. • Nutrition and health outcomes: Investigating the impact of food insecurity in conflict and disaster zones on nutritional status, health outcomes, mental health, and the long-term consequences for affected populations. • Resilience and adaptation: Exploring approaches to build resilience and promote adaptive strategies to enhance food security (e.g. including climate change adaptation and sustainable agricultural practices). • Policy and governance: Analyzing the role of policies and international frameworks in addressing food security challenges and identifying gaps and opportunities for improvement. By providing a platform for researchers to share their expertise, this Collection aims to stimulate interdisciplinary dialogue and generate evidence-based insights to inform policy and practice in food security.

Editors

Desalegn Yayeh Ayal ,

Desalegn Yayeh Ayal

Desalegn Yayeh Ayal, PhD, is an Associate Professor of Disaster Risk Management and Development at the Center for Food Security Studies, College of Development Studies, Addis Ababa University. Desalegn holds a PhD degree in Geography. Desalegn serves as the Deputy Editor of the International Journal of Climate Change Strategies and Management. His principal areas of research interest include climate change vulnerability, climate change adaptation, climate change mitigation and related issues, indigenous weather forecasting, integrated natural resources rehabilitation and management, livelihoods and food security nexus, among others.
Birgit Kemmerling &

Birgit Kemmerling

Birgit Kemmerling, PhD, is a senior researcher at Bonn International Centre for Conflict Studies in Germany. She holds a PhD in geography. For the past fifteen years, she has been researching and working in various countries in the MENA region and sub-Saharan Africa. Her research and publications focus on understanding the – often conflictive – relations between humans and the environment and its implications for practitioners in development cooperation and humanitarian assistance.
Rebecca Pietrelli

Rebecca Pietrelli

Rebecca Pietrelli, Ph.D., serves as an economist within the Agrifood Economics and Policy Division (ESA) at the Food and Agricultural Organization (FAO) of the United Nations. Specializing in economic and impact evaluation analyses, her role involves informing and assessing various programs, particularly in Sub-Sahara Africa and the Middle East. She possesses extensive expertise in the design of surveys and the conduct of analyses pertaining to food security and resilience in crisis and emergency scenarios. Her journal articles are centered on topics such as migration, resilience, food security, vulnerability to poverty, and conflict.