News releases

CAIRO – The war in Ukraine has dealt a fresh hammer blow to Syria’s ability to feed itself just as the country struggles to deal with levels of hunger that are up by half since 2019, the United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) said today on the eve of the annual donor pledging conference held in Brussels.

KYIV – The United Nations World Food Programme today called for unimpeded access to families trapped in conflict areas and encircled cities in Ukraine, saying lack of access was the biggest obstacle to its life-saving operations in the war-torn country.

JUBA - Food insecurity is likely to rise by seven percent across South Sudan in the coming months, compared to last year, according to a new United Nations report on food security. UN organizations are renewing the call for more humanitarian and livelihoods assistance to stave off looming hunger and enhance resilience.

DAKAR – The number of women, men and children affected by a food and nutrition crisis in West and Central Africa is expected to reach a new record high in June 2022 - quadrupling in just three years from 10.7 million in 2019 to 41 million in 2022 - unless appropriate measures are urgently taken, reveals the Cadre Harmonisé food security analysis released in March 2022.

LVIV – One month into the conflict in Ukraine, the United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) is providing emergency food assistance to one million people in the country and has built systems able to deliver food at scale to communities in need. Trucks, trains and mini vans are today delivering food supplies to the most vulnerable people across the country and more convoys are expected in coming days.

ROME / SEOUL - The United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) welcomes a US$ 1.5 million contribution from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Korea to emergency relief efforts in Ukraine.

Columbia, SC – The United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) Executive Director David Beasley will announce a major new fundraising drive aimed at billionaires, corporations, and individuals in response to the crisis in Ukraine, and the unprecedented impact on global food security.

SEOUL - The United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) welcomes a KRW 1 billion (approximately US $ 823,000) contribution from Dunamu, a block chain and fintech company in the Republic of Korea, towards its emergency operations in Ukraine. The donation will be used to provide food assistance and relief to, both, people affected by the conflict in Ukraine and those who have fled to neighbouring countries.

KRAKOW – The United Nations World Food Programme has welcomed a US$14 million contribution from the Government of Japan to provide emergency food assistance to people affected by the conflict in Ukraine.

SANA’A, ADEN, ROME, NEW YORK, - Yemen’s already dire hunger crisis is teetering on the edge of outright catastrophe, with 17.4 million people now in need of food assistance and a growing portion of the population coping with emergency levels of hunger, UN agencies have warned.

JUBA – More than seventy percent of the South Sudanese population will struggle to survive the peak of the lean season this year as the country grapples with unprecedented levels of food insecurity caused by conflict, climate shocks, covid, and rising costs, warned the United Nations World Food Programme today.

RZESZOW, Poland – As the emergency operation in Ukraine moved into high gear today, the United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) expressed deep concern about the waning ability of families in embattled areas to find food and also warned that the crisis could have consequences well beyond Ukraine’s borders.

ANTANANARIVO – Tropical Cyclone Emnati that made landfall in Madagascar on Wednesday, the fourth tropical storm in as many weeks to hit one of Africa’s most storm-prone countries, threatens food security and is an example of how weather extremes will trigger runaway humanitarian needs if we do not tackle the climate crisis, warns the United Nations World Food Programme just days ahead of the launch of a report by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC).

SANA’A – Yemen is spiraling into a catastrophe as humanitarian funding dries up, forcing the United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) to scale back food assistance to millions of hungry families, WFP Executive Director David Beasley warned today, as he ended a two-day visit to the conflict-ravaged country.

ANTANANARIVO – The United Nations World Food Programme (WFP), along with the Government of Madagascar is providing food, logistics, IT assistance and an airlink to support relief operations in the districts of Mananjary and Manakara badly affected by Cyclone Batsirai that made landfall on 5 February.

JOHANNESBURG – Lives, livelihoods, and harvest at risk as Tropical Cyclone Batsirai on course to hit Madagascar, already reeling from the impact of Storm Ana that hit in late January, the United Nations World Food Programme warned today. The cyclone is also expected to bring heavy rains to Mozambique.

MANILA – The United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) and USAID’s Bureau for Humanitarian Assistance have started food assistance for families affected by Typhoon Odette (international name Rai) in Dinagat and Siargao Islands, southeast Philippines.

ADDIS ABABA –  A new food security assessment, released today by the United Nations World Food Programme (WFP), shows that almost 40 percent of Tigrayans are suffering an extreme lack of food, after 15 months of conflict. Meanwhile, across all three conflict-affected regions of the north more than 9 million people are in need of humanitarian food assistance, the highest number yet.

This is a summary of what was said by WFP Spokesperson, Tomson Phiri – to whom quoted text may be attributed – at today's press briefing at the Palais des Nations in Geneva, Switzerland.

TEHRAN – The United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) in the Islamic Republic of Iran welcomes its first-ever contribution from the United Kingdom in support of vulnerable refugees in the Islamic Republic of Iran.

YANGON – The United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) welcomes a contribution of DKK 25 million (USD 3.8 million) from the Government of Denmark for its emergency relief operations in Myanmar, where the need for humanitarian assistance has substantially increased following the military takeover in February 2021, compounded by the socio-economic impact of COVID-19.

MANILA – Three weeks after Super Typhoon Odette (known internationally as Rai) devastated a huge swathe of the Philippines, the United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) is warning that nutrition and food security are at risk in communities in hard-hit areas unless immediate food needs are met over the next six months.

Khartoum – The United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) today welcomed a EUR 10 million contribution from the European Union’s Civil Protection and Humanitarian Aid Operations department (ECHO) for life-saving food assistance in Sudan, in addition to EUR 13 million received at the beginning of 2021.

MANILA – The World Food Programme (WFP) warmly welcomes Ireland’s donation of €250,000 (approx. Php 14 million), the first funding contribution to WFP’s emergency response to Super Typhoon Odette (internationally known as “Rai”).

SANA’A – The United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) warned today that it is running out of funds to continue to provide food assistance to13 million people in Yemen. From January, eight million will receive a reduced food ration, while five million at immediate risk of slipping into famine conditions will remain on a full ration.