February 2001

The draft guidelines are organised in six chapters, covering the problem to be addressed by FIVIMS, the current state of relevant national information systems, the main objectives and operating principles of national FIVIMS, the expected benefits and main user groups, typical information products and dissemination methods, and steps to institutionalization. Definitions of key terms and citations of relevant World Food Summit commitments are incorporated at appropriate points throughout the text, together with information provided by national participants at the second meeting of the IAWG about existing information system activities in their countries.

This document reports on actions taken since the last session of CFS to implement these recommendations and suggests steps to be taken for the further development of FIVIMS at both national and global levels

KIMS allows the analysis and visual display of data collected at different levels of aggregation, and can help the monitoring and surveillance of the food and nutrition situation over time.

Radio broadcasting programs and formats used to deal with the problems concerning food security

The aim of this handbook is to describe the FSIEWS (Food Security and Early Warning Information System) method for the benefit of the community of governmental and nongovernmental actors engaged in the fight against hunger. This contribution to the FIVIMS programme is addressed to national technical managers, central and decentralized, as well as to their technical assistance co-workers. It aims to provide them with a procedure to follow and an array of useful instruments for the different stages.

The handbook is divided into three main parts. The first part defines the main aspects of the FSIEWS method (definitions, description of national and international contexts, aims of the system, etc.). The second part, by far the longest, describes the different stages in setting up a FSIEWS, the constraints encountered and the possible solutions. The third part attempts to place the system in a wider more flexible and lasting context, and to identify how its role may evolve over time in a global food security context. This handbook is aimed at middle managers in developing countries since they are the ones who actually implement the FSIEWS and keep them running smoothly, whether as part of a statistics monitoring system in one of the food security sectors, as one of the many other actors in food security (in the public, voluntary or private sector), or as providers or recipients of information. Their commitment is key to the long-term success of a FSIEWS. An enabling national policy, supported when necessary by external technical assistance, are the two other important aspects, also closely linked to the work of the professionals to whom this book is addressed.