Madagascar: ‘Overwhelming’ destruction, surging needs after back-to-back cyclones – WFP

Speaking to reporters from Madagascar’s capital Antananarivo, WFP Country Director Tania Goossens said some 400,000 people are facing acute humanitarian needs after the island was hit by back-to-back cyclones in the space of three weeks. Ms. Goossens recently returned from a mission to the port city Toamasina (also known as Tamatave), the country’s second largest […]

80 million more children benefiting from school meals, WFP reports

80 million more children benefiting from school meals, WFP reports

The number of children receiving school meals through government-led programmes has gone up by 20 per cent since 2020, found the latest edition of the WFP’s flagship biennial report The State of School Feeding Worldwide. Now, nearly 80 million more children are able to enjoy nutritious meals at school, bringing the global total to approximately 466 million. […]

People dying from lack of aid every day in Gaza: WFP official

People dying from lack of aid every day in Gaza: WFP official

Ross Smith, director of emergency preparedness and response, briefed journalists in New York in the wake of a deadly incident on Sunday in which dozens of civilians were killed and injured while waiting to access food as a WFP convoy was entering northern Gaza. “Yesterday’s incident is one of the greatest tragedies we’ve seen for […]

Funding shortages threaten relief for millions of Sudanese refugees: WFP

Funding shortages threaten relief for millions of Sudanese refugees: WFP

In an alert, the UN agency warned that it faces having to make “drastic cuts” to life-saving food assistance, which may “grind to a halt” in the Central African Republic, Egypt, Ethiopia and Libya in the coming months as resources run out. WFP noted that the situation for many Sudanese refugees is already dire, more […]

Sudan emergency: We need more help to prevent famine, says WFP

Sudan emergency: We need more help to prevent famine, says WFP

“Over the past six months, WFP scaled up assistance and we are now reaching nearly one million Sudanese in Khartoum with food and nutrition support,” said Laurent Bukera, WFP Country Director in Sudan. “This momentum must continue; several areas in the south are at risk of famine.” In an update from Port Sudan, Mr. Bukera reported […]

Haiti: WFP concerned over humanitarian situation as hurricane season begins

Haiti: WFP concerned over humanitarian situation as hurricane season begins

With roughly half the population, 5.7 million people, facing some sort of emergency level of hunger, Haiti is one of five countries in the world with catastrophic levels of hunger.   “Despite all the violence, displacement and collapse”, WFP remains in Haiti, Lola Castro, Regional Director in Latin America and the Caribbean, said during a briefing […]

Escalating violence drives food crisis across eastern DR Congo, warns WFP

Escalating violence drives food crisis across eastern DR Congo, warns WFP

Conflict has plagued the DRC for decades, particularly in the east. Armed clashes escalated sharply this year as M23 rebels wrested control of Goma, the capital of North Kivu, in January, followed by Bukavu in South Kivu a month later. The security and humanitarian situation further deteriorated with recent outbreaks of anthrax and mpox in April and […]

WFP runs out of food stocks in Gaza

WFP runs out of food stocks in Gaza

On Friday, WFP announced it had delivered its last remaining supplies to kitchens preparing hot meals which are expected to be completely gone within days. The UN agency warned that it may be forced to end critical assistance to families unless urgent action is taken. Back to ‘breaking point’ “The situation inside the Gaza Strip […]

World Food Programme gets 2020 Nobel Prize for Peace

World Food Programme gets 2020 Nobel Prize for Peace

The World Food Programme, the world’s largest humanitarian organisation addressing hunger and promoting food security, was awarded 2020 Nobel Prize for Peace. In 2019, the WFP provided assistance to close to 100 million people in 88 countries who are victims of acute food insecurity and hunger. In 2015, eradicating hunger was adopted as one of […]