Famine Early Warning Systems Network
Encyclopedia
Famine Early Warning Systems Network (FEWS NET) is a lead organization in the field of prediction and response to famine
s and other forms of food security
. Funded by the United States
Agency for International Development
since its creation in 1985, it analyzes a variety of data and information, such as market prices of food, precipitation
and crop failures to predict when and where food insecurity will occur, and issues alerts on predicted crises. For political reasons the Central American early warning system is titled the Mesoamerican Food Security Early Warning System, also called MFEWS. While currently monitoring approximately 17 sub-Saharan African countries, FEWS NET also has regional offices in Ouagadougou, Nairobi and Pretoria, and national offices in Guatemala, Haiti, and Afghanistan.
created the Famine Early Warning System (FEWS) to anticipate possible impending famines and advise policy makers on how such famines might be prevented and their effects mitigated. In the beginning of July 2000, the name was changed to the Famine Early Warning Systems Network. The name change occurred due to a new objective of helping to create and strengthen local food security information systems and famine warning and response planning systems within Africa
with which the U.S. could work.
's Climate Prediction Center, the United States Geological Survey
, the United States Department of Agriculture
's Foreign Agriculture Service, and a private-sector company managing field operations, and 2) a large number of operational partners in host-countries, and regional and international organizations. This network provides a broad geographic coverage, and multi-sectoral monitoring of food insecure and vulnerable populations/regions of the world, especially where it is difficult to assess food security. FEWS NET categorizes the severity of food insecurity levels according to a global Integrated Phase Classification-like scale, which allows comparable estimations of severity across countries and continents.
Famine
A famine is a widespread scarcity of food, caused by several factors including crop failure, overpopulation, or government policies. This phenomenon is usually accompanied or followed by regional malnutrition, starvation, epidemic, and increased mortality. Every continent in the world has...
s and other forms of food security
Food security
Food security refers to the availability of food and one's access to it. A household is considered food-secure when its occupants do not live in hunger or fear of starvation. According to the World Resources Institute, global per capita food production has been increasing substantially for the past...
. Funded by the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
Agency for International Development
United States Agency for International Development
The United States Agency for International Development is the United States federal government agency primarily responsible for administering civilian foreign aid. President John F. Kennedy created USAID in 1961 by executive order to implement development assistance programs in the areas...
since its creation in 1985, it analyzes a variety of data and information, such as market prices of food, precipitation
Precipitation (meteorology)
In meteorology, precipitation In meteorology, precipitation In meteorology, precipitation (also known as one of the classes of hydrometeors, which are atmospheric water phenomena is any product of the condensation of atmospheric water vapor that falls under gravity. The main forms of precipitation...
and crop failures to predict when and where food insecurity will occur, and issues alerts on predicted crises. For political reasons the Central American early warning system is titled the Mesoamerican Food Security Early Warning System, also called MFEWS. While currently monitoring approximately 17 sub-Saharan African countries, FEWS NET also has regional offices in Ouagadougou, Nairobi and Pretoria, and national offices in Guatemala, Haiti, and Afghanistan.
History
The 1984 - 1985 famines in Sudan and Ethiopia, in which up to a million people may have died, was widely reported around the world. In response, the United StatesUnited States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
created the Famine Early Warning System (FEWS) to anticipate possible impending famines and advise policy makers on how such famines might be prevented and their effects mitigated. In the beginning of July 2000, the name was changed to the Famine Early Warning Systems Network. The name change occurred due to a new objective of helping to create and strengthen local food security information systems and famine warning and response planning systems within Africa
Africa
Africa is the world's second largest and second most populous continent, after Asia. At about 30.2 million km² including adjacent islands, it covers 6% of the Earth's total surface area and 20.4% of the total land area...
with which the U.S. could work.
Work
FEWS NET develops its predictions by combining remote analyses of crop condition and agricultural production, often using satellite-based information, with on-the-ground monitoring—through household surveys and observation—of local socio-economic conditions. FEWS NET analyses are carried out in partnership with: 1) implementing team partners: the National Oceanic and Atmospheric AdministrationNational Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration , pronounced , like "noah", is a scientific agency within the United States Department of Commerce focused on the conditions of the oceans and the atmosphere...
's Climate Prediction Center, the United States Geological Survey
United States Geological Survey
The United States Geological Survey is a scientific agency of the United States government. The scientists of the USGS study the landscape of the United States, its natural resources, and the natural hazards that threaten it. The organization has four major science disciplines, concerning biology,...
, the United States Department of Agriculture
United States Department of Agriculture
The United States Department of Agriculture is the United States federal executive department responsible for developing and executing U.S. federal government policy on farming, agriculture, and food...
's Foreign Agriculture Service, and a private-sector company managing field operations, and 2) a large number of operational partners in host-countries, and regional and international organizations. This network provides a broad geographic coverage, and multi-sectoral monitoring of food insecure and vulnerable populations/regions of the world, especially where it is difficult to assess food security. FEWS NET categorizes the severity of food insecurity levels according to a global Integrated Phase Classification-like scale, which allows comparable estimations of severity across countries and continents.
Tools
Population Explorer is a FEWS NET software tool used for estimating human population down the 1 km2. It is used to answer basic questions about human population, such as: How many people live in this area? What are their characteristics? How many women live here? How many men live here? What is the age structure of this population? How many people can we expect to live here in the future? These questions can be asked at a country level, sub-country level, cross-country level, or for any user-defined area. Developed by a Nairobi, Kenya based company (Kimetrica) to estimate populations vulnerable to food insecurity, Population Explorer extends beyond famine early warning, and is being used by professionals in disaster response and preparedness, as well as for use in planning for health, educational, and other public services.External links
- FEWS NET homepage
- Population Explorer
- FEWS NET USGS early warning products, United States Geological SurveyUnited States Geological SurveyThe United States Geological Survey is a scientific agency of the United States government. The scientists of the USGS study the landscape of the United States, its natural resources, and the natural hazards that threaten it. The organization has four major science disciplines, concerning biology,...
- FEWS NET NOAA early warning products National Oceanic and Atmospheric AdministrationNational Oceanic and Atmospheric AdministrationThe National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration , pronounced , like "noah", is a scientific agency within the United States Department of Commerce focused on the conditions of the oceans and the atmosphere...