Meeting with staff at WFP\'s Rome headquarters, the new Executive Director Josette Sheeran called for a renewed commitment to the world’s hungry poor.
Meeting today with staff at WFP's Rome headquarters, the new Executive Director Josette Sheeran called for a renewed commitment to the world’s hungry poor.
“Despite enormous efforts by WFP and its donors and partners, we are losing ground on hunger with 4 million more people malnourished each year than the year before. Together, we can turn that tide.”
Every year WFP feeds an average of 90 million people, maintaining a logistics operation that encompasses an international team of nearly 12,000 in more than 80 countries.
Unanimous
I feel very fortunate to join WFP, which I learned during my time on the UN’s High Level Panel is a gem in the UN system.
New WFP Executive Director Josette Sheeran
Sheeran was selected for the post in November by former UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan and FAO Director General Jacques Diouf, with the unanimous concurrence of WFP’s 36-member executive board.
She succeeds James Morris whose five-year term at the helm of the organisation came to an end on 4 April. Morris is returning to his native Indiana in the United States.
Welcoming Sheeran, President of the WFP Executive Board James Molanson noted: “We face enormous humanitarian challenges in emergencies like the crisis in Darfur. At the same time, we must address widespread chronic hunger, especially in Africa where one in three people are malnourished. All of us serving on WFP’s Executive Board look forward to working with Josette Sheeran to make real progress and further build the effectiveness of food aid as a tool to reach the most needy.”
Broad background
Sheeranbrings to WFP a broad background in the public and private sectors, with more than 20 years management and leadership experience in diplomacy, government, foundations, international journalism and business.
Most recently she served as Under Secretary for Economic, Energy and Agricultural Affairs at the US State Department and as alternate U.S. delegate to the World Bank and regional development banks, working on economic issues including development, trade, agriculture, finance, energy, telecommunications and transportation.
She especially focussed on helping developing nations become more self-sufficient through economic empowerment, and initiated innovative capacity-building and development programs.
High Level Panel
Last year she was asked by former UN Secretary-General Annan to serve on a High Level Panel looking at reforms in the areas of humanitarian assistance, development and the environment. She spent nine months travelling the world conducting hundreds of interviews with UN aid recipients, country teams, private sector donors and NGOS.
Prior to her appointment as Under Secretary, Sheeran served as Deputy Trade Representative in the Office of the United States Trade Representative (USTR), where she was responsible for trade negotiations and treaties in Asia and Africa. She has also served as the Managing Director of a leading Wall Street technology firm, President and CEO of a Washington DC think tank, and Managing Editor of a major US newspaper.
Gem
“I feel very fortunate to join WFP, which I learned during my time on the UN’s High Level Panel is a gem in the UN system. WFP has earned the trust of the world’s most vulnerable and the respect of more than 90 donor nations. All its supporters, public and private, know that over 93 percent of their donations are used directly to reach the hungry, giving WFP one of the lowest overheads of any aid provider,” says Sheeran.
“I come into this position with four commitments. First: to the more than 850 million men, women and children who know what it is like go to bed hungry, I promise you that you will never be forgotten and I will do everything I can not just to bring you food, but hope for a better future,” says Sheeran.
Logistics lifeline
“My second commitment is to all the generous nations, businesses, organisations and individuals who support WFP’s life-saving work. I will sustain and augment the logistics lifeline that has become a legacy gift to the world while always seeking to improve effectiveness and efficiency.
"Third, I will work with my UN colleagues, NGOs and many others to leverage and maximise the positive development impact of WFP’s food aid purchases and distributions. Finally, I offer a promise to the hard-working men and women of WFP. Your efforts will never be taken for granted and your sacrifices will always make a difference.”
First mission
Sheeran will spend her first month in office focusing on the organisation’s most important operations and areas of work, spending half her time at headquarters in Rome and half her time in the field. Her first mission will be to Africa, which she will visit at least twice in her first 90 days.
Prior to going to Africa, on 18 April she will visit the WFP-managed emergency hub in Brindisi, Italy, part of the network of five Humanitarian Response Depots planned around the world. These depots enable WFP and other agencies to mobilise more rapidly to address natural disasters and crises by pre-positioning food and other critical supplies, such as tents and medicine.
Then she will head to Geneva to co-chair a major UNAIDS meeting, reflecting WFP’s role as a co-sponsor of the joint UN programme on HIV/AIDSand affirming the importance of adequate food and nutrition in the fight against the disease. Also in Geneva she will attend the Chief Executives Board chaired by Secretary-General Ban Ki-Moon.
Sheeran’s first trip to the field will focus on the burgeoning humanitarian crisis in the Horn of Africa region. She will first visit Ethiopiaand will explore how WFP, the largest purchaser of surplus grain in that country, can better connect poor farmers to markets through its purchases. She will meet with the leadership of Ethiopia and the African Union on an array of issues.
In Sudan, she will meet with leaders and WFP beneficiaries in Khartoum, Darfur and Southern Sudan. She will then travel to Chadto explore humanitarian issues with the leadership there.
