News releases

Joint Statement by WFP, FEWS NET, EC-JRC and FAO*

Southern Africa is currently in the grip of an intense drought that has expanded and strengthened since the earliest stages of the 2015-2016 agricultural season, driven by one of the strongest El Niño events of the last 50 years.

JOHANNESBURG – The World Food Programme’s Centre of Excellence against Hunger is launching a research initiative supported by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation to analyse Brazil’s success in linking smallholder farmers with government demand for farmed food.

KINSHASA – The Republic of South Africa has announced a contribution of 3 million rand (US$ 290,000) to the United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) to assist displaced people facing food insecurity in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC).

ROME – The UN World Food Programme’s Executive Director Ertharin Cousin is scheduled to depart tomorrow on a 10-day visit to four African countries. Her trip to Zimbabwe, South Africa, the Democratic Republic of Congo and Rwanda will focus on hunger challenges and on WFP-supported local solutions that are helping battle under nutrition and build sustainable food security.