News releases

LILONGWE – The United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) and the Government of Malawi have signed an agreement to import 48,000 metric tons of maize, valued at US$ 35 million and funded by the World Bank Group, to help food-insecure communities affected by the El Niño-induced drought.

TUNIS– The United Nations World Food Programme (WFP), in partnership with the European Union and the Italian Agency for Development Cooperation (AICS), announces the launch of Salla Salla, a family-focused series that premiered on January 20 on the Tunisian National TV Channel Al Watania 1 and 2. This unique initiative exemplifies WFP’s commitment to strengthening national capacity and empowering communities through innovative approaches like Social and Behaviour Change Communication (SBCC).

COLOMBO – The United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), the United Nations World Food Programme (WFP), together with the Ministry of Environment have launched a campaign to reintroduce nutritious, underutilised traditional crops into daily diets.

30 percent of population faces acute food insecurity as 2025 begins, malnutrition risk remains.

BEIRUT – Nealy a third of Lebanon’s population is facing acute food insecurity following the escalation of conflict in late 2024 and the impact of hostilities on agriculture and the economy mean recovery is likely to be slow, according to a new food security assessment.

Thanks to this generous contribution of EUR 6 million (USD 6.3 million), UNICEF and WFP are delivering life-saving nutrition and protection interventions, targeting Zambia’s most vulnerable communities.

Kabul – The United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) welcomes a €16.5 million (US$17.4 million) contribution from the European Union for its activities in Afghanistan, made via its department of Civil Protection and Humanitarian Aid (ECHO). The funding comes at a critical moment and will enable WFP to sustain and extend its general food assistance for vulnerable families and nutrition programmes for mothers and young children.

ROME – UN World Food Programme convoys crossed into Gaza from the north and south on Sunday as the long-awaited ceasefire came into effect. The ceasefire is allowing the agency to bring in urgently needed food aid at scale and begin pulling the war-ravaged territory back from starvation.

Tehran, Iran – The United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) in Iran welcomed supplementary humanitarian funding of €2 million from the European Union (EU), reaffirming its ongoing commitment to supporting refugees in Iran. Earlier this year, EU humanitarian aid had already contributed €1.5 million to WFP operations in Iran.

CAIRO – Germany provided a critical lifeline for millions across the Middle East and North Africa in 2024 contributing EUR 278.4 million to the United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) to support its emergency humanitarian assistance and long-term development programmes in the region.

ROME/JERUSALEM – The World Food Programme (WFP) strongly condemns the horrifying incident on January 5, when a clearly marked WFP convoy was shot at by Israeli forces near the Wadi Gaza checkpoint, putting the lives of our staff at tremendous risk and leaving the vehicles immobilized.

DHAKA – With generous funding over the past two years – totalling EUR 24 million – the European Union (EU) has supported the World Food Programme’s lifesaving and life-changing efforts in Bangladesh, helping the organisation strengthen its critical support to both Rohingya refugees and Bangladeshi communities grappling with food insecurity.

KABUL – The United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) in Afghanistan welcomes a US$5 million contribution from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Korea. With this funding, WFP will distribute food to families who do not know where their next meal will come from, provide nutritional support to mothers, deliver daily school snacks to pupils in primary schools and support livelihood and resilience activities in rural communities. The new contribution comes at a critical moment in Afghanistan, when one-third of the population is expected to go hungry during the difficult winter months.

SEOUL/ROME - The United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) has welcomed a timely contribution of US$10 million from the Republic of Korea (ROK), which will enable WFP to provide humanitarian assistance to vulnerable families in Kenya and Ghana. ROK has also pledged to increase its annual rice contribution to WFP from 100,000 metric tonnes in 2024 to 150,000 metric tonnes next year, which helped over 7 million most in need in 11 countries this year.

FAO, WFP and UNICEF urge immediate humanitarian access and action to avert what could become the worst hunger crisis in recent history

DHAKA– Bangladesh has reaffirmed its commitment to transforming food systems as the Ministry of Food, in collaboration with the United Nations World Food Programme (WFP), IFAD, FAO, GAIN, and other key partners, hosted a National Dialogue in Dhaka.
The event emphasized innovative, inclusive, and climate-responsive strategies to shape sustainable, resilient, and equitable food systems, driving progress toward the National Food Systems Pathways.

KAMPALA – The United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) has welcomed a contribution of EUR1 million from Germany through the Federal Foreign Office to support nutrition and income-generating activities for over 254,000 refugees and asylum seekers in Uganda.

ANTANANARIVO - The Ministry of Agriculture and Livestock and the World Food Programme (WFP) have reaffirmed their joint commitment to promoting food and nutrition security, strengthening the resilience of vulnerable groups, and transforming the country's food systems by signing a memorandum of understanding in Madagascar.

SUVA, FIJI – A WFP-chartered flight landed in Vanuatu’s capital Port Vila on Saturday bringing humanitarian personnel and much needed telecoms equipment and medical supplies to support the island state following a devastating 7.3 magnitude earthquake earlier this week.

DAKAR – Over 40 million* people across West and Central Africa are struggling to feed themselves during the 2024 post-harvest season. This number is set to rise to 52.7 million by mid-2025, including 3.4 million people facing emergency levels of hunger (IPC/CH Phase 4) according to a new Cadre Harmonisé food security analysis released this month.

Statement attributable to Cindy McCain, Executive Director of the World Food Programme

ROME – I am shocked and heartbroken by the tragic deaths of three members of the WFP Sudan country team, who lost their lives after an aerial bombardment hit the WFP Field Office Compound in Yabus, Blue Nile State on the evening of Thursday 19 December.

VIENTIANE – The Government of Switzerland announced its support towards climate-resilient and sustainable approaches to cooking healthy meals for students in 120 schools across Phongsaly and Oudomxay provinces in the north of Laos.

The United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) is aware of media reports indicating that WFP marked food bags which were allegedly found in a building previously used by border guard forces in Northern Rakhine State, Myanmar.

UN agencies call for enhanced and increased financing towards agri-food system transformation to combat hunger and malnutrition in the region

PORT SUDAN – The UN World Food Programme (WFP) has delivered food assistance to more than 800,000 people in famine and famine risk areas across war-torn Sudan since recently launching a large-scale surge in food aid. Recent operational progress is fragile as the situation on the ground is volatile and dangerous.

Aswan, EGYPT – A delegation of representatives from the European Union (EU) and its Member States, led by the Hungarian Presidency of the Council of the EU, visited EU and Member States funded development projects in Upper Egypt’s Aswan region implemented in cooperation with the Egyptian Government and the United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) to address global priorities such as education, responding to the climate and refugee crises, women’s empowerment and nutrition.