This Facility was created in March 2002 in order to support DFID's preparations for the FAO Committee on Food Security, The World Food Summit - five years later (held in Rome in early June 2002), and the FAO/FIVIMS International Scientific Conference on methods for the measurement of hunger.

The World Food Summit - five years later was postponed following the events of September 11 and was rescheduled for 10-13 June 2002. The event was preceded by the Committee on Food Security (6-8 June). Another important food security-related meeting, the FAO/FIVIMS International Scientific Symposium on Measurement and Assessment of Food Deprivation and Under-nutrition measurement was scheduled for 26-28 June 2002.

ODI coordinated a range of international specialists from a number of institutions to provide technical support to DFID RLD on food security issues in relation to the above meetings. The specialists had expertise in all aspects of food security policy and analysis pertinent to the above three meetings, including experience in implementation at national level.

The outputs presented here include commentaries on key documents presented at these meetings in order to support arguments for increased investment in international initiatives to improve measurement and tracking of progress towards World Food Summit and Millennium Goals and actions to address hunger.