World Food Programme (WFP)

Published on 10 Oct 2025

• The UN’s World Food Programme (WFP), headquartered in Rome, is closing its southern Africa office due to US aid cuts.

• US president Trump has massively cut down its funding, having received $4.4 billion from the US last year—about half its annual budget and over four times more than Germany, the next largest donor. 

• WFP was established in 1961 by the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) and the United Nations General Assembly to combat global hunger and aligned with SDG 2: Zero Hunger.

• It won the 2020 Nobel Peace Prize for fighting hunger and promoting peace in conflict zones. 

• Its 36-member Executive Board is jointly elected by ECOSOC and the FAO Council.

• WFP manages the United Nations Humanitarian Air Service (UNHAS) and the UN Humanitarian Response Depot (UNHRD), providing crucial logistics support to the wider humanitarian community.

• It is entirely funded by voluntary donations from governments, corporations, and private donors.

Keywords:

World Food Programme WFP USA Food and Agriculture Organization FAO SDG 2 Zero Hunger United Nations Humanitarian Air Service UNHAS Unilateralism United Nations UN