Top 12 Things You Didn’t Know About the World Food Programme
If you didn’t know us before, here are a few facts about the United Nations World Food Programme that might surprise you:
1.) The U.N. World Food Programme is the 2020 Nobel Peace Prize Laureate. We assist over 150 million people in 120 countries and territories.
Haiti: Admin officer Chiara Camassa at a U.N. World Food Programme’s warehouse in Port-au-Prince.
2.) Each day, the U.N. World Food Programme has up to 6,500 trucks, 20 ships and 140 aircraft on the move, delivering food and other assistance in some of the most remote and challenging parts of the world.
Democratic Republic of Congo: The U.N. World Food Programme provides essential air transportation and other logistical support to the humanitarian community.
Related articles you might be interested in:
- Is the U.N. World Food Programme a Nonprofit?
- How the U.N. World Food Programme Fights Famine and Hunger
- 10 Innovations the WFP Uses to Deliver Food
Democratic Republic of Congo: The U.N. World Food Programme facilitates United Nations Humanitarian Air Service flights.
3.) The U.N. World Food Programme is the frontline agency responding to emergencies caused by conflict, climate shocks, pandemics and other disasters. We’re tackling ongoing emergencies in nearly 20 countries or regions, the majority fueled by conflict.
Bangladesh: Cash grants allotted before floods hit allow families to prepare.
4.) The U.N. World Food Programme directly provides school meals to 20 million children, improving both their nutrition and their access to a potentially life-changing education. Since 1990, we’ve built the capacity of national governments, with more than 40 taking over school meal programs.
Kyrgyzstan: Free meals inspire parents to make sure their children attend schools such as this one in the village Dyikan.
5.) Contributions to the U.N. World Food Programme have increased in recent years, and in 2022 reached a record level of $14.1 billion. However, this year the we face a significant funding shortfall. Rising needs due to the high cost of assisting people amidst conflicts, climate-related disasters and the coronavirus pandemic mean that we need increased financial support now more than ever.
People’s Republic of Congo: A woman in Brazzaville waits her turn to buy groceries with U.N. World Food Programme urban cash transfers.
6.) The U.N. World Food Programme connects small-scale farmers to markets in more than 40 countries. Small-scale farmers produce most of the world’s food, and in 2022 we worked with over 1 million of them.
Laos: Members of the Akha community at a U.N. World Food Programme food distribution site in Luang Namtha region.
7.) In 2022, through its Food Assistance for Assets initiative, the U.N. World Food Programme worked with communities to restore nearly 600,000 acres of land, plant 7,000 acres of forest and establish 9,540 gardens. These projects improve people’s long-term food security and resilience to shocks like extreme weather events.
South Sudan: A boy washes a saucepan in the flood waters of Aweil.
8.) In 2022, the U.N. World Food Programme delivered 4.8 million metric tons of food.
Kenya: Porters load part of the 4,500 tons of cargo being sent to Somalia.
9.) The U.N. World Food Programme has more than 23,000 staff, of whom more than 87% are field based.
Syria: Mothers in rural Deir Ez-Zor wait to collect food from a U.N. World Food Programme assistance point.
10.) We are the largest cash provider in the humanitarian community. $3.3 billion dollars of assistance was provided this way in 2022. Cash increases consumer choice and strengthens local markets.
Colombia: The U.N. World Food Programme and World Vision provide 5,000 food baskets to Colombians and migrants in Soacha, near Bogotá.
11.) The U.N. World Food Programme protected 3.8 million people in 2022 with climate insurance or anticipatory actions. These solutions safeguarded livelihoods by allowing people in harm’s way to buy food and other emergency items.
Bangladesh: Women line up at a market to take out cash from their mobile wallets.
12.) More than 50% of the people we serve are women and girls. In 2019, 60% of the participants in our Rural Resilience Initiative were women. This enabled 56,102 women across seven countries to better manage their climate risks with insurance policies that protect them from a range of risks to their livelihoods.
Zimbabwe: Farmer Rebecca received U.N. World Food Programme assistance after her corn crop failed earlier this year.
The accomplishments of 2022 will be a vital foundation as we work to bring lifesaving meals to millions more of the most vulnerable people on the planet. You can support our efforts by donating.
This post was written by Paul Anthem, Simona Beltrami and Mert Er and originally appeared on wfp.org/stories.
