What is WFP?
The World Food
Programme is a Rome based United Nations agency that provides aid to nearly 100 million people in about 88 countries worldwide, Entirely funded by donations from government, corporates and individuals, it focusses on providing food aid during emergencies such as wars, conflicts and natural disasters.
The beginning
The agency was founded in 1961, thanks to the efforts of the U.S. under the administration of John F. Kennedy. The idea to provide food aid through the UN system was mooted by the previous president Dwight Eisenhower. The agency, which began functioning with a mandate of three years, soon justified its existence by effectively responding to various crises such as the Iran earthquake that claimed 12.000 lives, a typhoon in Thailand and the Algerian war. It became a full-fledged UN programme in 1965. In the nearly six decades since its inception, the WFP has grown to be the largest humanitarian agency in the world.
Reaching aid
Most of WFP’s work is concentrated in conflict-ridden areas as people there are more likely to be undernourished than those elsewhere. Besides specialising in reaching aid to some of the most dangerous and remotest places in the world, the WFP focusses on providing development and rehabilitation aid. It is engaged in supporting school meals projects in different countries, including India. It works in association with two other UN agencies – the Food and Agriculture Organisation, which helps countries draw up policy to support sustainable agriculture, and the International Fund for Agricultural Development, which finances projects in rural areas. According to the WFP, it distributes over 15 billion rations of food yearly. It has over 5,000 trucks, 30 ships and 100 aircraft engaged daily in delivering food and other assistance to those in need across the globe. That’s not all, WFP has created an emergency delivery service that has ensured continuous flow of aid during this pandemic. Can you believe that the WFP has managed to dispatch medical supplies to over a hundred countries to help governments battling COVID-19 in the absence of commercial flights?
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