DHAKA – Just weeks after thousands of Rohingya refugees lost their homes to Cyclone Mocha, they face another blow as funding shortages force the United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) to cut food vouchers in Cox’s Bazar to just US$ 8, or less than 9 cents per meal.
May 25 2023, ADEN – The food security situation in Yemen’s districts under the control of the Government of Yemen (GoY) slightly improved during the first five months of this year, while acute malnutrition increased, compared to the same period in 2022. However, the outlook for the period between now until the end of 2023 indicates the need for more programme investments, as the modest improvements may be eroded, UN agencies have warned.
LOMÉ – The European Union (EU) has provided EUR 4.5 million to the United Nations World Food Programme for the provision of nutritious meals to 17,400 primary school children in northern Togo using locally produced foods.
NAIROBI – Millions of people in the Horn of Africa are trapped in a hunger emergency as the region lurches from crisis to crisis: the longest drought in recorded history has given way to rains and flash flooding, the UN World Food Programme (WFP) warned today. Food and energy prices remain stubbornly high and the impact of the conflict in Sudan reverberates around the region.
ROME / SEOUL – The United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) thanks the Republic of Korea (ROK) for their recent announcement on the doubling of their annual contribution of rice to the programme next year onwards. The increase will take the annual contribution from 50,000 to 100,000 metric tons, destined for WFP’s life-saving operations globally.
Basra, IRAQ – The United Nations World Food Programme (WFP), in partnership with the local government of Basra, Iraq’s Ministry of Environment, and the University of Basra’s Marine Science Centre started a mangrove nursery in the tidal flats region with the capacity to produce up to one million mangrove seedlings annually.
ROME – The World Food Programme (WFP) is rolling out comprehensive, systemic measures to prevent further misuse of life-saving aid in response to the discovery of widespread diversion of humanitarian food assistance in Ethiopia last month. WFP paused food distributions in the Tigray region after finding evidence of significant food aid sales in local markets. WFP immediately began an investigation and is enhancing safeguards and controls to ensure that necessary assistance reaches the most vulnerable women, men, and children.
ISLAMABAD – The United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) welcomed a contribution of US$ 100,000 from the Embassy of the Republic of the Philippines to Pakistan for its ongoing flood response to reach the most vulnerable flood-affected communities with relief, recovery and rehabilitation support. The Ambassador-designate of the Republic of the Philippines to Pakistan, Maria Agnes M. Cervantes, handed over the donation to Rathi Palakrishnan, WFP’s Country Director a.i., during a ceremony held at the WFP office in Islamabad on 18 May.
Venice – The United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) and the Civic Data Design Lab at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) will inaugurate “Distance Unknown”, a data-based exhibition on hunger and migration, at Palazzo Bembo (European Cultural Centre) in Venice with a walk-through on 21 May 2023 at 1100 CET to coincide with the opening of the Biennale Architettura 2023.
MAPUTO – The United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) welcomes a contribution of EUR 1 million from France to support WFP’s emergency nutrition response in three provinces of northern Mozambique.
ISLAMABAD – The United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) and the Planning and Development (P&D) Department of the Government of Balochistan have signed an agreement for the implementation of the Gwadar-Lasbela Livelihoods Support Project II (GLLSP-II) to improve nutrition behaviours and practices for food insecure communities in the Gwadar and Lasbela coastal districts. These areas are highly exposed to climate shocks, resulting in lower productivity in agriculture, livestock and fisheries.
BAMAKO – As violence, population displacements and climate shocks continue to exacerbate food insecurity and malnutrition in Mali, the United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) requires urgent funding to ramp up emergency food and nutritional assistance to 3.8 million women, men and children in conflict-affected regions in central, northern, and south-eastern Mali.
PORT SUDAN/ROME – The United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) is rapidly scaling up its emergency operations in Sudan, every day reaching thousands more people whose lives have been upended by the ongoing fighting. WFP is ramping up to assist 4.9 million vulnerable people in Sudan and thousands more who have fled to neighbouring countries.
ROME – The G7’s strong commitment to global food security in 2022 must be maintained in 2023 as new crises in Sudan, Haiti and the Sahel push more people into hunger, the UN World Food Programme said today, just days before G7 leaders were due to meet in Japan.
Banjul – The World Food Programme (WFP) has received a US$1.5 million (JPY 164 million) contribution from the Government and people of Japan to provide emergency food and nutrition assistance to 25,000 people affected by climate shocks and the economic fallout from COVID19 and the Russia-Ukraine conflict.
ASWAN – The United Nations World Food Programme (WFP), launched today an emergency cash assistance programme to support vulnerable people fleeing the conflict in Sudan. WFP’s pre-established cash delivery platform will also be made available to sister UN agencies to enable them to quickly extend their assistance to vulnerable people arriving in Egypt from Sudan.
BANGKOK - The World Food Programme (WFP) is closely monitoring Cyclone Mocha, which is expected to make landfall this Sunday in Myanmar and Bangladesh. Working with partners, WFP is gearing up for a large-scale emergency response, putting in place contingency plans, and prepositioning food and relief supplies, vehicles, and emergency equipment. Heavy rainfall is forecast, with the possible risk of floods and landslides, which could impact hundreds of thousands of vulnerable people in areas likely to be in the cyclone’s trajectory.
EAST JERUSALEM – The United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) announced today that by next month 200,000 people – 60 percent of the people the agency assists in Palestine – will no longer be receiving food assistance due to a severe funding shortage. By August, WFP will be forced to completely suspend operations in the West Bank and Gaza if no funding is received.
N’DJAMENA – The United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) urgently requires US$162.4 million to support the Government of Chad in assisting 2.3 million people in urgent need of food assistance, including newly arrived refugees from Sudan as well as the 600,000 refugees already in Chad, communities hosting displaced people, internally displaced people, and severely food insecure people in Chad during the June-August lean season.
ROME/PORT SUDAN – The UN World Food Programme warned today that an additional 2 - 2.5 million people in Sudan are expected to slip into hunger in the coming months as a result of the ongoing violence in the country. This would take acute food insecurity in Sudan to record levels, with more than 19 million people affected, two fifths of the population.
KINSHASA – The United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) has announced that 34-year-old Congolese professional footballer Distel Zola has been named a High-Level Supporter for healthy meals and better nutrition in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC). His appointment comes as the country faces high food insecurity and malnutrition levels.
KUWAIT - The United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) welcomed a recent contribution of US$16 million from the Government of Kuwait to support people in Syria and Türkiye who have been worst affected by the February earthquake in the region.
PHNOM PENH – The United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) and the Cambodian Agriculture Cooperative Corporation (CACC) are launching a new project targeting over 1,200 smallholder farmers and their extended families in Koh Nhek, Mondulkiri, the country’s north-eastern province.
KINSHASA – The United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) has welcomed a US$ 2.8 million contribution from the Government of Switzerland to support emergency food and nutrition assistance in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC).
NAIROBI - The UN World Food Programme (WFP) and the UN Environment Programme (UNEP) today signed an agreement to address the devastating impacts of the climate crisis, environmental degradation and biodiversity and ecosystem loss on the food and water security of millions of people around the world.