What Is The Function Of The WFP (World Food Programme)?
The World Food Programme (WFP) is a humanitarian organization and branch of the United Nations (UN) that is involved in food assistance. It is currently the largest humanitarian organization in the world and aims to address hunger and promote food security. Each year the WPF provides food assistance to approximately 91.4 million people worldwide. The WFP has its headquarters in Rome, Italy, as well as more than 80 country offices around the world, from which it helps people who cannot produce or get enough food for themselves and their families. The WFP is a member of the United Nations Sustainable Development Group (UNSDG) and is part of its executive committee.
Goals Of The WFP
The goal of the WFP is to eradicate malnutrition and hunger. According to the WFP, one out of nine people worldwide do not have enough food to eat, and each day the organization has at least 5,000 trucks on the roads, 20 ships in the water, and 92 planes in the air to help deliver food to those in need. Each year the WFP distributes a total of 15 billion food rations. The organization performs these activities to save lives and protect livelihoods in emergencies, as well as supporting food security, nutrition, and rebuilding livelihoods after disasters. It also works towards reducing risk and enabling people, communities, and countries to achieve their food and nutritional needs. The WFP has a goal of achieving zero hunger by the year 2030, as well as working towards eradicating deficiencies in macronutrients, reducing child mortality rates, improving maternal health, and combating diseases such as HIV and AIDS.
Funding Of The WFP
The World Food Programme does not have an independent source of funding but instead relies on voluntary donations from governments, corporations, and individuals. In 2018, the organization received a total of $7,511,933,047 in donations. National governments are the largest contributors to the WFP. In 2017, the WFP received a total of $6,077,842,372 in donations. The largest contributor to the organization in 2017 was the United States, which donated a total of $2,512,692,383, followed by Germany ($925,499,870), the United Kingdom ($588,323,265), the European Union ($376,781,794), and Canada ($199,626,298).
Activities Of The WFP
In 2013, the WFP distributed 3.1 million tons of food in 75 countries, reaching 80.9 million people with ready to use foods. In the same year, about 7.8 million children received nutritional support, while 18.6 million children were supplied with school meals. Other activities run by the WFP include the five-year Purchase for Progress (P4P), which was launched in 2008 to assist small scale farmers to access markets for their agricultural products and become competitive in the market. The project was launched in 20 countries in Latin America, Asia, and Africa, and so far it has trained 800,000 small scale farmers on improved production of agricultural goods, quality assurance, post-harvest handling, contracting with the WFP, agricultural finance, and group marketing. The project led to the production of 366,000 metric tons of food and more than $148 in earnings for farmers.
