News releases

DILI – The United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) welcomes a US$ 120,000 contribution from the Government of Brazil to help restore the livelihoods of farming communities devastated by the cyclone that hit Timor-Leste in April. More than 31,000 households were affected, and some 2,660 hectares of irrigated land were destroyed by the storm.

SUVA, FIJI – The United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) today announced the return of the Donate Responsibly campaign to raise awareness about responsible ways of donating to help disaster-affected communities recover better and faster.

KABUL/ISLAMABAD – The United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) welcomes a US$ 8 million contribution from the Government of the Republic of Korea towards its emergency operations in Afghanistan, and an additional US$ 1 million for needs in Pakistan.

KABUL – The United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) is rapidly ramping up humanitarian operations in Afghanistan to assist more than 23 million people facing severe hunger in the country in 2022, as inflation and currency depreciation make it even more difficult to feed themselves. WFP has assisted 15 million people so far in 2021, with 7 million assisted in November alone – up from 4 million in September.

BAGHDAD – The United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) and partners have inaugurated a new olive press machine as part of economic regeneration efforts for the local community in Bashiqa, Iraq. WFP, the Governor’s office, Mayor’s office, the Bashiqa Olive Association and Samaritan’s Purse’s aim is to bring this renowned olive-producing community back to the levels of production before conflict and connect producers to markets.

BAGHDAD – The United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) is collaborating with Iraqi academic institutions including the University of Basra, the University of Mosul and the University of Sulaymaniyah on activities aimed at reducing the risk of food insecurity in vulnerable communities through resilience building and climate change adaptation. The collaboration is part of efforts to make progress towards Strategic Development Goal (SDG) 2 “Zero Hunger.”

London - As a humanitarian crisis unfolds in Afghanistan: almost 23 million people facing severe hunger, a global cinema advertising campaign featuring leading names from the film, advertising and humanitarian worlds, and aimed at stirring UK cinema audiences into action to tackle global hunger, includes the people of Afghanistan in their campaign to fight hunger. SAWA, the Global Cinema Advertising Association, in association with the UN World Food Programme (WFP), the world’s leading humanitarian organization fighting hunger worldwide, created the “Feed Our Future” campaign to highlight the potential that is lost every time a child dies of hunger.

DAKAR – The number of acutely food insecure people in West and Central Africa has now risen to a record high of 28 million people and trends point toward a further deterioration if support to stem the spread of hunger is not ramped up, two UN agencies - the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) and the United Nations World Food Programme (WFP - warned today.

Tripoli – The United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) received a €1 million contribution from the European Union to support WFP-led humanitarian air operations in Libya.

LUSAKA – The United Nations World Food Programme (WFP), Citibank Zambia Limited and MTN Zambia have for the first time, provided cash assistance to people living in Mantapala Refugee Settlement, home to around 18,000 refugees from the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), through a digital payment solution, plugPAY. Under the initiative, the payment platform allows WFP to transfer cash directly to refugees’ bank accounts or mobile wallets of choice while using the country’s interoperable payment gateway, the National Financial Switch.

A new partnership between the Islamic Development Bank, the World Food Programme and The Power of Nutrition for the design and implementation of the First 1,000 Days Initiative and Multi-Donor Trust Fund

SEOUL – The United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) welcomes a US$ 2 million contribution from the Republic of Korea towards its school feeding operations in three African countries - Guinea, Rwanda, and Benin. This will help ensure that school aged children have access to school meals, as well as support governments to scale up and improve the quality of their national school feeding programmes

James Beard Award winning chef expands his global advocacy to fight global hunger and food waste

WASHINGTON, D.C. -- The United Nations World Food Programme today announced that award-winning chef and TV personality Andrew Zimmern has been named a Goodwill Ambassador, joining an esteemed group of ambassadors including Kate Hudson, Michael Kors and The Weeknd.

ADDIS ABABA –  The United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) is facing a major funding shortfall over the next six months threatening its ability to meet the critical food and nutrition needs of millions of food insecure Ethiopians and refugees.

BIRGUNJ – The Government of Nepal, the British Embassy, and the United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) today inaugurated a new Humanitarian Staging Area (HSA) in Birgunj, Province 2, as part of the continued effort in strengthening the country’s emergency preparedness and response capacity.

BAMAKO, December 3, 2021 - The Government of Sweden, the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF), and the World Food Programme (WFP) have signed a four-year programme to strengthen the resilience of vulnerable communities affected by food insecurity, malnutrition, and the effects of climate change in the Malian regions of Segou and Sikasso.

KABUL – Without urgent funding to stave off a catastrophe, 3.2 million children in Afghanistan face severe hunger and the life-threatening consequences of malnutrition. Humanitarian needs have increased and around 23 million people need urgent food assistance. WFP’s funding requirement to meet these needs in 2022 is US$2.6 billion.

VIENTIANE – U.S. Ambassador Dr. Peter M. Haymond handed over 93 containers of fortified rice, lentils, canned fish and fortified cooking oil to Deputy Minister of Education and Sports Dr. Sisouk Vongvichith at the World Food Programme’s (WFP) warehouse in Vientiane today. The food will be used to prepare healthy school lunches for 63,000 school children around Lao PDR.

YEREVAN – The United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) and the Social and Industrial Foodservice Institute (SIFI) have this week celebrated the winner of the “Best Mini Garden in Armenia” competition.

NAIROBI – The United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) has welcomed a consignment of fortified vegetable oil worth KES 112.2 million (US$1 million) from the Russian Federation in support of its resilience building activities in the drought-stricken arid counties of Kenya.

Harare – The United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) welcomes a US$5.7 million contribution from the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) to support people experiencing vulnerability to food insecurity across urban and rural areas. This brings USAID’s contributions to over US$45 million over the last year.

ADDIS ABABA – The number of people in need of humanitarian food assistance across northern Ethiopia has grown to an estimated 9.4 million as a direct result of ongoing conflict, the United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) announced today.

DUSHANBE – The United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) has started delivering food to Afghanistan from Tajikistan in support of the agency’s emergency response for Afghan families facing hunger this winter.

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.


Geneva – The United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) calls on all parties to the conflict in northern Ethiopia to respect humanitarian operations and assets and allow unimpeded passage of humanitarian relief to civilians in need.

BAGHDAD – The United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) welcomes a timely and generous contribution of US$19.24 million from the U.S. Agency for International Development’s Bureau for Humanitarian Assistance (USAID-BHA). The funding will help provide life-saving assistance to 181,000 displaced Iraqis and 72,000 Syrian refugees in the form of cash transfers that support their immediate food needs.