News releases

DHAKA - The United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) is working with the Ministry of Primary and Mass Education to distribute take-home food rations to nearly 3 million school children across Bangladesh who are missing out on their school meals due to school closures caused by the spread of the Coronavirus.

DAR ES SALAAM – The Japanese government has contributed US$1.5 million to the United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) to support the implementation of the four-year Boresha Lishe nutrition project in rural areas of central Tanzania.

NAIROBI – The dire socio-economic consequences of the COVID-19 pandemic may more than double the number of hungry people in East Africa and the Horn over the next three months, a report from the United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) has found.

Vientiane – Rice and lentils donated by the United States arrived in Laos this week and was received by the U.S. Ambassador to Lao PDR, Dr. Peter M. Haymond today at WFP’s Vientiane warehouse.

Jerusalem – The United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) welcomed a €250,000 contribution from France to provide essential food for the poorest and most food insecure non-refugee populations in the Gaza Strip.

ACCRA – A regional humanitarian response hub in Ghana, established by the United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) to facilitate COVID-19 response efforts is now fully operational, with the first flights taking off on 14 May. The Accra regional hub is part of a global hub-and-spokes system of air links for dispatching essential medical and humanitarian cargo and transporting health workers to the front lines of the pandemic.

DAR ES SALAAM – On 15 May, a passenger flight ferrying humanitarian and health workers into Tanzania is set to arrive from Addis Ababa in Ethiopia. This is the first flight of its kind since commercial air services were suspended in Tanzania in an attempt to curb the spread of the coronavirus

OCHA, UNHCR, UNICEF, UNFPA, WFP, WHO, IOM

(New York/Geneva/Rome, 13 May 2020) Conflict and the COVID-19 pandemic present a significant threat to life in Libya. The health and safety of the country’s entire population are at risk.

BAGHDAD – The UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR) and the United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) are stepping up their collaboration to help meet the essential needs of vulnerable people in Iraq. WFP has worked with UNHCR and partners to identify an additional 35,000 Syrian refugees and 10,000 people displaced by conflict who will be included in WFP food assistance programmes to help them cope with the impact of COVID-19.

JERUSALEM – The United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) welcomed a contribution of CAD$6 million (approximately US$4.3 million) from the Government of Canada to provide much-needed food assistance to Palestinians facing hardship in Gaza and the West Bank.

BAMAKO – The Government of Japan has contributed US$3 million to the United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) to provide urgent food assistance to 100,000 newly displaced persons and host communities affected by conflict and intercommunal violence in northern and central Mali.

BAMAKO – As the world braces for the socio-economic impact of the COVID-19 health pandemic, Germany has reaffirmed its commitment to the long-term improvement of livelihoods and food security in Mali through an EUR 11 million contribution to the United Nations World Food Programme’s life-changing activities in the country

The UN’s Humanitarian Chief, Mark Lowcock, has called for swift and determined action to avoid the most destabilizing effects of the COVID-19 pandemic as he releases a $6.7 billion appeal and an updated global plan to fight coronavirus in fragile countries.

ALGIERS – The United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) welcomed a contribution of CHF 1.8 million (US$ 1.9 million) from the Government of Switzerland that will help cover the basic food needs of thousands of Sahrawi refugee families and support WFP’s school feeding programme.

ROME / ABU DHABI – The United Arab Emirates (UAE), in partnership with the United Nations World Food Programme (WFP), has launched an international air bridge operation that will provide a lifeline of essential health and humanitarian supplies to nations around the world grappling with the impact of COVID-19.

ROME/LIÈGE – The United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) has kick-started a network of global logistics hubs that will support the entire aid community and ensure the delivery of vital medical and humanitarian supplies to developing countries at a time when commercial air transport is at a virtual standstill.

NEW YORK/PARIS/ROME, 30 April 2020 – UNESCO, UNICEF, WFP and World Bank today issued new guidelines on the safe reopening of schools amidst ongoing closures affecting nearly 1.3 billion students worldwide.

JUBA - The United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) welcomes a US$3.1 million contribution from the Government of Japan to help strengthen communities’ resilience to food shocks as South Sudan braces for tough times ahead.

BEIJING - The first consignment of humanitarian cargo consisting of COVID-19 medical supplies is scheduled to arrive today at a Global Humanitarian Hub in Guangzhou, from where it will be shipped to other UN hubs worldwide, as well as directly to affected countries and regions. Established earlier this month by the United Nations World Food Programme (WFP), with support from the Government of China, the hub will support the global COVID-19 emergency response for the international community, including the UN, national governments and other humanitarian partners.

ALGIERS – The United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) welcomed a first-time contribution of € 400,000 (US$ 452,000) from the Government of France (EU) to support Sahrawi refugee boys and girls in camps in Algeria.