Latest news with #UnitedNationsWorldFoodProgramme
5 days ago
- Politics
WFP's Cindy McCain: Gaza could be 'a humanitarian catastrophe ... like none other'
United Nations World Food Programme Executive Director Cindy McCain stressed the "immeditate" need for aid and a ceasefire in Gaza. "It's a tragedy. And what we need right now is an immediate ceasefire, complete, unfettered access, along with the safe fence roads, every gate open, to feed people and stop this catastrophe from happening. If we don't do that, it's going to be a humanitarian catastrophe, as I've said, like none other," McCain said Sunday on "This Week with George Stephanopoulos."
Libya Review
29-05-2025
- General
- Libya Review
WFP Appeals for $13.5 Million to Support Sudanese Refugees in Libya
The United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) has issued an urgent appeal for $13.5 million in additional funding to maintain its life-saving assistance to Sudanese refugees currently in Libya. Without immediate financial support, the agency warned it will be forced to scale back or halt food and nutrition aid to thousands of vulnerable people starting mid-June. According to WFP's latest operational update, the agency provided humanitarian support to 58,456 people, including distributing 602 metric tons of food and over $64,000 in cash assistance to Sudanese refugees in cities including Benghazi, Sebha, and Zawiya. The call for emergency funding comes amid a worsening humanitarian crisis triggered by the ongoing war in Sudan, which erupted in April 2023. By the end of April 2025, the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) reported that Libya had received nearly 313,000 Sudanese refugees—an increase of more than 56,000 from the previous month alone. The situation is expected to deteriorate further. UNHCR's revised 2025 response plan anticipates that by the end of the year, up to 621,000 people will require humanitarian assistance inside Libya—a 40% increase from November 2024 estimates. In response, WFP has expanded its operations in line with the joint 2025 Sudanese Refugee Response Plan. The April distribution included 578 metric tons of general food aid to 46,565 Sudanese refugees, along with specialized nutrition support for 4,236 children under the age of five and 1,989 pregnant or breastfeeding women. These vulnerable groups received 12.5 metric tons of lipid-based nutritional supplements and 11.3 metric tons of fortified date bars to combat malnutrition and micronutrient deficiencies. In addition to food aid, WFP provided cash transfers averaging 5,666 Libyan dinars per recipient, aiming to support both refugee families and host communities. Despite these efforts, the agency warned that current resources are insufficient to maintain operations beyond mid-June. Of the total $13.5 million urgently required, $5 million is needed to fund essential activities between June and November 2025. WFP stressed that unless donors step in quickly, tens of thousands of refugees could lose access to basic food and nutrition, placing even greater pressure on Libya's already fragile social and economic systems. Tags: AidHungerlibyaSudanese RefugeesWFP
Saba Yemen
29-05-2025
- Politics
- Saba Yemen
WFP resume flour distribution to Palestinian families in Gaza doon
New York - Saba: The United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) announced on Wednesday its decision to resume flour distribution to Palestinian families in the Gaza Strip, including the northern governorates, in the near future. According to the Palestinian news agency "Safa," the WFP explained that this decision came after obtaining approval from enemy forces to resume direct distribution to families, following a suspension since May 19. The WFP called on the community to "unite efforts and work together to support the safe , orderly delivery and distribution of food to all families across Gaza." It emphasized that the distribution of vital supplies requires safe and unimpeded access to all people, noting that recent attacks on aid trucks, warehouses, and humanitarian workers have severely endangered relief operations and the community. The WFP warned that looting and attacks on humanitarian aid convoys deprive children and women—who wait in line to receive desperately needed food—and further complicate aid delivery and distribution efforts. The program urged community cooperation to ensure safe and dignified distribution operations. Whatsapp Telegram Email Print
Yahoo
26-05-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Cindy McCain refutes Israel's claim that Hamas is stealing aid: ‘These people are desperate'
