大象传媒

Food Aid

leaders in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Palestine and Sudan 鈥 three of our biggest emergencies 鈥 call for the guns to fall silent.

Across the globe, the way Indigenous Peoples produce, transform and consume food is based on a deep knowledge of the local ecosystems. is tapping into this knowledge to fight hunger.

鈥淧rior to this war [in Gaza], people had dreams. Today people's dreams are about survival.鈥

Matthew Hollingworth has worked in conflict zones around the world, from Ukraine to South Sudan and Syria. Previously in charge of the World Food Programme鈥檚 (WFP) emergency operations in the West Bank and Gaza, Matthew was responsible for delivering life-saving aid to desperate people.

鈥淧eople ask me every single day when I'm in Gaza: 鈥淲hen will the bombs stop? When will the fighting stop? When will they stop blowing things up? When can I go home?鈥 We don't have the answers. But we do know that that is what's needed.鈥

WFP delivers food relief to more than 120 countries across the world suffering the impacts of conflicts, disasters and climate change. In this episode of Awake at Night (recorded on 21 June 2024), Matthew Hollingworth reflects on his daily struggle to prevent famine in Gaza, on the apocalyptic scale of the destruction there, and on the morale boost he gets from working with extraordinary colleagues on the ground.

Amid access restrictions and closing of bakeries in Rafah, the is working to serve remaining supplies to as many people as possible.

The escalating military activity in Rafah, southern Gaza, has triggered mass displacement and threatens a humanitarian catastrophe, with the urgently needing access and supplies to rebuild aid distribution systems.

Facing mounting challenges from COVID-19, climate change, and global conflicts, farmers are crucial to food security, and organizations like  are pivotal in supporting their resilience amid crises.

WFP: Food distribution paused in Gaza

Food distribution has been halted in the due to heightened safety and security risks to both the delivery personnel and recipients.

In the village of Dotembougou in central Mali, Atoumata Nimaga, a mother of three, is now a local volunteer leader who teaches other village women about healthy eating. Not so long ago, Atoumata faced hunger so severe that it threatened her unborn child. With the help of the she was able to receive nutritious rations during her pregnancy. She is now part of a joint programme that helps families offset the negative effects of climate shocks and humanitarian disasters. The programme aims to put more than 38,000 women at the center of the development process, giving them the knowledge and tools to address the challenges many face.

The Afghan community is being pushed to the brink as the is forced to cut food assistance driving people into a freefall where they do not know where their next meal is coming from. Children are earning 50 Afghan Afghanis (US$0.60) a day from garbage and plastic collection. In a country reeling from protracted conflict, a decimated economy, and a climate crisis that is worsening by the day, 15 million people are going to bed hungry every night. WFP to pull Afghans back from the brink. 

Nearly two weeks after Cyclone Mocha, a grim certainty looms as the coastal areas of and enters monsoon season. The cyclone has sent food prices soaring and wiped-out people鈥檚 slender food stocks. But now Mocha鈥檚 devastation has only deepened hunger already sharpened by the country鈥檚 conflict and political and economic crises. has distributed hot meals and emergency food assistance to thousands of people in the immediate aftermath of the storm. A funding shortfall is threatening WFP's response in both countries.

After three years of drought, more than 23 million people across parts of Ethiopia, Kenya and Somalia face severe hunger. When the region鈥檚 long-awaited rains arrived in March, they should have brought some relief. But instead, flash flooding inundated homes and farmland, washed away livestock, and closed schools and health facilities. Mortality and malnutrition rates remain a serious cause for concern. and partners launched a rapid scale up of life-saving assistance in drought-hit Somalia, Kenya and Ethiopia, which helped to keep famine at bay in Somalia.

School meals programmes are dishing up hope for millions of children at the forefront of the global food crisis, according to a new .

Students in a rural school near Gwembe learn about soilless cultivation, or hydroponics, in a greenhouse set up by the World Food Programme (WFP) in Zambia. It will come as no surprise that the most food-insecure people live in developing countries and in arid areas where little water is available 鈥 or too much water, of too poor a quality. Water is essential for food production, but decades of poor water management, misuse and pollution have degraded freshwater supplies and ecosystems. WFP helps to replenish water-depleted soils and aquifers through programmes that provide communities with water access and availability. These benefits also help to increase people鈥檚 food security, empowering them over the long term.

One year ago, did not have an office in Ukraine. This lower middle-income agricultural powerhouse did not require one any longer, and operations shut down in 2018. That 鈥 and much more 鈥 changed dramatically in the days following the invasion. The war鈥檚 effects swiftly rippled outwards. Food, oil and fertilizer prices soared, affecting vulnerable communities in countries thousands of miles away 鈥 20 million of them in the Horn of Africa alone. WFP has supported more than 10 million people to date in the country with 1.3 billion meals. Today, over 80 percent of WFP aid is directed at those living near the frontlines.

DRC and South Sudan crises

Pope Francis to cast spotlight on 鈥榝orgotten鈥 crises

The devastating fallout of conflict, and the importance of building peace, are likely to be key themes for Pope Francis when he visits DRC and South Sudan next week. It sheds a rare spotlight on two of the world鈥檚 most fragile countries, where unrest has helped drive hunger to alarming and sometimes catastrophic levels.  Between South Sudan and DRC, has reached more 11 million of the most vulnerable with food and nutritional assistance in 2022, focusing especially on conflict-hit women and children. But as needs in both countries grow, WFP faces multi-million dollar funding shortfalls, forcing them to reduce their support to even the hungriest people.