News releases

WINDHOEK – The Government of Brazil has generously donated US$ 120,000 to the United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) in Namibia, aiming to enhance food accessibility and alleviate malnutrition in five regions of the country.

Ongoing conflict and lack of humanitarian access are weakening already vulnerable communities.

Bamako – A combination of protracted armed conflict, internal displacement, and restricted humanitarian access risks pushing nearly one million children under the age of 5 in Mali into acute malnutrition by December 2023 – with at least 200,000 at risk of dying of hunger if life-saving aid fails to reach them.

DAKAR – The Regional United Nations (UN) agencies are concerned that millions of people are at severe risk unless humanitarian aid and increased funding support, is provided in Niger and Central Sahel.

KYIV – The UN World Food Programme (WFP), in collaboration with the Ministry of Social Policy and the Pension Fund of Ukraine, has started transferring complementary cash payments to pensioners in regions most affected by the war.

JORDAN – The United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) welcomed today a generous contribution of US$6.8 million from the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia through the King Salman Humanitarian Aid and Relief Centre (KSrelief), to support its operations in Jordan. This funding will provide much-needed support to Syrian refugees residing in camps and arrives just in the nick of time to avert imminent further cuts in food assistance.

Yerevan – With the support of partners including the Government of Armenia, Goris Municipality, the Government of the People’s Republic of China, and the Joint SDG Fund, the UN World Food Programme (WFP), has established a legume processing center in Armenia's Syunik province. The initiative aims to improve the availability and access to nutritious food through investments that decrease post-harvest loss and support farmer’s link to markets.

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.

Against a backdrop of rising food costs and successive climatic and economic shocks, Stanlake Samkange, WFP’s Senior Director of Strategic Partnerships, arrived in Timor-Leste today for a four-day mission to strengthen WFP’s joint efforts working with the Government of Timor-Leste and other key stakeholders on food security and nutrition.

This is a summary of what was said by Peter Musoko, Country Director for WFP in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) – to whom quoted text may be attributed – at today's press briefing at the Palais des Nations in Geneva, Switzerland.

Geneva – The ongoing political instability and armed conflicts in the DRC have devastated food production and distribution systems. Displacement of people, destruction of infrastructure, and disruption of agricultural activities have led to widespread food shortages and increased vulnerability to hunger, with 1.5 million people in emergency levels of food insecurity.

PANAMA CITY – As Tropical Storm Franklin approaches Hispaniola Island - bringing with it heavy rains, flood risk, storm surges and strong winds - United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) emergency response teams in both the Dominican Republic and Haiti are prepositioning food stocks and preparing emergency assistance for the most vulnerable communities in the path of the storm.

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.    

Quetta, Balochistan – WFP Pakistan strengthened its partnership with the Government of Balochistan to roll out programmes in line with its 2023-2027 five-year Country Strategic Plan (CSP). The agreement was signed by WFP Pakistan’s Country Director and Representative Chris Kaye, and Hafiz Abdul Basit, Additional Chief Secretary of the Planning and Development Department, Government of Balochistan, during a ceremony held in Quetta.

Ouagadougou – The United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) strongly condemns an attack on one of its helicopters that was transporting life-saving food assistance to the most vulnerable women, men, and children in the besieged town of Djibo in the Sahel region of Burkina Faso.

THIMPHU - The Royal Government of Bhutan and the United Nations World Food Programme (WFP), in partnership with the International Fund for Agriculture (IFAD) today launched a US$13 million five-year project funded by the Global Agriculture and Food Security Program (GAFSP), “Building Resilient Commercial Smallholder Agriculture in Bhutan” (BRECSA), aimed at strengthening smallholder agriculture in the country.

This is a summary of what was said by Eddie Rowe, WFP’s Country Director for Sudan (speaking from Port Sudan via Zoom) – to whom quoted text may be attributed – at today's press briefing at the Palais des Nations in Geneva.

Suva, Fiji – The Executive Director of United Nations World Food Programme, Cindy McCain, has called for enhanced disaster preparedness and the need to strengthen partnerships to address the growing threat of climate and how it impacts food and nutrition security during a visit to Pacific Island of Fiji.

HARARE – The Government of Zimbabwe and the United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) have signed a Letter of Understanding (LoU) to formalize their collaboration on improving food systems and reforming the Social Protection System in Zimbabwe.

Leaders from FAO, IFAD and WFP warn of a deepening crisis in South Sudan without immediate action and investment in resilience.

Juba – The cost of inaction in addressing South Sudan’s complex food, climate, and insecurity crises will be felt in the loss of lives, livelihoods and futures for millions of people across the young nation, the heads of three United Nations agencies, the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD) and the World Food Programme (WFP) warned today as they wrapped up a three-day visit to the country.

KYIV – The Government of Croatia donated €1 million to the United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) today to help farmers and food producers resume work in regions most affected by explosive remnants of war.

DHAKA – The United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) congratulates the Government of Bangladesh on joining the Global School Meals Coalition and promoting child education and nutrition in the country. The announcement was made yesterday by H.E. Dr. A. K. Abdul Momen, Foreign Minister of Bangladesh and Mr. Farid Ahmed, Secretary, Ministry of Primary and Mass Education, on the opening day of the UN Food Systems Summit +2 Stocktaking Moment in Rome.

GUATEMALA CITY – At the end of a five-day visit to Guatemala, Princess Sarah Zeid of Jordan called for increased inclusion of women in development action, including in in micro-finance and agricultural trade and production. Princess Sarah noted how this increases their impact, with improved nutrition and a better quality of life for their families.

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.

Tehran/Iran – The United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) in Iran welcomes its first-ever contribution from the European Union (EU) that will allow the food agency to provide cash assistance to the most vulnerable refugees in the country.

LILONGWE –The United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) has been forced to cut assistance to more than 51,000 vulnerable refugees by 50 percent as hunger levels deepen at Dzaleka Refugee Camp in Malawi.

ABIDJAN, CÔTE D’IVOIRE – The Green Climate Fund (GCF) has formally approved an innovative US$10 million project to empower women in Cote D’Ivoire to manage climate risks effectively.