The Resources, Partnerships, Impact – 2020 report elucidates who FAO is, what it has done, and how it has worked in collaboration with multiple stakeholders in 2019. Also, it highlights the way FAO has been adapting to changes in the development aid landscape, specifically by leveraging different kinds of funds and seeking innovative partnerships, in order to accelerate the attainment of the SDGs. The report takes a closer look at the challenges and strategies that guided FAO’s activities at the regional and global levels in 2019, while showcasing selected interventions that delivered critical results on the ground.

The Resources, Partnership, Impact - 2019 report captures the work of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) worldwide in 2018. It reflects key results and achievements obtained thanks to its collaboration with a wide range of partners including Member Countries, institutional partners, civil society, the private sector, academia, research centres and cooperatives.

The Flexible Multi-Partner Mechanism (FMM), as FAO’s main pooled multi-partner flexible funding instrument, enables resource partners to contribute voluntary and less-earmarked financial resources to support the delivery of programmatic results under FAO’s Strategic Framework. This report highlights the key achievements of the FMM in 2020, both in terms of its accomplishments as a funding mechanism and the delivery of transformative results on the ground through FMM-funded Programmes and Subprogrammes.

Caucasus and Central Asian countries are strongly committed to promoting food security and nutrition among their populations. Although good progress has been made by most countries in the region, food insecurity and malnutrition remain relatively high and greater efforts are needed to address their root causes. Moreover, wide gaps in terms of income, food security and nutrition, and access to social services have caused substantial migration from rural areas to neighbouring countries. The FAO project on developing capacity for strengthening food security and nutrition in selected countries of the Caucasus and Central Asia aims to promote cross-sectoral collaboration between agriculture, health, education and social protection sectors by carrying out six pilot projects in Armenia, Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan. These pilots build capacities at field and governmental level and provide an evidence base to build political commitment and coherence for the development of policies, legislations and programmes at the country, regional and global levels. The evaluation concluded that overall the project has been successful. The building of operational capacity among stakeholders and beneficiaries is processing well through the ongoing pilots, while high-level coordination and policy dialogue, and the contribution to global policy processes and frameworks need more time to materialize. The evaluation makes a number of recommendations to further enhance project design, implementation, monitoring and sustainability, and proposes a second phase of at least 1-2 years to consolidate and expand achievements.

The Flexible Multi-Partner Mechanism (FMM) is a mechanism through which FAO’s resource partners make unearmarked or lightly earmarked voluntary contributions to support achievement of FAO’s Strategic Objectives. OED conducted an evaluation of the current phase of FMM (2018–2021). The purpose of the evaluation was to inform FMM’s main stakeholders about the fund’s overall performance and also inform its next phase (2022–2025). The evaluation assessed FMM’s strategic positioning; effectiveness of the revised governance and implementation arrangements; key contributions to the achievement of FAO’s Strategic Objectives; and the adaptability of FMM to respond to unplanned scenarios and changes. The evaluation found FMM to be of strategic relevance to FAO as a vehicle for financing innovation, under-funded or emerging areas with flexibility to allocate voluntary contributions to FAO priorities. The evaluation also found evidence of catalytic and transformative elements, primarily in past projects. However, there is considerable scope for improving the FMM so that it contributes to results under the new FAO Strategic Framework.

This textbook is the first authoritative, in-depth publication about global midwifery and the contribution of skilled professional midwives to the provision of high quality maternity care, reductions in maternal and newborn mortality and morbidity. It demonstrates actions that are contributing to the achievement of the 2030 Sustainable Development Goals through partnership with women and their families, enabling them to ‘survive, thrive and transform’. The textbook explores how the world is becoming more connected through globalisation, advances in technology and innovation and yet more inequitable as women and children are disproportionately affected by issues such as poverty, environmental vulnerability, hunger, conflict, violence, and discrimination. It considers how midwives contribute to maternal and newborn health, leading to greater equity and empowerment and, ultimately, strengthening health systems. The ‘three pillars’ of midwifery are discussed: regulation, education and professional midwives’ associations. The importance of evidence-based care is explored along with diff erent models of midwifery and the challenges of developing professional leadership. This textbook also considers women’s human rights to sexual and reproductive health and respectful maternity care, stressing the importance of cultural sensitivity and contextually appropriate approaches. Midwives and other professionals will benefi t from this reliable resource that indicates direction and provides information about the principles and practice of professional midwifery. This text also provides universities, organisations, and individuals with a highly relevant resource to better equip them for international midwifery practice. It finally offers policy makers a reliable source of evidence-based information for consideration in various evolving national and international situations.