Impressions from the side events, exhibitions and demos of the Second Regular Session of the Executive Board 2019

On the margins of the Second Regular Session of the Executive Board, WFP hosted side events, exhibitions and demos sponsored by various Member States, WFP Divisions and Regional Bureaux, and private sector companies including, among others:

• “Visualizing emergencies: featuring the work of Geospatial Support Unit and Geographical Information Systems (GIS)” which was sponsored by the Swiss Permanent Representation and the WFP Emergencies Division, the event featured a number of experts and country directors in a discussion on how to extend WFP GIS capabilities to its partners and wider humanitarian community towards achieving SDG 2.
• “Partnering for Impact: the WFP – DSM Story”, sponsored by the Netherlands and Private Partnerships and Fundraising Division which showcased the long-standing collaboration between WFP and Royal DSM and how WFP partners with the business sector.

• “WFP and Partners Operationalizing Integrated Resilience Packages in the Sahel: Progress, Challenges and Opportunities”. The Regional Bureau for West Africa showcased results achieved in Burkina Faso, Chad, Mali, Mauritania and the Niger through convergent and scalable efforts for resilience with a focus on regional, government and community engagement.  Among the guests and panellists were H.E. Moulaye Ahmed Boubacar, Minister of Agriculture of Mali, Mr Issa Sorgho, Counsellor of the Minister of Agriculture of Burkina Faso and H.E. Ali Bety, High Commissioner for the 3N Initiative, Government of the Niger.
• “Moving forward in partnership: Promoting an integrated school health and nutrition package”: WFP, African Union, Canada and Russian Federation provided concrete examples of inter-agency cooperation for the implementation of school feeding programmes combined with health and nutrition interventions across the African continent.  The event concluded with the speech by H.E. Sarah Mbi Enow Anyang, African Union Commissioner of Human Resources, Science and Technology.
• The Government of Luxembourg, Mozambique, the Nippon Electric Company (NEC) Corporation and the WFP Technology Division co-hosted the event on “Data Responsibility in Humanitarian Action in the Digital Era”.  

• Regional Bureau for Southern Africa and Zimbabwe Country Office co-sponsored the side event “Zimbabwe: Scaling Up the Triple Nexus in the Wake of an Unprecedented Humanitarian Response” which focused on the urgency for immediate additional support in Zimbabwe and the need for Member States to engage with the international financial institutions.

Please consult all materials on side events, exhibitions and demos on the meeting webpage.

By Annalisa Vecchio, Executive Board Consultant, Rome