News releases

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.

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.

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.    

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

ROME/COTONOU, BENIN – The ripple effects of Sudan’s war are impacting hunger and migration across West and Central Africa, rapidly depleting scarce resources, further stressing the already underfunded humanitarian response, and exacerbating inter-communal tensions. The spillover will be devastating for peace and stability in a region already facing climate extremes, insecurity, and economic decline, warned the United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) Executive Director Cindy McCain as she concludes a visit to Chad, Togo, and Benin.

CAIRO – The United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) said today that further reductions in food assistance for refugees in Jordan have become unavoidable as funds run precariously low. The food agency is compelled to reduce by one-third the monthly cash assistance for all 119,000 Syrian refugees in Zaatari and Azraq camps.

AMMAN – An unprecedented funding crisis is forcing WFP to significantly scale back its monthly food assistance for the 465,000 refugees it supports in Jordan. Starting in August, WFP will gradually prioritize the poorest families, excluding approximately 50,000 individuals from the assistance, in order to stretch the limited available funding.

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.

DAKAR – The United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) and the Abdul Latif Jameel Poverty Action Lab (J-PAL) at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) have signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to develop innovative solutions that help build a more resilient and food secure future for vulnerable communities worldwide.

ADRE, CHAD – The United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) is rapidly scaling up its response on the Chad-Sudan border to support a surge of people fleeing from Sudan. Thousands of people are crossing each day from Sudan’s Darfur region into the small border town of Adré in Chad, with many arriving injured and with harrowing stories of the violence they have escaped.

BISHKEK – The United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) in the Kyrgyz Republic, with financial support from the Government of Switzerland, is launching the Weather Index-Based Insurance Pilot Project, an initiative aiming to strengthen the resilience of rural communities to extreme weather-related risks and shocks.

BOGOTA - The Innovation Hub for Latin America and the Caribbean (HZero) - managed by the United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) in Colombia - celebrated the conclusion of a programme that supported 10 innovative projects from six countries in the region. Together, these projects are making a positive impact on the lives of over 85,000 people and contributing to Zero Hunger.

DAKAR – In June, the United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) kicked off a large-scale emergency food and nutrition assistance operation in the Sahel. But a funding crunch means WFP will be able to assist just over half of the 11.6 million initially targeted – leaving millions stranded without aid as the lean season sets in and hunger starts to peak. Mali and Chad will be hit the hardest, with 800,000 people at risk of resorting to desperate measures to cope, including engaging in survival sex, early marriage, or joining non-state armed groups.

Panama – In response to the global hunger crisis and unprecedented humanitarian needs, the European Union (EU) contributed €7.5 million to the World Food Programme’s (WFP) operations in Haiti and the Dominican Republic to assist those worst affected by acute hunger.

NIAMEY – The United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) has received a much-needed boost in its efforts to provide vital food and nutrition assistance to crisis-affected populations in Niger. The United States Agency for International Development (USAID) has donated an additional US$15 million to aid WFP's mission.