News releases

BAGHDAD – On the International Day of Awareness of Food Loss and Waste (IDAFLW), the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) and the United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) call for action to address food loss and adopt sustainable food waste management in Iraq.

COLOMBO, 28 September 2022 – The United States Permanent Representative to the UN Agencies in Rome, Ambassador Cindy McCain concluded a two-day official visit to the North Western and Central Provinces of Sri Lanka today. Accompanied by the United States Ambassador to Sri Lanka, Julie Chung, Ambassador McCain visited several projects of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), the United Nations World Food Programme (WFP), and the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD).

PRAIA – A week after schools reopened in Cabo Verde, the Government’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Cooperation and Regional Integration, and the United Nations World Food Programme (WFP), today, signed an agreement to meet the food and nutrition needs of nearly 90,000 school children through the national school feeding programme.

NAIROBI – The United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) has welcomed a contribution of US$194.5 million from the United States Government, through the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID), to provide critical food and nutrition assistance and resilience building initiatives for thousands of people facing the worst drought in four decades. The contribution – the largest ever by a single donor to WFP’s operation in Kenya – will also support the food needs of thousands of refugees.

This is a summary of remarks by WFP Sudan Representative and Country Director, Eddie Rowe- to whom quoted text may be attributed – at a press briefing, today, at the Palais des Nations in Geneva, Switzerland.

GENEVA: Sudan is facing a deepening hunger crisis as climate shocks, protracted conflict and skyrocketing food prices leave families struggling to access and afford basic food commodities. At least 15 million people, or one-third of the population, are facing hunger in Sudan, according to WFP’s latest Comprehensive Food Security and Vulnerability Assessment. This is a 50 percent increase compared to last year. Earlier this year, WFP warned that up to 18 million people could face food insecurity by September and there are assessments ongoing to confirm whether our worst fears have come true.

COLOMBO – The first consignment from an Australian donation totaling AUD22 million (approximately USD15 million) has arrived in Sri Lanka and will soon be distributed to those most affected by the ongoing economic crisis. The consignment, consisting of 600 metric tonnes of rice, forms part of a larger consignment of rice, pulses and cooking oil, due to arrive in the country soon.

Rising conflict, climate extremes, and economic instability aggravated by the lingering impacts of COVID-19 and the ripple effects of the war in Ukraine are among the key drivers

ROME – The number of people facing acute food insecurity worldwide is expected to continue to rise precipitously, as the food crisis tightens its grip on 19 ‘hunger hotspots’ – driven by rising conflict, weather extremes, and economic instability aggravated by the pandemic and the ripple effects of the crisis in Ukraine, a joint UN report released today has found.

Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) Director General Qu Dongyu, International Monetary Fund (IMF) Managing Director Kristalina Georgieva, World Bank Group (WBG) President David Malpass, World Food Programme (WFP) Executive Director David Beasley and World Trade Organization (WTO) Director General Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala issued the following second joint statement calling for urgent action to address the global food security crisis.

KYIV – The United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) and its partners have over the last few days distributed more than 70,000 food rations in Kharkiv oblast, 30,000 rations in Kherson oblast, and 500 rations in Luhansk oblast, reaching communities who have only just become accessible to humanitarian agencies.

BANGUI – Amidst growing humanitarian needs in the Central African Republic, the United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) is responding to the ongoing floods in the country, rolling out assistance to 30,000 people who urgently require food assistance. Starting in July, torrential rains caused flooding in Bangui, as well as Bangassou (south-west) and Paoua (north-west) prefectures, leaving 22,450 people without homes, livelihoods, or assets. Many of those affected are sheltering with host families or in public spaces like schools or churches – but meteorological services forecast more heavy rains

NDJAMENA – The United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) is stepping up its emergency response to heavy rains and flooding in Chad, with emergency operations targeting 300,000 flood-hit women, men and children over the next three months. According to Chad’s Ministry of Health and Solidarity, 622,000 people have been affected by floods since late August 2022, with hundreds of houses destroyed and massive damage to crops and livelihoods.

JUBA – The United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) is today calling for the safe and secure passage of food and other humanitarian assistance into conflict-affected areas of Upper Nile and Jonglei states, amidst renewed conflict which has displaced thousands of families and left an unknown number of civilians dead or injured.

