Meredith Soule POLICY SEMINAR Virtual Event - What do we need for a gender-sensitive Covid-19 response in agriculture and food security? Insights from research and practice MAY 21, 2020 - 09:30 AM TO 10:45 AM EDT

1. 1
IFPRI Virtual Event
Gender and COVID-19’s Impacts on
Global Agriculture, Food Security and
Nutrition
MAY 21, 2020
9:30 a.m. EDT
Meredith Soule, RFS/Inclusive Development Division

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Prioritizing Our Response to COVID-19
● U.S. Government Goal:
○ Save lives; Reduce secondary impacts; Leadership and
expertise for global benefit
● USAID Response:
○ Protect the safety and health security of our global workforce
○ Ensure we can continue our mission across the world
○ Support countries in their response to COVID-19
● Respond to secondary impacts of COVID-19 by:
○ Adapting current food security and assistance programming to
ongoing global challenges
○ Protecting development gains and planning for the long-term
implications of COVID-19
○ Taking an inclusive approach to prevention, mitigation and
response

3. 3
Overview of Impact on Agriculture,
Food Security and Resilience
Agriculture,
Food Security,
Resilience
Nutrition
COVID-19 mitigation efforts causing
disruption in production, availability,
affordability of and access to safe,
nutritious food
Projected increase in the number of
people living in extreme poverty:
140 million more people globally
Disruption of livelihoods and food
systems limit access to safe, nutritious foods
Disruptions in health systems and
humanitarian response weaken delivery of
vital nutrition interventions
Disruptions to social protection
programs further undermine access to safe,
nutritious food and health services

4. 4
Response Priorities
● Prioritize inclusion given the potential for dire impacts among
women and the most vulnerable
● Trade and policy actions to mitigate impact of preventative
measures on food security
● Sustaining local production to ensure availability and supply, and
keep prices down
● Keeping markets, SMEs and jobs going to mitigate impact and
speed up recovery
● Increase access to finance for SMEs, prioritizing needs of
women-owned SMEs
● Build resilience to ensure markets and food systems are prepared
for future crises
● Safeguard access to safe and nutritious foods particularly for
infants and young children, and pregnant and lactating women