News releases

This is a summary of what was said by Eddie Rowe, WFP’s Country Director for Sudan (speaking from Port Sudan via Zoom) – to whom quoted text may be attributed – at today's press briefing at the Palais des Nations in Geneva.

KYIV – The Government of Croatia donated €1 million to the United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) today to help farmers and food producers resume work in regions most affected by explosive remnants of war.

ROME/COTONOU, BENIN – The ripple effects of Sudan’s war are impacting hunger and migration across West and Central Africa, rapidly depleting scarce resources, further stressing the already underfunded humanitarian response, and exacerbating inter-communal tensions. The spillover will be devastating for peace and stability in a region already facing climate extremes, insecurity, and economic decline, warned the United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) Executive Director Cindy McCain as she concludes a visit to Chad, Togo, and Benin.

ROME – The United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) is deeply saddened to confirm that a staff member was shot and killed by unknown gunmen on Friday afternoon in Turbah, Taiz in south west Yemen.

The programme aims to prevent Ukraine from requiring food assistance in the long term

Kyiv/Rome – The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) and the World Food Programme (WFP) have launched a joint programme in collaboration with mine action partner Fondation Suisse de Déminage (FSD) to support smallholder farmers and rural families most affected by the war.

KABUL – The United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) Deputy Executive Director and Chief Operating Officer Carl Skau visited Afghanistan last week to see first-hand WFP’s operations in one of the world’s largest humanitarian crises. He witnessed the impact of the latest restrictions on women’s employment and of an acute funding crisis which recently forced WFP to cut rations and drastically reduce the number of people it serves with lifesaving assistance.

CAIRO - The United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) in Egypt, working closely with the Egyptian Government, has opened a humanitarian corridor between Aswan in Upper Egypt, and Wadi Halfa in Sudan, to address the urgent needs of people affected by the ongoing conflict.

DAMASCUS – An unprecedented funding crisis in Syria is forcing the United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) to cut assistance to 2.5 million of the 5.5 million people who rely on the agency for their basic food needs. The announcement comes as the European Union gears up to host the seventh Brussels Conference on “Supporting the Future of Syria and the Region” on Wednesday.

ROME – The United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) strongly condemns the looting of one of the agency’s logistics hubs in south-central Sudan. The attack on WFP’s warehouses in El Obeid puts food assistance for 4.4 million conflict-affected people at risk.

UN agencies warn that record hunger levels in the DRC require livelihood support and long-term investment. The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) and the United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) call for more support to improve livelihoods while responding to emergencies.

May 29, 2023: Accra/Johannesburg/Kinshasa – An estimated 6.7 million people are experiencing crisis or emergency levels of food insecurity in North and South Kivu and Ituri, representing a 10 percent increase from last year.

KABUL / BEIJING – The United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) welcomes a contribution from the Government of the People’s Republic of China towards its emergency response in Afghanistan for 2023. The funding will enable WFP to provide life-saving food assistance to nearly 70,000 food-insecure people in areas struck by acute food insecurity.

Burkina Faso, Haiti, Mali and the Sudan have been elevated to the highest alert level to join Afghanistan, Nigeria, Somalia, South Sudan and Yemen.

PORT SUDAN – Distributions of United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) food assistance began on Saturday for thousands of people who have been trapped in Sudan’s capital Khartoum since fighting broke out six weeks ago. The distributions come in the last days of the seven-day ceasefire agreed by both conflict parties, which is set to expire on Monday evening.

May 25 2023, ADEN – The food security situation in Yemen’s districts under the control of the Government of Yemen (GoY) slightly improved during the first five months of this year, while acute malnutrition increased, compared to the same period in 2022. However, the outlook for the period between now until the end of 2023 indicates the need for more programme investments, as the modest improvements may be eroded, UN agencies have warned.

PORT SUDAN/ROME – The United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) is rapidly scaling up its emergency operations in Sudan, every day reaching thousands more people whose lives have been upended by the ongoing fighting. WFP is ramping up to assist 4.9 million vulnerable people in Sudan and thousands more who have fled to neighbouring countries.

ASWAN – The United Nations World Food Programme (WFP), launched today an emergency cash assistance programme to support vulnerable people fleeing the conflict in Sudan. WFP’s pre-established cash delivery platform will also be made available to sister UN agencies to enable them to quickly extend their assistance to vulnerable people arriving in Egypt from Sudan.

ROME/PORT SUDAN – The UN World Food Programme warned today that an additional 2 - 2.5 million people in Sudan are expected to slip into hunger in the coming months as a result of the ongoing violence in the country. This would take acute food insecurity in Sudan to record levels, with more than 19 million people affected, two fifths of the population.

ROME – I am appalled and heartbroken by the tragic deaths of three WFP employees on Saturday 15 April in violence in Kabkabiya, North Darfur while carrying out their life saving duties on the front lines of the global hunger crisis. Two WFP employees were also injured in the same incident. We have informed the families of these dedicated team members and stand with them and our entire WFP family at this time of catastrophe.

DAMASCUS – An average monthly wage in Syria currently covers about a quarter of a family’s food needs, the UN World Food Programme said today, highlighting an urgent need for increased humanitarian assistance as the country grapples with the devastating impact of recent earthquakes and a 12-year-long conflict.

Joint US/UN News Release/NIAMEY– The combined effects of conflict, climate shocks, and high food prices continues to drive hunger up and push basic meals out of the reach of millions in Niger, demanding immediate and collective action, United States Ambassador to the UN Agencies in Rome Cindy McCain told journalists at the end of their week-long, U.S.- sponsored field visit to Zinder, Dosso and Tillaberi regions.

GOMA – The United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) has for the first time in four months, delivered life-saving food and nutrition assistance to Rutshuru Territory, Eastern Democratic Republic of Congo, where over 28,000 malnourished children, pregnant and nursing mothers were no longer receiving nutrition assistance due to access restrictions caused by renewed violence.

NEW YORK/GENEVA/ROME - "United Nations Security Council resolution 2642 – which allows for life-saving humanitarian aid to be delivered to north-west Syria from across the Turkish border – is set to expire in eight days. If the Council fails to extend it, the consequences will be catastrophic for 4.1 million people in non-Government controlled areas. Most of them are women and children who need assistance just to survive at the peak of winter and amidst a serious cholera outbreak.

OUAGADOUGOU – The United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) received EUR 7.2 million in funding from the European Union (EU) in 2022, which has helped WFP to supply over 750,000 people in Burkina Faso with life-saving food assistance as humanitarian needs have continued to rise due to insecurity, the impact of climate change, and rising food prices.

YEREVAN – The UN World Food Programme (WFP) welcomes a US$ 1 million contribution from the Government of Switzerland to improve resilience and provide a long-term economic support to the border communities of Armenia. Through the aid approved by the Swiss Development Agency (SDC), WFP will directly target 3,000 people from 15 borderline settlements․

SANAA/DUBAI – The United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) has welcomed a $20 million contribution from the King Salman Humanitarian Aid and Relief Centre (KSrelief) to help meet the urgent food needs of the most vulnerable households in Yemen.