News releases

BANGKOK / ROME – The United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) today announced the appointment of Chef Willment Leong as its newest Goodwill Ambassador.

JUBA, South Sudan – The Government of Germany has contributed an additional EUR 28.5 million to the United Nations World Food Programme’s (WFP) operations to assist tens of thousands of people affected by the worsening food insecurity and nutrition crisis across South Sudan.

This is a summary of what was said by WFP Director of Emergency Preparedness and Response, Ross Smith, to whom quoted text may be attributed – at a press briefing In Geneva today. Mr Smith participated in the briefing remotely from Rome.

GENEVA/ROME – I would like to share the latest updates from WFP about circumstances in Sudan’s Darfur and Kordofan regions as well as our operational response.

KABUL – The European Union has provided a €25 million contribution through the United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) to boost community resilience and ensure more nutritious diets for people across Afghanistan.

A practical, cost-effective tool places preventing sexual exploitation and abuse at centre of humanitarian programming

Rome — The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) and the World Food Programme (WFP) have launched a first-of-its-kind Sexual Exploitation and Abuse (SEA) Risk Mapping Package. It was developed for the Food Security Cluster, which is co-led by FAO and WFP, and coordinates food security responses during and after a humanitarian crisis in 34 operations around the world.

YANGON, Myanmar – More than 12 million people in Myanmar will face acute hunger in 2026, with a projected one million people hitting emergency levels that will require lifesaving assistance, the United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) warned today. Intensifying conflict and a sharp jump in displacement now risks pushing an underfunded hunger crisis to breaking point.

PORT SUDAN - The UN World Food Programme (WFP), together with the Kassala State Government and Minister of Agriculture, celebrated the start of the sorghum harvest at an official event in Wad Al Hilu, Kassala on Tuesday that brought together local Government officials, community leaders, farmers, and WFP staff.

DAKAR, Senegal – The United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) today launched a regional innovation hub in Dakar to accelerate the development of sustainable, locally-led solutions in addressing hunger and malnutrition in West and Central Africa.

COLOMBO, Sri Lanka – The United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) has scaled up its emergency response in Sri Lanka following the devastation caused by Cyclone Ditwa, thanks to a generous AUD 1.5 million contribution from the Government of Australia. This support is enabling WFP to deliver life-saving fortified food and provide cash assistance to families most affected by the disaster.

MANILA – The United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) and veteran Filipino actor Joel Torre’s restaurant chain JT’s Manukan Grille officially launched “JT’s Meals for the Kids,” a partnership that seeks to support schoolchildren and food-insecure families in the Philippines.

COX’S BAZAR – On 3 December, the Government of Bangladesh, the Embassy of Ukraine, the Embassy of Sweden, and the United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) received 3,000 metric tonnes of sunflower oil contributed through the Grain from Ukraine initiative. Grain from Ukraine is a humanitarian food program launched by the Government of Ukraine to make Ukrainian food commodities available for WFP’s crisis response. The sunflower oil, worth US$7 million, was funded by the Government of Sweden.

KINGSTON / HAVANA / PORT-AU-PRINCE – One month after Hurricane Melissa tore through the Caribbean, the United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) has reached more than half million people with emergency food assistance and is pivoting toward recovery. WFP is working with governments and communities to lay the foundations for long-term resilience; introducing cash-based support where markets are functional, restoring livelihoods and repairing essential services.

Panama/Santiago de Chile – A new report by the United Nations World Food Programme (WFP), the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), and the Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC) reveals the transformative potential of public food procurement from smallholder farmers to strengthen food security and nutrition in Latin America and the Caribbean.

LUSAKA – The United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) today announced the appointment of Zambian international soccer player Patson Daka as a WFP Goodwill Ambassador. Daka will use his platform on and off the pitch to raise awareness and advocate for WFP’s work towards ending hunger, with a focus on youth, nutrition, resilience building and community development.

CAIRO – The United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) received a €3 million contribution from the European Union (EU) that will support delivering faster, more efficient, and better-coordinated humanitarian responses over the next two years across the Middle East, North Africa, and Eastern Europe (MENAEE), one of the world’s most crisis-prone regions.

SEOUL/ROME – The United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) welcomes a USD 17 million core contribution from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Korea, strengthening WFP’s ability to provide lifesaving assistance worldwide.

ISLAMABAD, PAKISTAN – A three-day learning event on nutrition-sensitive social protection opens today in Islamabad, convened under the Global Task Force on Social Protection for Nutrition. The event is co-hosted by the Governments of Pakistan and Timor-Leste, with the United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) serving as Secretariat of the Global Task Force and facilitating collaboration among governments and partners.

N’DJAMENA, Chad – The Government of Japan has contributed JPY 200 million (US$1.3 million) to the United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) to support emergency school meals in Chad. This contribution will allow WFP to assist 44,000 schoolchildren over a 24-month period, ensuring continuity of the school feeding programme in crisis-affected areas and helping protect children’s education and well-being.

DILI, Timor–Leste - The Government of Japan and the United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) today signed an agreement to strengthen Timor-Leste’s national school feeding programme in 2026.

BANGKOK, Thailand - The United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) and Siam Piwat, a leading retail and property development company today opened the “Steps for Tomorrow – A Journey Towards Zero Hunger” exhibition at the Siam Paragon mall, in Bangkok, to raise awareness about WFP’s work to tackle hunger across the Asia-Pacific region.

Dhaka — The United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) today provided emergency food assistance to families affected by the devastating fire that swept through Karail slum on 25 November.

KAMPALA – The United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) welcomes a contribution of EUR 2 million from the Government of France to enhance food security for refugees and improve nutrition for women and children in Uganda.

WFP marks 25 years of humanitarian innovation at UNHRD Brindisi; partners work to strengthen Global Safety Net to improve aid response coordination.

BEIRUT, LEBANON – The United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) welcomes a generous, first-ever in-kind contribution of rice from the Government of the Republic of Korea to support vulnerable families and schoolchildren across Lebanon.

ABUJA, Nigeria – Growing instability across northern Nigeria, including a surge in attacks, is driving hunger to levels never seen before, the United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) warned today. The warning follows the release of the latest Cadre Harmonisé, a regional food security analysis that classifies the severity of hunger, which found that nearly 35 million people are projected to face severe food insecurity during the 2026 lean season, the highest number recorded in Nigeria.