Global Health and Food Security in Fragile and Conflict Affected States (FCAS): Syrian Academics and their Role in the Future of Food Security for Syria

The ongoing conflict in Syria has led to distortions in agriculture, food production and availability, distribution and consumption, with attendant effects on food insecurity and malnutrition.

Uncertainties about and/or absence of governance, weakened institutions, changing donor funding priorities/involvement and diminished local research capacity constrain traditional opportunities for long-term contingency planning and access to and integration of local expertise that is essential for timely, evidence-based decision-making. The extensive loss of human and intellectual capital in Syria, as academics are displaced from high-risk areas, as a matter of safety and security, means that the pipeline of expertise necessary for future societal rebuilding efforts is

narrow and fragile and requires attention. A Round Table (RT) meeting was held in June 2019 to provide a platform for Syrian academics in exile in Turkey to share their expertise and to initiate a discussion about transition strategies away from short-term emergency aid to long-term food and health security with other researchers, relevant decision-makers, international and local (including Syrian) NGOs and responders to the crisis. This resulted in a number of outcomes:

– Creation of a nascent network of expertise exploring the question of transition and long-term contingency planning for food and health security in Syria.

– Strengthened and extended partnerships between researchers, practitioners and decision-makers in the UK, Syria and countries in the region receiving Syrian academics in exile (primarily Turkey).

– A provisional framework for an expert information ecosystem to incorporate local cultural and technical expertise into future Syrian socio-economic development and reconstruction programmes. This includes the development of repositories to house and curate a catalogue of expertise, data and ongoing research outputs, and funding opportunities.

– Identification of an important role for knowledge broker organisations at the interface between researchers, decision-makers and practitioners to ensure knowledge mobilisation across different organisational and disciplinary boundaries.