News releases

New data reveals that over 750,000 people are experiencing catastrophic levels of food insecurity with 25.6 million people in crisis levels of hunger

The midpoint meeting between COP28 and COP29 emphasises climate-resilient agri-food systems as key to solving interconnected climate and food crises.

ROME – The latest food security assessment on Gaza confirms the concerns of the World Food Programme (WFP) about the ongoing levels of severe hunger across the Gaza Strip and shows the critical importance of sustained access to all areas of Gaza.

DAKAR – The United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) is ramping up its lifesaving food and nutrition assistance programme in West and Central Africa, targeting 7.3 million people during the ongoing June-August lean season – when food stocks run out and hunger peaks. The programme – which kicks off in June – supports national governments’ lean season response plans in Burkina Faso, Cameroon, Central African Republic, Chad, Mali, Mauritania, Niger, and Nigeria.

JOHANNESBURG – The United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) welcomes a contribution of EUR 3 million from the European Union (EU) to support the continuation of nutritional support and services to the most vulnerable urban communities in Lesotho, Madagascar, Mozambique and Zimbabwe.

PORT SUDAN/NAIROBI — The United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) and the African Development Bank (AfDB) announced today that the AfDB-financed Sudan Emergency Wheat Production Project had increased wheat production in the country by up to 70% in targeted project locations across five states in the last year. This development comes at a critical time as Sudan is facing a looming hunger catastrophe due to the ongoing conflict, which also impeded the past agricultural season.

Islamabad– The United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) acknowledges the Government of Japan’s generous contributions under three projects that provided emergency assistance for the stabilization of food-insecure people in the flood-affected areas of Pakistan, implemented in Sindh, Balochistan, Punjab and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.

PORT SUDAN – The UN World Food Programme (WFP) is urgently expanding its emergency food and nutrition assistance in war-torn Sudan amid the looming threat of famine, as conditions for civilians deteriorate and fighting intensifies in battle zones like El Fasher and Khartoum

Latest Hunger Hotspots report urges immediate action to prevent famine and warns of La Niña-linked climate extremes

ROME – Acute food insecurity is set to increase in magnitude and severity in 18 hunger “Hotspots”, a new United Nations early warning report has revealed today. The report spotlights the urgent need of assistance to prevent famine in Gaza and the Sudan, and further deterioration in the devastating hunger crises in Haiti, Mali, and South Sudan. It also warns of the lingering impact of El Niño and the looming threat of La Niña that risks bringing further climate extremes that could upend lives and livelihoods.

Pretoria, 5 June 2024 - More than 30 million people across Southern Africa have been affected by a severe drought. Millions could be pushed into acute hunger unless support is urgently mobilized to scale before the next lean season, warn the United Nations (UN) and partners.

PORT-AU-PRINCE – After more than two months of blockages due to violent clashes between armed groups, WFP has made important progress, delivering truckloads of food to the highly vulnerable neighbourhood of Cité Soleil – host to pockets of catastrophic hunger (IPC phase 5) in late 2022 - and also resuming use of the international airport at Port-au-Prince for humanitarian passenger and cargo flights.

DHAKA—Starting June 1, the United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) will partially increase food rations for all Rohingya in Cox’s Bazar camps, raising the entitlement from US$10 to US$11 per person per month. This marks the second increase this year and a step closer to reaching the full ration target of US$12.50 by August.

GENEVA/NEW YORK/ROME: Three United Nations agencies today issued a stark warning that all indications point to a significant deterioration of the nutrition situation for children and mothers in war-torn Sudan. The lives of Sudan’s children are at stake and urgent action is needed to protect an entire generation from malnutrition, disease and death.

ANTIGUA – The United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) today called for urgent global support for small island nations disproportionately impacted by the climate crisis, including many now bracing for what is expected to be an intense and destructive Atlantic hurricane season. The announcement came as the 4th International Small Island Developing States (SIDS) conference concluded today in the Caribbean twin island nation of Antigua and Barbuda.

TARLAC – Today, the United Nations World Food Programme (WFP), in collaboration with the Philippine Office of Civil Defense (OCD) and supported by the United States Agency for International Development (USAID), kicked off the second Disaster Preparedness and Humanitarian Operations Workshop (DPHOW). This workshop aims to strengthen collaboration among humanitarian actors and enhance the preparedness of disaster management units in the Philippines.

DHAKA – Ahead of Cyclone Remal's anticipated landfall in the southern coastal regions of Bangladesh, the World Food Programme (WFP) has swiftly dispatched cash assistance to families most at risk across Khulna and Barishal Division.

DAKAR – The Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) and the United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) - with the support of the School Meals Coalition and the International Financial Institutions (IFIs) - have concluded a three-day regional technical conference on Homegrown School Meals in West Africa.

LUSAKA/JOHANNESBURG/ROME – Millions of people are facing food insecurity due to El Niño-fueled drought and floods in Southern Africa, WFP Executive Director Cindy McCain warned during a visit to Zambia, at the epicenter of the crisis. Severe drought has wiped out harvests in a region where 70 percent of the population relies on agriculture to survive.

BRIDGETOWN – A recent study has found that despite modest improvements on last year, food insecurity in the English- and Dutch-speaking Caribbean remains persistently higher than pre-pandemic levels, driven by the cost-of-living crisis, global economic volatility and the lingering impacts of the pandemic.

KABUL: The United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) warns that the devastating floods that struck the Northeastern and Northwestern regions of Afghanistan in the past two weeks, impacting more than 80,000 people, are likely to intensify in the coming months, with a significant impact on food security. The affected districts, most of which are "hunger hotspots”, are already in crisis levels of food insecurity.

BLANTYRE – Around nine million people in Malawi are reeling from the devastating impacts of El Niño-induced floods and drought, which are destroying harvests and causing hunger to soar to crisis levels.

Port Sudan/Nairobi – The World Food Programme (WFP), with the support of the European Union (EU), has been able to provide emergency food assistance to nearly 6.4 million people, of which around 550,000 people received cash, since the conflict erupted in Sudan just over one year ago. This was in part made possible with a EUR €28 million contribution from the EU Humanitarian Aid Operations (ECHO) in 2023. The aid agency also used this funding to help treat and prevent malnutrition for 260,000 children and pregnant or nursing women.

MANILA – In a significant step to strengthen emergency communications, the Philippines’ Department of Information and Communications Technology (DICT), in partnership with the United Nations World Food Programme (WFP), today unveiled an upgraded fleet of Mobile Operations Vehicles for Emergencies (MOVE) at the University of the Philippines (UP) – Diliman National Science Complex Amphitheater, Quezon City. The collaboration aims to bridge communication gaps, ensuring robust connectivity and efficient coordination in crisis situations.

PORT SUDAN – The United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) warns that time is running out to prevent starvation in Darfur as intensifying clashes in North Darfur’s capital El Fasher hinder efforts to deliver vital food assistance into the region.

CONAKRY- The United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) welcomes a EUR 1.5 million contribution from France for the provision of food and nutrition support to women, children, and farmers in Beyla and Lola prefectures of the Forest Guinea region.