• The UN World Food Programme (WFP) has condemned the looting of thousands of tonnes of relief supplies in the city of Bukavu in the eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), after Rwanda-backed M23 rebels swept in at the weekend.

• Looters made off with 7,000 tonnes of humanitarian food supplies that were meant to provide vital support to the most vulnerable families who now face a growing humanitarian crisis.

• The development came as M23 fighters made continuing gains in eastern DRC, after taking control of Goma — capital of North Kivu province — in January. Hostilities have continued in this mineral-rich region for decades amid a proliferation of armed groups, forcing hundreds of thousands to flee their homes.

• Roughly 1.65 million people, or just over 20 per cent of the province’s population, had been displaced for a wide range of reasons.

World Food Programme

• The World Food Programme (WFP) is a UN agency saving lives and changing lives, delivering food assistance in emergencies and working with communities to improve nutrition and build resilience.

• The WFP’s efforts focus on emergency assistance, relief and rehabilitation, development aid and special operations. Two-thirds of its work is in conflict-affected countries where people are three times more likely to be undernourished than those living in countries without conflict.

• On any given day, WFP has 5,000 trucks, 20 ships and about 80 aircraft on the move, delivering emergency assistance, relief and rehabilitation, development aid and special operations to people affected by conflict, droughts, floods, earthquakes, hurricanes, crop failures and other disasters. Two-thirds of our work is in conflict-affected countries, where people are three times more likely to be undernourished than those living in countries without conflict. 

• In 2023, WFP transferred food to over 100 million people. That same year, WFP also disbursed around US$2.8 billion in cash-based transfers to an estimated 51.6 million people – strengthening food and nutrition security and sustaining local economies around the world. 

• The WFP was introduced in 1961 after the 1960 Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) Conference, when George McGovern, director of the US Food for Peace Programmes, proposed establishing a multilateral food aid programme. 

• The WFP was formally established in 1963 by the FAO and the UN General Assembly on a three-year experimental basis. In 1965, the programme was extended to a continuing basis.

• The headquarters of WFP is situated in Rome.

• The Executive Board is WFP’s supreme governing body. It comprises 36 States Members of the UN or Member Nations of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), the Board provides intergovernmental support, policy direction and supervision of the activities of WFP.

• It works closely with its two Rome-based sister organisations, the FAO of the United Nations and the International Fund for Agricultural Development. 

• The WFP partners with more than 900 national and international NGOs to provide food assistance and tackle the underlying causes of hunger.

• The funding requirement for 2025 is $16.9 billion to reach 123 million people.

• It is the largest humanitarian organisation implementing school-feeding programmes worldwide and has been doing so for more than 50 years. 

• In 2020, the WFP won the Nobel Peace Prize for its efforts to combat hunger, contribution to bettering conditions for peace in conflict-affected areas and acting as a driving force in efforts to prevent the use of hunger as a weapon of war and conflict. 

• Powered by dedication and professionalism of 23,000 staff worldwide, the WFP has a presence in over 120 countries and territories.

• The operations are entirely funded through the generous voluntary contributions of donor governments, institutions, corporations and individuals. A total 93.5 per cent of all government contributions go directly to supporting life-saving and life-changing operations.

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