HIGHLIGHTS

• FAO’s first forecast for world wheat production in 2013 stands at 690 million tonnes, about 28 million tonnes up from 2012 and the second largest crop on record. The increase is expected mostly in Europe, driven by an expansion in area in response to high prices, and in some countries due to an expected recovery in yields from last year’s below-average levels.

• The international cereal prices in recent months have followed mixed trends with rice prices rising and wheat declining, while maize prices remaining generally steady.

HIGHLIGHTS

• Firmer production estimates for 2012 confirm tightening wheat and maize supplies while the outlook for rice remains positive. In spite of a contraction in overall cereal utilization in 2012/13, the world cereal stock-to-use ratio is projected to decline by 2 percentage points from the previous season.

Responding to the Crisis in Syria

Instability and conflict in Syria continue to affect hundreds of thousands of people. An estimated one million Syrians have been internally displaced, while the overall total affected population is estimated at up to 2.5 million.

GA/11294

Sixty-seventh General Assembly
Plenary
9th, 10th & 11th Meetings (AM, PM & Night)

International Community Asked Not to Turn Its Back On Volatile Regions, But to Redouble Support to All Fleeing Tyranny

FOREWORD

2011 was an important year for the humanitarian community and for OCHA. There was barely a moment when our community was not faced with a relentless series of natural disasters, political crises and chronic emergencies.

But in the midst of this, we achieved something quite remarkable. At the end of December, humanitarian response partners, UN agencies, NGOs and the International Red Cross/Red Crescent Movement agreed on a series of reforms that focused on making our response efforts faster and more effective.

Niger is the worst place on the planet to be a mum, new research published today by Save the Children has found.

The West African country, one of the world’s poorest, has replaced Afghanistan at the bottom of the children’s charity’s annual State of the World’s Mothers ranking.

The index compares conditions for mothers in 165 countries around the globe, looking at factors such as mother's health, education and economic status, as well as critical child indicators such as health and nutrition.

Yokohama - The United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) has welcomed a US$114 million contribution from the government of Japan to provide urgently needed food and nutritional assistance to millions of the most vulnerable people including refugees, internally displaced people, malnourished children, pregnant and breastfeeding women in 21 countries. The donation will also support logistics operations in two countries.

Introduction

Summary