UN WFP, Merafe House

General information

The World Food Programme was created in 1961, as an experiment to provide food aid through the UN system. In 1965, WFP became a fully-fledged UN programme, to last for “as long as multilateral food aid is found feasible and desirable”.

Today, WFP is the world's largest humanitarian agency fighting hunger worldwide. WFP assists 80 million people in around 80 countries each year, delivering food assistance in emergencies and working with communities to improve nutrition and build resilience.

On any given day, WFP has 5,000 trucks, 20 ships and 70 planes on the move, delivering food and other assistance to those in most need. In emergencies, WFP is often first on the scene, providing food assistance to the victims of war, civil conflict, drought, floods, earthquakes, hurricanes, crop failures and natural disasters. When the emergency subsides, WFP helps communities rebuild shattered lives and livelihoods. We also work to strengthen the resilience of people and communities affected by protracted crises by applying a development lens in our humanitarian response.

WFP is funded entirely by voluntary donations, in 2016 WFP raised US$5.9 billion. WFP has more than 14,000 staff worldwide of whom over 90% are based in the countries where the agency provides assistance.