The UN World Food Programme Mourns the death of Goodwill Ambassador Mahmoud Yassin

In the words of Yassin himself upon his appointment in 2004 as WFP Goodwill Ambassador: “A genuine artist should empathise more deeply than others with human suffering…I want to see my grandchildren and all children live in a better world.”

Yassin’s sad death comes less than a week after WFP was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize last week for its efforts to prevent the use of hunger as a weapon of war and conflict.

“WFP is deeply saddened by the news and offers its condolences to his family and the entire Arab World for the death of an iconic figure,” said Muhannad Hadi, WFP Regional Director for the Middle East, North Africa, Central Asia and East Europe. “Today we mourn the death of a great man, a colleague who has shown great humanity and humility during his appointment and was always keen on visiting our operations and showing support to the people we serve.” 

For the past 16 years, Yassin was a strong supporter of WFP and issues of poverty and hunger across the region and the world. During his tenure as WFP Goodwill Ambassador, he participated in numerous events and missions to raise funds and awareness on hunger and WFP operations across the region. He visited Darfur in 2005 at the peak of conflict that has ravaged the region as well as Yemen, Syria and Egypt. He was also active in various communications campaigns about hunger on behalf of the UN agency.

With over 150 film credits, more than 25 theatre productions and hundreds of TV and radio shows stretching back to the 1960s, Yassin has become an idol for generations in the Arabic-speaking world.

WFP is extremely grateful that such a high-profile star donated some of his time to help us in our global efforts to alleviate the suffering of millions of people. 

Yassin was a firm believer in WFP’s mandate and work throughout the years: “The world has enough food and goodwill to tackle this tragedy. Ending hunger is not simply just a duty for all of us, but a means to clear the way for hundreds of millions of children, women and men to reach their full potential. Humanity at large will benefit.”

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The United Nations World Food Programme is the 2020 Nobel Peace Prize Laureate.  We are the world’s largest humanitarian organization, saving lives in emergencies and using food assistance to build a pathway to peace, stability and prosperity for people recovering from conflict, disasters and the impact of climate change.

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