News releases

ROME – The resumption of hostilities in Gaza will only intensify the catastrophic hunger crisis that already threatens to overwhelm the civilian population.

SANA’A – The United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) announces the pause of General Food Distributions (GFD) in areas of Yemen under the Sana'a Based Authorities' (SBA) control, driven by limited funding and the absence of an agreement with the authorities on a smaller programme that matches available resources to the neediest families. 

GAZA – The UN World Food Programme (WFP) delivered desperately needed food to more than 120,000 people in Gaza during the initial pause in fighting but has reiterated that the supplies it was able to provide were woefully inadequate to address the level of hunger seen by staff in the UN shelters and communities.

ROME – The United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) is activating its revamped approach to operations in Ethiopia, a major step which will start to reach 3.2 million people with food assistance for the first time since June 2023. WFP food aid was suspended nationwide following reports of large-scale diversions earlier this year.

PORT VILA: In the aftermath of Tropical Cyclone Lola, the United Nations World Food Programme (WFP), with the support of USAID’s Bureau for Humanitarian Assistance, is working with Vanuatu’s National Disaster Management Office (NDMO) to enhance humanitarian response and logistics coordination. This joint effort aims to ensure that people affected by the cyclone receive timely and essential assistance.

ROME – The United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) welcomes the support of the European Union in strengthening the logistics capacity of Egyptian Red Crescent-run aid hubs in the northeast of Egypt which are a critical part of relief efforts for people in Gaza.

ROME – The catastrophic conditions facing hundreds of thousands of Palestinians in Gaza risk getting worse still, due to severe fuel shortages which threaten to bring food and other humanitarian operations to a standstill.

NEW YORK/GENEVA/ROME 21 October 2023 – “A first, but limited, shipment of life-saving humanitarian supplies from the United Nations and the Egyptian Red Crescent entered Gaza today on 20 trucks, passing through the Rafah Crossing.

ROME – As humanitarian supplies converged on Egypt’s border with Gaza, the United Nations World Food Programme today renewed its call for sustained humanitarian access to Gaza, where hundreds of thousands of people fleeing violence desperately need food, water and medical supplies. WFP already has food for 244,000 people close to the border with Gaza. More food supplies are arriving in northeastern Egypt, where an assistance hub is being set up.

ROME – The United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) has begun rolling out food distributions to nearly 900,000 refugees in Ethiopia, following a full revamp of the safeguards and controls in its refugee operations. Families living in refugee camps across five regions, including new arrivals who have fled from Sudan, are receiving food parcels for the first time since WFP paused food distributions in June 2023, following reports of large-scale diversions.

DUSHANBE – The United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) and the Government of Tajikistan today inaugurated two WFP-funded bridges over the Yaghnob river, at a ceremony attended by Rajabboi Ahmadzoda, Head of Sughd Region, along with representatives from the Ayni District and residents of the valley. The bridges will strengthen economic capacities and improve livelihoods and food security of rural communities in this valley of the Sughd Region.

PORT SUDAN – The United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) has delivered emergency food assistance to more than one million people in Sudan in the six weeks since operations resumed on 3 May. WFP briefly paused operations when the conflict broke out but has since rapidly scaled up food distributions, delivering life-saving assistance to people in 14 of 18 States as fighting continues and the humanitarian situation deteriorates.

ROME – The United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) is accelerating efforts to roll out enhanced safeguards and controls that will ensure humanitarian food assistance reaches targeted, vulnerable people across Ethiopia. This follows a joint statement by Ethiopia’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs and USAID announcing their commitment to addressing deeply concerning revelations of food aid diversion.

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.

ANTANANARIVO – The United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) is warning that it will discontinue its helicopter service in south-eastern Madagascar - unless US$1 million is urgently received.

HODEIDA, Yemen – A UN World Food Programme-chartered vessel berthed today in Al Salif port in Hodeidah, carrying 30,000 metric tons of wheat grain to support humanitarian assistance in Yemen.

GOMA – The United Nations Humanitarian Air Service (UNHAS) has introduced a new fleet of orange-painted helicopters as part of efforts to improve safety of operations in the restive eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) - where millions need life-saving humanitarian support.

KABUL / TERMEZ – The Special Envoy of the President of the Republic of Uzbekistan for Afghanistan, Ismatulla Irgashev, visited the United Nations World Food Programme’s (WFP) Logistics Hub in Termez, Uzbekistan to flag off construction of new warehouse facilities in the complex.

ANKARA/DAMASCUS – The United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) has delivered urgently needed food assistance to 115,000 people in Syria and Türkiye in the first four days since deadly earthquakes struck the region, killing thousands and forcing tens of thousands into the freezing outside temperatures. Distributions are ongoing.

ADDIS ABABA – The United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) has delivered over 2,400 metric tons of food, medical, nutrition and other lifesaving supplies to Ethiopia’s Tigray region following the signing of a peace agreement earlier this month and the reopening of all four road corridors. However, deliveries of assistance within Tigray are not matching the needs and WFP and its cooperating partners urgently need access to all parts of the region to deliver food and nutrition assistance to 2.3 million vulnerable people.

ROME – The United Nations World Food Programme and the UN High Commissioner for Refugees have set up an independent service – UN FLEET - to help their sister UN organizations lease the vehicles they need for operations all around the world.

COLOMBO – The first consignment from an Australian donation totaling AUD22 million (approximately USD15 million) has arrived in Sri Lanka and will soon be distributed to those most affected by the ongoing economic crisis. The consignment, consisting of 600 metric tonnes of rice, forms part of a larger consignment of rice, pulses and cooking oil, due to arrive in the country soon.

KYIV – The United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) and its partners have over the last few days distributed more than 70,000 food rations in Kharkiv oblast, 30,000 rations in Kherson oblast, and 500 rations in Luhansk oblast, reaching communities who have only just become accessible to humanitarian agencies.

JUBA – The United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) is today calling for the safe and secure passage of food and other humanitarian assistance into conflict-affected areas of Upper Nile and Jonglei states, amidst renewed conflict which has displaced thousands of families and left an unknown number of civilians dead or injured.

CHISINAU – The United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) and its cooperating partners have delivered 1 million hot meals since 15 March to Ukrainian refugees living in WFP-supported Refugee Accommodation Centres (RACs) in Moldova.