‘Country-driven’ approach needed to limit COVID-19 damage to food security?

14 July 2020

Health?UN

A ‘business as usual' approach is no longer an option, the head of the UN agriculture agency said on Tuesday, launching a new plan to move past the coronavirus pandemic.

"We must work very hard to limit?COVID-19's damaging effects on food security and nutrition”, QU Dongyu, Director-General of the Food and Agriculture Agency (FAO)?said?in his opening remarks launching the new strategy: “We need to be more country-driven, innovative and work closely hand in hand”.?

FAO’s comprehensive?COVID-19 Response and Recovery Programme?aims to avert?a global food emergency during and after the pandemic while simultaneously?working on medium to long-term development responses for food security and nutrition.?

avert v. /??v??t/ ?

1.to prevent sth bad or dangerous from happening 防止，避免（危險(xiǎn)、壞事）

?A disaster was narrowly averted. 及時(shí)防止了一場(chǎng)災(zāi)難。

2.~ your eyes, gaze, face (from sth) to turn your eyes, etc. away from sth that you do not want to see 轉(zhuǎn)移目光；背過(guò)臉

?She averted her eyes from the terrible scene in front of her. 她背過(guò)臉，不去看面前可怕的場(chǎng)面。?

Simultaneously?/?s?ml?te?ni?sli/同時(shí)地??

To provide a coordinate response that ensures access to nutritious food globally, resources and partnerships must be mobilize at country, regional and global level, requiring a $1.2 billion initial investment.

The new programme aims to mitigate the immediate impacts of the pandemic while strengthening the longer-term resilience of food systems and livelihoods.

“This is how?FAO?has built its?COVID-19?comprehensive response and recovery programme, and today we are asking you to join us", said the FAO chief.

Food security hangs in balance

In addition to being a major public concern, the pandemic also imperils?global food security.?

imperil v. /?m?per?l/ ?[ VN ] ( formal ) to put sth/sb in danger 使陷于危險(xiǎn)；危及

According to World Bank's estimates, the economic impact of the crisis could push some 49 million more people into extreme poverty.?

Furthermore, soaring unemployment rates, income losses and rising food costs not only jeopardize food access in both developed and developing countries but also have long-term effects on food security.?

Key response areas

The report?lays out seven priorities to enhance food system and minimize?COVID-19?effects on food security.?

? Reinforce?a global humanitarian response plan for COVID-19.

? Improve data for decision-making,

? Ensure economic inclusion and social protection to reduce poverty.

??Bolster?trade and food safety standards.

? Boost smallholders’ ability to recover.

? Strengthen a “One Health” approach to prevent the next zoonotic?pandemic?

? Transform how food systems work

Lay out：擺放，清晰的表達(dá)

reinforce v. /?ri??n?f??s/ ?

1.to make a feeling, an idea, etc. stronger 加強(qiáng)；充實(shí)；使更強(qiáng)烈

?The climate of political confusion has only reinforced the country's economic decline. 政局混亂只加速了國(guó)家經(jīng)濟(jì)的衰退。

2.to make a structure or material stronger, especially by adding another material to it 加固；使更結(jié)實(shí)?reinforced steel 增強(qiáng)鋼材

3.to send more people or equipment in order to make an army, etc. stronger 給…加強(qiáng)力量（或裝備）；使更強(qiáng)大

bolster /?b??lst?(r)/ 改善，增強(qiáng)； 墊枕（長(zhǎng)而厚）

~ sth (up) to improve sth or make it stronger 改善；加強(qiáng)

?to bolster sb's confidence/courage/morale 增加某人的信心╱勇氣╱士氣

zoonotic zoon-otic adj. 動(dòng)物傳染病的

And as?COVID-19?plunges national economies into recession, with more to come, countries must urgently act to mitigate the longer-term impacts on food systems and food security.

Meanwhile existing crises – such as conflict, natural disasters, climate change and plagues?– that are already stressing food systems and triggering food insecurity around the globe, are compounding a precarious situation.

Plague?/ple?ɡ/?1，The Plague 特指鼠疫,2，死亡率高的傳染??；3，~ of sth large numbers of an animal or insect that come into an area and cause great damage （老鼠或昆蟲(chóng)等肆虐造成的）災(zāi)害，禍患 ?a plague of locusts/rats, etc. 蝗災(zāi)、鼠害等

Reading the future

FAO?is asking governments to better understand emerging trends, pinpoint?any lapses?and provide technical advice and capacity development across a wide range of disciplines. In addition, it is offering more investment support.

pinpoint /?p?np??nt/vt. 查明；精確地找到；準(zhǔn)確描述?adj. 精確的；詳盡的?n. 針尖；精確位置；極小之物

lapse /l?ps/ ?

1.a small mistake, especially one that is caused by forgetting sth or by being careless 小錯(cuò)；（尤指）記錯(cuò)，過(guò)失，疏忽??a lapse of concentration/memory 心不在焉；記錯(cuò)

2.a period of time between two things that happen （兩件事發(fā)生的）間隔時(shí)間

?After a lapse of six months we met up again. 相隔六個(gè)月之后我們又相遇了。

3.行為失檢；（平時(shí)表現(xiàn)不錯(cuò)的人一時(shí)的）失足

“The Food?Coalition?is an exemplary approach to?leveraging?high-level capital and political will to avoid an escalation of the pandemic from a health crisis to a food crisis", FAO Deputy Director-General Beth Bechdol told the meeting, amidst a warning that "immense” efforts will be needed ahead.

coalition n. /?k????l??n/ ?

1.（兩黨或多黨）聯(lián)合政府?to form a coalition 組成聯(lián)合政府??a two-party coalition 兩黨聯(lián)合的政府??a coalition government 聯(lián)合政府

2.（尤指多個(gè)政治團(tuán)體的）聯(lián)合體，聯(lián)盟??a coalition of environmental and consumer groups 環(huán)境保護(hù)和消費(fèi)者團(tuán)體的聯(lián)盟

3.[ U ] the act of two or more groups joining together 聯(lián)合；結(jié)合；聯(lián)盟

exemplary adj. /?ɡ?zempl?ri/ ?example?

1.providing a good example for people to copy 典范的；可作榜樣的；可作楷模的

?Her behaviour was exemplary. 她的行為堪作楷模。

2.?[ usually before noun ] ( law 律 ) ( formal ) ( of punishment 懲罰 ) severe; used especially as a warning to others 嚴(yán)厲的；儆戒性的；懲戒性的

leverage n. ??/?li?v?r?d?/ ?

1.( formal ) the ability to influence what people do 影響力??diplomatic leverage 外交影響力

2.( technical 術(shù)語(yǔ) ) the act of using a lever to open or lift sth; the force used to do this 杠桿作用；杠桿效力

?原文鏈接：https://news.un.org/en/story/2020/07/1068361