IPC - 10 Years of Multi-partner Collaboration towards Better Food Security Decisions and Country Impact
This year IPC celebrates its 10th anniversary. The Integrated Food Security Phase Classification was developed in 2004 by FSANU, the former FAO Food Security Analysis Unit in Somalia, to respond to decision makers’ strong call for a consensual, rigorous and comparable food security analysis which enabled effective response to the Somalia food crisis. As of today, the IPC is regularly used in 29 countries worldwide and demand for IPC is still growing.
Why did IPC have and it is still having impact and appeal? IPC emerged from the everyday realities and challenges in conducting joint food security analysis and linking it to action, within the context of a complex emergency situation such as the Somali one. The practical strength of IPC is that its development and implementation within and outside Somalia’s context has always benefited from the technical feedback and contribution of hundreds of expert practitioners and high level decision makers.
All over the years, the multi-level and all-inclusive development of IPC has contributed to the release of improved versions of the IPC Technical Manual, the core reference guide for all IPC work, as well as triggered new initiatives that have expanded the frontiers of the IPC analytical approach. Initially designed to be used in crisis contexts, IPC has evolved to be applicable to different countries, focusing not only on acute food insecurity but also on malnutrition and chronic food insecurity.