News releases

PORT SUDAN – The United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) has been forced to temporarily suspend food assistance in some parts of Gezira State, as fighting spreads south and east of Sudan’s capital Khartoum. This is a major setback to humanitarian efforts in the country’s breadbasket, where WFP had been regularly providing aid to over 800,000 people, including many who escaped the fighting in Khartoum.

KABUL – The United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) welcomes a EUR 25 million (US$26.6 million) contribution for humanitarian aid from the European Union (EU). This funding will help WFP deliver food assistance to hungry families – including displaced - across the country. It will also support WFP in preventing and treating malnutrition in young children and pregnant and breastfeeding mothers and keep the United Nations Humanitarian Air Service (UNHAS) in the air.

PORT SUDAN – Parts of war-ravaged Sudan are at a high risk of slipping into catastrophic hunger conditions by next year’s lean season if the United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) is unable to expand access and regularly deliver food assistance to people trapped in conflict hotspots such as Khartoum, the Darfurs, and the Kordofans, warns the UN food agency today.

ROME – The United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) is activating its revamped approach to operations in Ethiopia, a major step which will start to reach 3.2 million people with food assistance for the first time since June 2023. WFP food aid was suspended nationwide following reports of large-scale diversions earlier this year.

PRAIA – The Economic Community for West African States (ECOWAS) has generously contributed US$ 1 million to provide daily nutritious meals to 90,000 school children in Cabo-Verde during the 2023-2024 school year. This contribution comes from ECOWAS’ Regional Food Security Reserve built up in February 2013 to respond to food security crises across the region. It complements the efforts already made by ECOWAS and its partners, as well as those already undertaken by the Government of Cabo Verde.

NEW DELHI: The United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) facilitated a crucial learning visit for a high-level Nigerian delegation to India. India’s rice fortification journey inspired the delegation of government officials from ministries, health, food security and education departments, food regulatory bodies, and the private sector to advocate for mandatory integration of fortified rice in Nigeria's food-based social safety networks.

JOHANNESBURG/NEW YORK – The United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) and the United Arab Emirates have signed an agreement to implement an innovative initiative to equip schools in the Southern African region with high-quality digital and hybrid education.

BRASILIA – Around 200 participants from more than 20 countries, including government ministers, representatives from international financial institutions and the United Nations are set to gather in Brasilia on 29-31 August to reinforce commitments and chart out pathways to strengthen human capital in the region so that every person is able to reach their full potential.

SANAA – The United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) has announced today that it is facing a deeper funding crisis for its Yemen operations from the end of September onward. This will force WFP to make difficult decisions about further cuts to our food assistance programs across the country in the coming months.   All of WFP’s major programs will be affected – General Food Assistance (GFA), Nutrition, School Feeding and Resilience Activities – totalling 17.7 million interventions in the first half of 2023.    

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.

PORT SUDAN – The United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) has delivered emergency food assistance to more than one million people in Sudan in the six weeks since operations resumed on 3 May. WFP briefly paused operations when the conflict broke out but has since rapidly scaled up food distributions, delivering life-saving assistance to people in 14 of 18 States as fighting continues and the humanitarian situation deteriorates.

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.

PORT SUDAN – Distributions of United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) food assistance began on Saturday for thousands of people who have been trapped in Sudan’s capital Khartoum since fighting broke out six weeks ago. The distributions come in the last days of the seven-day ceasefire agreed by both conflict parties, which is set to expire on Monday evening.

KHARTOUM – The United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) has welcomed a contribution of US$1 million from the Government of Japan to provide life-saving food assistance to hundreds of thousands of refugees and Internally Displaced People (IDPs) in Sudan.

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.

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.

KHARTOUM – A delegation of humanitarian and development experts from the European Union (EU) reiterated their support for the Sudanese people upon the conclusion of a mission to Sudan to see the reality of food systems on the ground. The mission ended just days after the signing of a Framework Agreement which could pave the way for a two-year civilian-led transition in the country. Some 25 delegates from the EU and its Member States had the opportunity to see World Food Programme (WFP) and EU humanitarian and development projects throughout their visit, which was led by the Czech Presidency of the EU.

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.

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.