News releases

Bangkok, Thailand – The economic impact of COVID-19 on the world’s most populous region is threatening to further undermine efforts to improve diets and nutrition of nearly two billion people in Asia and the Pacific who were already unable to afford healthy diets prior to the pandemic, says a new report published today by four specialized agencies of the United Nations.

Johannesburg - Escalating conflict and a deteriorating humanitarian situation in Cabo Delgado has left communities completely reliant on humanitarian assistance. According to the Government, attacks by non-state groups have forced more than 565,000 people to flee their homes and villages, abandoning their crops and livelihoods.

MAPUTO – A combined total of €7.6 million in funding from the European Union (EU) is helping the United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) address the growing food needs in Mozambique driven by climate change, insecurity, displacement and the socio-economic impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, while also strengthening national capacity to respond to natural disasters.

NEW YORK – The World Food Programme (WFP) Executive Director, David Beasley, addressed United Nations Security Council today on the humanitarian crisis in Yemen. Here are selected highlights from his remarks:

SEOUL/DAKAR – The United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) welcomes a $US500,000 contribution from the Government of the Republic of Korea to our operations in Mali, Burkina Faso and Guinea, which will help support the emergency response in Central Sahel, and provide school meals for thousands of young pupils.

ANTANANARIVO – Three consecutive years of drought coupled with a sharp recession triggered by the COVID-19 pandemic will leave a third of the population in Southern Madagascar struggling to put food on the table. With severe malnutrition rates continuing to spiral and many children forced to beg in order to help their families eat, urgent action is required to prevent a humanitarian crisis.

DAMASCUS – The United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) in Syria welcomes a generous donation of US$20 million from the Russian Federation to provide food assistance for up to 2.3 million Syrians – including nutritional support for mothers and children.

BAGHDAD – The United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) has received a Euro 21 million contribution from the Federal Government of Germany to support vulnerable families across Iraq as well as the digitalisation and reform of the country’s national Public Distribution System (PDS) for food rations.

Yerevan, ARMENIA – The United Nations World Food Programme (WFP), in partnership with the Armenian Ministry of Labour and Social Affairs (MLSA), started this week distributing a one-off food ration for 44,000 vulnerable people who have been affected by the socio-economic impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic.

ADDIS ABABA – Eritrean refugees in two camps in the Tigray Region of Ethiopia received a month’s worth of food supplies through a joint distribution by the United Nations World Food Programme (WFP), the United Nations Refugee Agency (UNHCR) and Ethiopia’s Agency for Refugees and Returnee Affairs (ARRA).

MAPUTO – The United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) welcomes a contribution of SEK 30 million (US$3.5 million) from the Swedish International Development Agency (SIDA) to help meet the food and nutrition needs of people affected by the conflict in Cabo Delgado.

KINSHASA – The United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) welcomes a US$500,000 contribution from the Government of the Republic of Korea to help fight worryingly high malnutrition among women and children in central Democratic Republic of Congo.

NAIROBI – The United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) today warned it will have to further reduce monthly relief cash and food rations for 1.26 million refugees in Uganda due to a funding shortfall. With effect from February 2021, refugees will have to make do with only 60 percent of a full ration.

OUAGADOUGOU – A donation of € 4.2 million from the European Union (EU) contributed to WFP’s efforts to stave off a hunger catastrophe in Burkina Faso, where 2 million people are struggling to feed themselves due to the combined effects of conflict, climate shocks and the socio-economic impact of the coronavirus pandemic.

Conflict, floods and COVID-19 push more people into extreme hunger

JUBA – Three United Nations organizations are calling for immediate humanitarian access to parts of South Sudan’s Pibor County in Jonglei State, where people have run out of food and are facing catastrophic levels of hunger according to a new Integrated Food Security Phase Classification (IPC) report released today.

Beirut, LEBANON – UNHCR, the UN Refugee Agency, the United Nations World Food Programme (WFP), and the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) today published the key findings of the 2020 Vulnerability Assessment of Syrian Refugees in Lebanon (VASyR).

Jerusalem – The United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) welcomed a €9 million (US$10.5 million) contribution from the Government of Germany to provide much-needed food assistance for the poorest and most food insecure Palestinian families.

AMMAN – Germany has again shown its commitment to support refugees and vulnerable Jordanians with a contribution of 65 million Euros (US$76.9 million USD) to the United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) in Jordan for the years 2020 and 2021.

NAIROBI – The United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) today warned more than 435,000 refugees in Kenya faced imminent food shortages unless new funds are swiftly received.