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Table of Contents:
1. Job vacancies: Country Coordinators for Armenia, Azerbaijan, Georgia, Moldova
2. Food Security Country Briefs for 17 countries
3. University Certificate in Food Security: Assessment and Action
4. Haiti Earthquake: Special Food Security Brief and New Haiti Emergency Food Security Mapping Tool
5. Inception Workshop for Greater Mekong Area Sub-Regional Programme



1. Job vacancies: Armenia, Azerbaijan, Georgia, Moldova

The EC/FAO Programme on Information Systems to Improve Food Security Decision-Making in the European Neighbouring Policy (ENP) East Area is recruiting country coordinators.

> Country Coordinator in Armenia (Closing 15 February 2010)
> Country Coordinator in Georgia (Closing 25 February 2010)
> Country Coordinator in Azerbaijan (Closing 25 February 2010)
> Country Coordinator in Moldova (Closing 25 February 2010)

2. Food Security Country Briefs for 17 countries

These Country Briefs monitor cereal and livestock prices. They also analyze factors affecting the food security situation such as government policies, disasters and conflicts, vegetation cover, etc. They are published every three months.

See:
http://www.foodsec.org/pubs_country.htm

Countries currently covered: Afghanistan, Burkina Faso, Haiti, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Kenya, Madagascar, Malawi, Mali, Mauritania, Mozambique, Nepal, Nicaragua, Niger, Sudan, Somalia



3. University Certificate in Food Security: Assessment and Action

FAO and the Universitat Oberta de Catalunya's (UOC) now offer a fully accredited, online certificate in Food Security: Assessment and Action. This instructor led course runs from March 17 to July 16, 2010 and costs 1200 euros.

For more information about the food security certificate course, see: http://www.foodsec.org/DL/UOC-course/courseinfo_en.htmh
or contact foodsystems@uoc.edu

Food security self-taught courses are available free of charge at: http://www.foodsec.org/DL



4.Haiti Earthquake: Special Food Security Brief and New Haiti Emergency Food Security Mapping Tool

This brief on the Haiti Earthquake gives an overview of the food security situation:
http://www.foodsec.org/http://www.fao.org/docrep/012/al053e/al053e00.pdf

Compared to average December prices, a sharp increase of nearly 70% was registered for wheat flour. Local maize and black beans, which are the main commodities produced locally, have registered an increase of about 30-35%. Imported rice prices rose by 20-30% from the December average. It should be noted that the country is heavily dependent on food imports which account for 60% of the national consumption requirements. More...

Read about the new mapping tool that is helping on the ground operations in Haiti coordinate relief and reconstruction:
http://www.foodsec.org/news_10_01.htm




5. Inception Workshop for Greater Mekong Area Sub-Regional Programme

In the context of the global food security thematic programme of the European commission, FAO is implementing a regional project on linking information and decision making to improve food security for selected countries in the greater Mekong subregion. An inception workshop was held in Cambodia in December 2009.
More information:
http://www.foodsecurity.gov.kh/News_Events_Ann.aspx?IdEvent=390&chk=Event


This newsletter aims at keeping you up-to-date with the latest news, activities and events related to the EC-FAO Food Security Programme "Linking Information and Decision Making to Improve Food Security" . Share your own news and comments by sending a message to:
information-for-action@fao.org

This newsletter is available on-line at: http://www.foodsec.org/nl_0210.htm