BEIRUT – The United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) welcomes a generous contribution of US$ 700,000 from the Republic of Korea to support its in-kind food assistance and school meals programmes.

BRIDGETOWN – The number of people estimated to be facing moderate to severe levels of food insecurity in the English-speaking Caribbean has risen by an alarming 46 percent over the last six months. Nearly 4.1 million people or 57 percent of the population now face food insecurity, according to a recent survey conducted by the Caribbean Community (CARICOM) and the United Nations World Food Programme (WFP).

ROME – School-aged children are bearing the brunt of today’s Global Food Crisis with devastating consequences for their education and their ability to catch up on learning lost during COVID school closures, warn the United Nations World Food Programme (WFP), the African Union Development Agency NEPAD, and organizations working on education, including the Education Commission chaired by Gordon Brown, former British Prime Minister and UN Special Envoy for Global Education.

KABUL/ROME – The United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) welcomes a EUR 500,000 contribution from the European Union (EU) to support the food needs of communities in the Afghan provinces of Paktika and Khost which were affected by an earthquake in late June. The funds will help WFP deliver emergency food assistance to more than 170,000 earthquake-affected people over six months. The EU’s contribution, made through its Civil Protection and Humanitarian Aid Operations department, comes on top of the EUR 15.5 million the EU recently provided to WFP’s Afghanistan response.

CHISINAU – The United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) and its cooperating partners have delivered 1 million hot meals since 15 March to Ukrainian refugees living in WFP-supported Refugee Accommodation Centres (RACs) in Moldova.

KABUL – As Afghanistan faces record high malnutrition rates, a EUR 290,000 contribution from the Catalan Agency for Development Cooperation (ACCD) is helping the United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) to reach acutely malnourished children and mothers across the country. Thanks to this funding, more than 8,000 malnourished women and children in the areas of highest need will be supported with specialised nutritious foods for treatment of malnutrition by the end of the year.

Funds to provide critical food and emergency support to 1.6 million people across nine nations

ROME – The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints today announced a historic US$32 million donation to World Food Program USA in support of the United Nations World Food Programme (WFP)’s life-saving operations to combat the global food crisis. During a visit to WFP’s headquarters in Rome, Bishop L. Todd Budge of the Presiding Bishopric presented the grant to Barron Segar, President and CEO of World Food Program USA, and Ute Klamert, WFP Deputy Executive Director, Partnerships and Advocacy.

PHNOM PENH – The United Nations World Food Programme (WFP), in partnership with the School Health Department of the Ministry of Education, Youth and Sport (MoEYS), is launching an innovative social and behaviour change communication (SBCC) campaign to improve the diets of primary school children in Cambodia.

This is a summary of what was said by WFP Somalia Representative and Country Director, El-Khidir Daloum - to whom quoted text may be attributed – at today's press briefing at the Palais des Nations in Geneva, Switzerland.

GENEVA – The new data (for Somalia), alongside the projection of famine in Baidoa and Burhakaba that we heard last week, is absolutely a call to action. It’s a final warning to the world not to turn away from Somalia.

KAMPALA – The United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) has today welcomed a contribution of 6,000 MT of rice from the Government of the Republic of Korea to provide life-saving food assistance to 350,000 refugees and an additional 150,000 people facing hunger in the Karamoja region

30 percent of the population are experiencing acute food insecurity and will likely deteriorate further unless urgent assistance is provided.

COLOMBO – An estimated 6.3 million people in Sri Lanka are facing moderate to severe acute food insecurity and their situation is expected to worsen if adequate life-saving assistance and livelihood support is not provided, the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) and the United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) warned today in a new report.

VIENTIANE – Japanese Ambassador Kenichi Kobayashi today handed over a donation of canned fish to Minister of Education and Sports Assoc. Prof. Dr. Phout Simmalavong at the United Nations World Food Programme’s (WFP) warehouse in Vientiane.

BAGHDAD – The United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) welcomed a contribution of US$1 million from the Government of the Republic of Korea, which will support the implementation of resilience-building activities aiming at improving sustainable agricultural production in areas affected by salinity in southern Iraq.