Humanitarian Academy › Food security

Day 7 of 7 · 6 hours · Level 3 Advanced · Advanced module

Advanced analysis, anticipatory action and large-scale response

Learning objectives for today
  • Conduct a comprehensive food crisis analysis.
  • Design anticipatory action and a large-scale response.
  • Link the response to national systems and coordinate.

1Food crisis analysis

A comprehensive analysis cross-references several sources: household assessments, price and market monitoring, agricultural and pastoral data (rainfall, harvests, pasture conditions), nutrition, mortality, security and access. Livelihood profiles (HEA approach) help predict which groups will be affected and when.

It is shared within the IPC or Cadre Harmonisé technical working group and leads to projections. An NGO contributes its data and field knowledge, clearly stating their limitations.

2Anticipatory action

Acting before the peak of a foreseeable crisis costs less and protects better: transfers before the lean season, livestock destocking before animals lose condition, short-cycle seeds. Anticipatory action relies on triggers agreed in advance (rainfall, price or IPC projection thresholds), ready plans and pre-arranged financing.

Mechanisms exist: United Nations emergency funds, donors' anticipatory financing, climate insurance. The hardest part is often the decision: a plan with clear triggers avoids delays.

3Large-scale response and national systems

At scale, efficiency comes from common systems: beneficiary registration and deduplication, digital payments, shared price monitoring, harmonised transfer values. Shock-responsive social protection uses an existing national programme to assist more households (horizontal expansion) or increase transfer values (vertical expansion).

Data protection is essential: data-sharing agreements, minimisation, list security, informed consent of beneficiaries.

4Coordination, accountability and exit

The cluster sets geographic priorities, baskets, transfer values and common indicators; it tracks gaps and leads advocacy. Accountability is measured: rate of complaints resolved, satisfaction, women's participation in committees.

Every response plans its exit strategy: handover to safety nets, recovery of livelihoods, gradual phase-down. A poorly prepared exit pushes households back into crisis strategies.

Exercise: an anticipatory action plan

For a pastoral area exposed to drought, define three triggers (rainfall, prices, animal condition), the associated actions, their timing, estimated cost, funding source and monitoring indicators. One page maximum.

Key points

  • Cross-referenced analysis: households, markets, agriculture and livestock, nutrition, access.
  • Anticipatory action: triggers, ready plans, pre-arranged financing.
  • At scale: deduplication, digital payments, harmonised transfer values.
  • Shock-responsive social protection: horizontal or vertical expansion.
  • Always an exit strategy.

💼 Food security and livelihoods jobs

Put this course into practice: the latest jobs in this field.

See all 45 Food security and livelihoods jobs →

Prepare for the written test and interviewA model written test in this field, interview questions with sample answers and the STAR method.See the model test →
Further reading: course references
  1. Sphere Association (2018). The Sphere Handbook: minimum standards in food security and nutrition. spherestandards.org/fr/manuel-2018
  2. IPC Global Partnership (2021). IPC Technical Manual, Version 3.1. www.ipcinfo.org
  3. World Food Programme (2021). Consolidated Approach for Reporting Indicators of Food Security (CARI). www.wfp.org/publications/consolidated-approach-reporting-indicators-food-security-cari-guidelines
  4. WFP and FAO (2024). Global Food Security Cluster. fscluster.org
  5. LEGS Project (2023). Livestock Emergency Guidelines and Standards (LEGS). www.livestock-emergency.net
  6. World Food Programme (2008). Food Consumption Score: guidance note (VAM). resources.vam.wfp.org
  7. FANTA / FHI 360 (2011). Household Hunger Scale (HHS) and Household Dietary Diversity Score (HDDS). www.fantaproject.org/monitoring-and-evaluation
  8. Food Economy Group, Save the Children (2008). The Practitioners' Guide to the Household Economy Approach. www.feg-consulting.com
  9. CILSS (2019). Cadre Harmonisé manual. www.cilss.int
  10. CaLP (2018). Minimum Standard for Market Analysis (MISMA). www.calpnetwork.org

Daily quiz

3 questions to check what you have learned. Answer them all to complete the day.

1Anticipatory action relies on:
2A vertical expansion of a safety net programme means:
3Why plan an exit strategy?

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