Cindy McCain has refuted claims from Israeli government officials insisting that Hamas was responsible for looting aid trucks allowed over the border into Gaza by the Israeli military. McCain, wife of the late senator John McCain, heads up the United Nations World Food Programme. In this role, the widow of one of the loudest neoconservative hawks in Washington, D.C. now finds herself advocating for more than 2 million people facing extensive food shortages in Gaza. Since the start of Israel's war in Gaza, McCain has been a steadfast voice pushing for the Israeli government to allow more aid into the beleaguered strip — and for its allies to pressure it to do so. During her appearance on CBS's Face the Nation on Sunday, McCain shot down claims that Hamas was disrupting the aid distribution process. Israeli forces killed six armed individuals affiliated with Hamas near an aid distribution point at the Kerem Shalom crossing point on Friday. Hamas officials said the individuals were guarding against looters; Israeli officials claimed the opposite. McCain told Margaret Brennan that her agency's staffers on the ground in Gaza had seen no evidence of an effort by Hamas to loot aid trucks. 'Have you seen evidence that it is Hamas stealing the food?' Brennan asked. 'No,' McCain replied. 'Not at all. Not in this round.' "Listen, these people are desperate, and they see a World Food Programme truck coming in, and they run for it," McCain continued. "This doesn't have anything to do with Hamas or any kind of organized crime, or anything." McCain said her organization would continue to work to get food and fresh water to Gaza in whatever capacity it was allowed to do so. 'This is a catastrophe,' she said. The few trucks that have been let inside Gaza are 'a drop in the bucket as to what's needed,' according to McCain. 'Right now, we have 500,000 people inside of Gaza that are extremely food insecure, and could be on the verge of famine if we don't help bring them back from that,' McCain said. Israeli officials are reportedly considering a plan that would mandate a shift of non-food aid to international groups like the United Nations while food aid would be solely distributed in the Gaza Strip by a newly founded group backed by the United States. A spokesperson for the Israeli Defense Forces told Reuters that 'Hamas constantly calls the looters 'guards' or protectors' to mask the fact that they're disturbing the aid process.' Aid trucks returned to Gaza last Monday after Israel eased a blockade preventing 100 percent of aid from entering Gaza that had been in place for months. Trucks continue to enter at a significantly lower rate than what UN experts and other organizations say is needed to avert widespread famine, though numbers differ between the Israeli government and aid groups regarding how many trucks are getting in, which some argue is evidence that most are being hijacked. McCain appeared to argue on Sunday that the remaining trucks are not being hijacked but merely swarmed by desperate people before they can reach their intended destinations. 'Having been in a food riot myself some years ago, I understand the desperation,' she said. Trucks regaining access to Gaza last Monday did so on the same day that Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu revealed that his government had plans to 'take control of all' of Gaza following the latest round of airstrikes. 'The fighting is intense, and we are making progress. We will take control of all the territory of the strip,' Netanyahu said in a video posted to his Telegram channel. 'We will not give up. But in order to succeed, we must act in a way that cannot be stopped.'
Days of Palestine
18-05-2025
- General
- Days of Palestine
WFP Sounds Alarm on Gaza Famine Risk
DaysofPal — The United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) has issued a dire warning as hunger deepens in Gaza, declaring that time is running out to prevent a full-scale famine threatening the lives of over half a million people. In a statement posted on X (formerly Twitter), the WFP said, 'We're in a race against time to avoid famine,' emphasizing that waiting for a formal declaration of famine would mean countless lives already lost. 'If we wait until after a famine is confirmed, it will already be too late for too many,' the agency stressed. Conditions in Gaza have deteriorated rapidly following Israel's decision to seal off the territory on March 2, blocking all food, water, medical aid, and humanitarian relief. The situation worsened after March 18, when Israel resumed its military attacks following the collapse of ceasefire negotiations. Since the beginning of Israel's assault in October 2023, more than 53,200 Palestinians have been killed in Gaza, according to local health authorities. The majority of the dead include women and children, reflecting the devastating impact on civilians. International agencies continue to sound the alarm as the blockade and bombardment push Gaza's population toward catastrophic levels of hunger, disease, and displacement. Shortlink for this post:
