News releases

JOHANNESBURG/LONDON – A record 45 million people - mostly women and children - in the 16-nation Southern African Development Community are gravely food insecure following repeated drought, widespread flooding and economic disarray. As the crisis deepens, the world must step up now to save lives and enable communities to adapt to climate change, the United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) has warned.

NASSAU – The United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) is distributing food vouchers to assist 500 of the most vulnerable families living on hurricane-stricken Abaco in the Bahamas, which will allow them to buy the food of their choice and prioritise their needs.

Rome – Escalating hunger needs in sub-Saharan Africa dominate a World Food Programme (WFP) analysis of global hunger hotspots in the first half of 2020 with millions of people requiring life-saving food assistance in Zimbabwe, South Sudan, the Democratic Republic of Congo and the Central Sahel region in the coming months. The sheer scale and complexity of the challenges in Africa and other regions will stretch the resources and capacity of WFP and other agencies to the limit. Ramping up the humanitarian response will again require the generous support of donor governments to fund the assistance required to save lives and support development.

HARARE – Millions of Zimbabweans pushed into hunger by prolonged drought and economic crisis face an increasingly desperate situation unless adequate funding for a major relief operation materialises quickly, the United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) has warned.

MAPUTO - This year, the European Union (EU) contributed nearly €4 million in humanitarian funding to the United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) in Mozambique, supporting people affected by Cyclones Idai and Kenneth as well as providing logistics support to the humanitarian community operating in the country.

SANA’A – A massive expansion of humanitarian assistance by the United Nations World Food Programme in Yemen this year has alleviated the worst suffering in Yemen and so far prevented famine, but over 11 million people continue to face a daily struggle to find enough food, according to WFP’s latest food security monitoring data .

ROME/JUBA – The United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) is in a race against time to mobilize vital funds to feed millions of people in South Sudan as hunger advances on a population in dire need of humanitarian assistance. Catastrophic flooding over recent months is pushing the country and its people towards a precipice as the year ends amid intense political instability.

PORT-AU-PRINCE - The United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) has announced it is scaling up its operation to provide emergency food assistance to 700,000 people. To reach them and deliver common humanitarian services, WFP is appealing for US$62 million.

OUAGADOUGOU – The United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) today warned of an escalating humanitarian crisis driven by widespread violence and the long-term impact of climate change that has gripped Burkina Faso and neighbouring countries in the Central Sahel region of West Africa. WFP said the humanitarian response needed to be rapidly escalated to protect and save lives in Burkina Faso and the wider region.

Damascus – The United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) says it has so far provided emergency food assistance to more than 300,000 people in Syria as a result of recent military operations in the northeast of the country. Those assisted include people displaced by hostilities and families providing shelter to the displaced. Many fled their homes with little or nothing, finding refuge in schools or with family and friends living further to the south.

SANA’A – The United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) has reached families trapped in Yemen’s Durayhimi City with much-needed humanitarian assistance. This is only the second time in over a year that WFP has been able to reach the town which lies about 20 kms south of the port city of Hodeidah.

DAMASCUS – The United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) has so far provided immediate food assistance to more than 70,000 people fleeing towns in northeastern Syria as military operations continue. WFP is deeply concerned about the safety of civilians caught in the violence and urges that vital supply routes be kept open and safe for humanitarian deliveries.

DUSHANBE – The United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) held a ceremony in Dushanbe this week to mark the handover of IT equipment to the Tajik Committee of Emergency Situations and Civil Defence (CoES) to strengthen the country’s emergency preparedness capacity.

SANA’A – The European Union (EU) has contributed nearly €100 million to the United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) operation in Yemen over the last 12 months, providing crucial funding and advocacy support as the agency has scaled up assistance to prevent famine in the war-torn country.

Beira - The United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) and the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) today launched a joint voucher programme in Dondo district in Sofala province to address the essential food, hygiene, and household needs of vulnerable families affected by Cyclone Idai, which left a trail of devastation across Mozambique in March 2019.

LUXEMBOURG – Luxembourg has contributed €500,000 ($556,180) to support emergency telecommunications being provided by the United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) in Libya through the humanitarian community’s Emergency Telecommunications Sector.

PROVIDENCIALES – The United Nations World Food Programme (WFP), the Caribbean Disaster Emergency Management Agency (CDEMA), and the Government of the Turks and Caicos Islands, are holding a high-level symposium on 27 June to discuss how national social protection programmes and systems can play a greater role in disaster risk management and in emergency response.

ROME – The United Nations World Food Programme has started a partial suspension of food assistance operations in areas of Yemen under the control of the Sana’a-based authorities. The decision was taken as a last resort after lengthy negotiations stalled on an agreement to introduce controls to prevent the diversion of food away from some of the most vulnerable people in Yemen.

BEIJING – – The United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) and China’s Ministry of Emergency Management (MEM) have agreed to collaborate towards strengthening emergency preparedness and response capacity.

HARARE – The Government of Japan contributed US$350,000 to respond to emergency needs in Zimbabwe following Cyclone Idai. The contribution, provided to the World Food Programme, will support immediate food needs in the worst-affected areas of the country.

April 25th, 2019, Panama City. – The United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) and the World Food Programme (WFP) today warned that prolonged droughts and heavy rain have destroyed more than half of the maize and bean crops of the subsistence farmers along the Central American Dry Corridor, leaving them without food reserves and affecting their food security.

LILONGWE – The Government of Japan has provided a contribution of USD 1.25 million to respond to emergency needs in Malawi following Cyclone Idai. The contribution, provided to the World Food Programme, will support immediate food and cash-based transfer to flood-affected population and early recovery efforts, while the contribution to UNICEF will support child protection and menstrual hygiene measures in camps and communities.

Lilongwe – The United States Government has contributed US$3 million to for the emergency response to Cyclone Idai in Malawi. The funds, provided by the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) Office of Food for Peace, will support immediate food needs in the worst-affected areas of the country. They will cover cash-based assistance to flood-affected people as well as early recovery efforts.

BEIRA – One month on since Cyclone Idai struck Mozambique on March 14, the United Nations World Food Programme has reached one million people with food assistance and continues to expand its emergency response while launching recovery and reconstruction interventions.

CAIRO - The United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) welcomed contributions totalling more than US$36 million from the Government of Japan to provide food assistance in seven countries across the Middle East and North Africa.