News releases

BEIJING - The first consignment of humanitarian cargo consisting of COVID-19 medical supplies is scheduled to arrive today at a Global Humanitarian Hub in Guangzhou, from where it will be shipped to other UN hubs worldwide, as well as directly to affected countries and regions. Established earlier this month by the United Nations World Food Programme (WFP), with support from the Government of China, the hub will support the global COVID-19 emergency response for the international community, including the UN, national governments and other humanitarian partners.

ROME/GENEVA – The first United Nations “Solidarity Flight” is scheduled to leave Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, today - from there, the aircraft will transport the vital medical cargo to all countries in Africa, where supplies are desperately needed to contain the spread of COVID-19.

Paletwa, MYANMAR – Following persistent efforts, the United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) has successfully obtained access and delivered food to people affected by ongoing armed conflict in Samee Town of Paletwa Township in Chin State.

Rome – The closure of schools around the world due to COVID-19 risks having a major impact on the health and nutrition of school children.

COLOMBO – The Scaling Up Nutrition Business Network (SUN BN), led by the United Nations World Food Programme (WFP), today brought together thirty leading Sri Lankan businesses to pledge their support for three important agendas: improving workplace health and nutrition efforts; producing healthy food; and promoting healthy food consumption.

ADDIS ABABA – The Government of Ethiopia’s National Disaster Risk Management Commission (NDRMC) and the United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) today launched a global convening on how to provide ‘Transformative Food Assistance for Zero Hunger.’

ROME – The United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) will begin destroying global stocks of a blended food product, identified as a source of sickness among people who consumed it in Uganda earlier this year.

ROME – The World Food Programme (WFP) has welcomed a contribution of €3 million from the European Union (EU), which will strengthen global efforts to eradicate hunger and malnutrition by supporting the Committee on World Food Security.

DAMASCUS – The United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) has so far provided immediate food assistance to more than 70,000 people fleeing towns in northeastern Syria as military operations continue. WFP is deeply concerned about the safety of civilians caught in the violence and urges that vital supply routes be kept open and safe for humanitarian deliveries.

The Ghana Commodity Exchange (GCX) has partnered with the United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) to manage a warehouse WFP constructed for smallholder maize farmers in the Ejurasekyedumase Municipality.

NEW YORK: The United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) today launched the next phase of a cinema ad campaign that has yielded dramatic results, generating a 40% increase in brand awareness in North America about WFP’s life-saving work on the frontlines of world hunger. The “Feed our Future” campaign is part of a unique partnership between SAWA, the Global Cinema Advertising Association, its network of Global Cinema Advertising companies and WFP, which is the leading humanitarian agency supporting development and responding to hunger needs in global hotspots.

DHAKA – Representatives from government ministries, development partners, academia, thinktanks and UN agencies, are gathering in Dhaka today to discuss the role social safety nets play in addressing climate change, building community resilience and helping Bangladesh achieve the Sustainable Developments Goals (SDGs) by 2030.

BEIRUT – A new financial contribution from the European Union (EU) confirmed today will allow UNHCR, the UN Refugee Agency, and the World Food Programme (WFP) to continue life-saving humanitarian support for 358,000 of the most vulnerable Syrian refugees in Lebanon until April 2020.

JUBA - The International Organization for Migration (IOM) and United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) recently completed the first functional data exchange between their own beneficiary management systems to provide updated information on tens of thousands of people receiving assistance in Upper Nile and Jonglei regions.

ROME – The United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) today sincerely thanked the Republic of Korea for a landmark donation of 50,000 metric tons of rice and US$4.5 million in cash for the humanitarian response to food needs in the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK).

MOMBASA, KENYA – A contribution of 53 KAMAZ trucks and 10 trailers, donated by the government of the Russian Federation to the United Nations World Food Programme (WFP), have been handed over today in the port city of Mombasa. These trucks will be stationed in WFP’s Regional Logistics Hub in Kampala, Uganda and will assist its distributions and deliveries throughout the East and Central African region.

NAIROBI – The United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) and Kenya’s Ministry of Devolution and the Arid and Semi-Arid Lands (ASALs) have agreed to collaborate on the coordination, formulation and implementation of policies on food security, resilience building and relief assistance to achieve food and nutrition security in Kenya.

Dubai: The World Food Programme (WFP) welcomes the Russian Federation’s donation of 97 KAMAZ trucks and 30 trailers, which will greatly enhance its transport capacity. Today’s handover marks another important milestone in the historic and long-lasting partnership between the Russian Federation and WFP in the area of logistics technology. This recent donation will help boost the operational performance of three of WFP Regional Fleet Hubs, namely in the UAE, Ghana and Uganda.

ROME – The United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) is working tirelessly to meet the needs of millions of hungry Yemeni children, women and men who are threatened by a potential famine because of conflict. Our operational independence, impartiality and neutrality are paramount if we are to succeed and we need immediate and unrestrained access to the hungry so that we can reach those who need us most.

‘Famine Likely’: new classification to boost warning

Rome, Italy, 25 April 2019 - New global guidelines published today by the Integrated Food Security Phase Classification (IPC) initiative will further hone food security and nutrition analysis processes for better and more actionable information during humanitarian crises.

KAMPALA - The Government of Uganda and United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) are investigating whether there is a connection between recent illnesses reported in two districts in Karamoja and Super Cereal, a fortified blended food distributed by WFP for prevention of malnutrition.

ADDIS ABABA – The World Food Programme (WFP) in Ethiopia is distributing life-saving food in the Dawa Zone of Somali Region following a spate of interruptions over the past 11 months due to security issues.