Focus on Women


Logistics

In both its emergency and development projects, WFP has a special commitment to helping women gain equal access to life's basic necessity.

WFP has long believed that women are the first and fastest solution to reducing hunger and poverty. They not only cook food. They sow, reap and harvest it.

It is estimated that:

  • Eight out of 10 people engaged in farming in Africa are women and six out of 10 in Asia.
  • In one out of three households around the world, women are the sole breadwinners.

Experience also shows that in the hands of women, food is far more likely to reach the mouths of needy children. So when WFP drafts new operations, both for emergencies and development, women are top of its priority list.

In emergencies, WFP's food assistance is increasingly distributed through women. Likewise women are recognized as having a crucial role in the recovery phase that follows a humanitarian disaster.