News releases

Baghdad, Iraq – The United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) in Iraq welcomed a generous €5 million contribution from the European Union (EU) to provide cash assistance to internally displaced and crisis-affected Iraqis missing one or more essential civil documents until they are integrated within the national social safety net.

Lusaka – The United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) in partnership with the Government of the Republic Zambia have launched a five-year plan targeting nearly 650,000 people. The plan seeks to eliminate hunger, improve nutrition, and strengthen the resilience of vulnerable communities to food shocks.

YEREVAN – The United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) handed over this week the management of the school feeding programme in Armenia to the government. This milestone concludes WFP's gradual transfer of the program to the Government of Armenia.

DAMASCUS – An unprecedented funding crisis in Syria is forcing the United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) to cut assistance to 2.5 million of the 5.5 million people who rely on the agency for their basic food needs. The announcement comes as the European Union gears up to host the seventh Brussels Conference on “Supporting the Future of Syria and the Region” on Wednesday.

Burkina Faso, Haiti, Mali and the Sudan have been elevated to the highest alert level to join Afghanistan, Nigeria, Somalia, South Sudan and Yemen.

Economic shocks grew as driver of food crises; war in Ukraine contributed to acute food and nutrition insecurity.

2022 Overview highlights the need to focus on trade as an enabler to achieve food security and nutrition

DAMASCUS – An average monthly wage in Syria currently covers about a quarter of a family’s food needs, the UN World Food Programme said today, highlighting an urgent need for increased humanitarian assistance as the country grapples with the devastating impact of recent earthquakes and a 12-year-long conflict.

Joint US/UN News Release/NIAMEY– The combined effects of conflict, climate shocks, and high food prices continues to drive hunger up and push basic meals out of the reach of millions in Niger, demanding immediate and collective action, United States Ambassador to the UN Agencies in Rome Cindy McCain told journalists at the end of their week-long, U.S.- sponsored field visit to Zinder, Dosso and Tillaberi regions.

Dushanbe, Tajikistan – The U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) Deputy Administrator Isobel Coleman joined the United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) Country Director Adham Musallam in announcing a new US$10 million award to help communities most affected by rising food insecurity in the country.

Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) Director General Qu Dongyu, International Monetary Fund (IMF) Managing Director Kristalina Georgieva, World Bank Group (WBG) President David Malpass, World Food Programme (WFP) Executive Director David Beasley and World Trade Organization (WTO) Director General Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala issued the following joint statement calling for continued urgent action to address the global crisis on food and nutrition security.

24/01/2023, Bangkok – Asia’s cities are growing at such a fast pace that nearly 55 percent of the region’s enormous population is expected to reside in urban areas by 2030, and that will have equally enormous consequences for urban food security and nutrition, according to the main findings of a new report by four United Nations agencies.

Official launch by FAO, WFP and the Ministry of Agriculture of the Integrated Acute Food Insecurity Phase Classification Results Study in Lebanon.

VIENTIANE – The Ambassador of the Republic of Korea Mr. Yung Soo Jung today handed over a rice donation to Lao PDR’s Minister of Labour and Social Welfare, Madame Baykham Khatthiya, at the Ministry’s and the United Nations World Food Programme’s (WFP) warehouse in Vientiane.

KAMPONG CHHNANG & PURSAT – The United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) and the Ministry of Education, Youth and Sport, with support from KOICA, are this month recognizing the role school cooks play in the school meals programme through a series cooking competitions.

COLOMBO – The United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) in Sri Lanka welcomed a contribution of EUR 500,000 (approximately LKR 190 million) from France towards its emergency response for children and families affected by the country’s worst economic crisis in decades. Around 9,000 families facing high levels of food insecurity will receive nutritious foods to help them feed their under-five children.

VIENTIANE – The United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) today launched a new project for school children funded by the Government of China through the China International Development Cooperation Agency (CIDCA).

BENGHAZI – The United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) in Libya has welcomed a contribution of 9,000,000 CZK (approx. US$ 355,000) from the Czech Republic to support the rehabilitation of the Food and Drug Control Centre (FDCC) laboratory in Benghazi. Through this project, WFP aims to provide the centre with advanced equipment and technical training to improve its capacity.

COLOMBO, 28 September 2022 – The United States Permanent Representative to the UN Agencies in Rome, Ambassador Cindy McCain concluded a two-day official visit to the North Western and Central Provinces of Sri Lanka today. Accompanied by the United States Ambassador to Sri Lanka, Julie Chung, Ambassador McCain visited several projects of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), the United Nations World Food Programme (WFP), and the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD).

PRAIA – A week after schools reopened in Cabo Verde, the Government’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Cooperation and Regional Integration, and the United Nations World Food Programme (WFP), today, signed an agreement to meet the food and nutrition needs of nearly 90,000 school children through the national school feeding programme.

PHNOM PENH – The United Nations World Food Programme (WFP), in partnership with the School Health Department of the Ministry of Education, Youth and Sport (MoEYS), is launching an innovative social and behaviour change communication (SBCC) campaign to improve the diets of primary school children in Cambodia.

VIENTIANE – Japanese Ambassador Kenichi Kobayashi today handed over a donation of canned fish to Minister of Education and Sports Assoc. Prof. Dr. Phout Simmalavong at the United Nations World Food Programme’s (WFP) warehouse in Vientiane.

Bangkok - For the sixth consecutive year, the United Nations (UN) Rome-based agencies (RBA) - the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD) and the World Food Programme (WFP) - jointly celebrated the UN Day for South-South Cooperation – an annual event marked on 12 September.

DAMASCUS – The United Nations World Food Programme welcomed a recent contribution of US$6 million from the Government of Japan to support the distribution of food rations to some 250,000 people in urgent need of food assistance across Syria.

SANA’A / ROME – A UN World Food Programme-charted vessel departed today from the Ukrainian Black Sea Port of Yuznhy (Pivdennyi) with wheat grain destined for the agency’s humanitarian response in Yemen.