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One year ago, did not have an office in Ukraine. This lower middle-income agricultural powerhouse did not require one any longer, and operations shut down in 2018. That – and much more – changed dramatically in the days following the invasion. The war’s effects swiftly rippled outwards. Food, oil and fertilizer prices soared, affecting vulnerable communities in countries thousands of miles away – 20 million of them in the Horn of Africa alone. WFP has supported more than 10 million people to date in the country with 1.3 billion meals. Today, over 80 percent of WFP aid is directed at those living near the frontlines.

The unforgiving climate and mountainous terrain in Kyrgyzstan’s northern At-Bashy district make agriculture risky and employment opportunities rare. Rich in natural resources, landlocked Kyrgyzstan is nonetheless highly dependent on remittances and foreign assistance, making the country vulnerable to external shocks. -led collaboration is giving women like Baktygul new income-earning opportunities by capitalizing on At-Bashy’s clean water and fresh air to grow herbs for essential oils. Batygul counted among some 1,000 smallholder farmers trained by WFP on herb-planting agro-technologies, together produce and supply upto 3000kg of the raw materials that are processed into essential oils and dried products for use in industries.  

As of February 8, had in both countries with hot meals and plans to scale up sharply following the deadly earthquakes that struck Türkiye and Syria.

The devastating fallout of conflict, and the importance of building peace, are likely to be key themes for Pope Francis when he visits DRC and South Sudan next week. It sheds a rare spotlight on two of the world’s most fragile countries, where unrest has helped drive hunger to alarming and sometimes catastrophic levels.  Between South Sudan and DRC, has reached more 11 million of the most vulnerable with food and nutritional assistance in 2022, focusing especially on conflict-hit women and children. But as needs in both countries grow, WFP faces multi-million dollar funding shortfalls, forcing them to reduce their support to even the hungriest people.

Today, as Afghan girls and women face growing education and work restrictions — and are hardest hit by the country’s hunger crisis — reaching students like Hazra is more important than ever. Indeed, nearly half the children reaches with school feeding support are girls. Launched in Afghanistan more than two decades ago, WFP’s school feeding programme — which also includes nutrition snacks made of local ingredients — aims to link food security and better nutrition with education among school-aged children.

During 2022,  provided food and other assistance to over 160 million people, including many hit by climate disasters. In over 30 countries, WFP also supported communities to better anticipate and prepare for climate impacts. With this year promising another wave of climate-related disasters, let’s explore what lies ahead for the climate – and WFP in 2023.

It was a year of unprecedented climate-related disasters with drought, floods and heatwaves, often intersecting with conflict, devastating communities across the world in a year of unprecedented hunger. Looking back at 2022, perhaps the world can take inspiration from the Cholitas Escaladoras Maya, a group of women mountaineers, who are flying the flag high in the mountain peaks of Bolivia. They are sharing messages of Indigenous women’s empowerment, promoting the production and consumption of ancestral foods – and providing first-hand accounts of how climate-change is changing the landscape in the altiplano, or highlands, whose mountains are sacred to them. 

It was a year of unprecedented climate-related disasters with drought, floods and heatwaves, often intersecting with conflict, devastating communities across the world in a year of unprecedented hunger. Looking back at 2022, perhaps the world can take inspiration from the Cholitas Escaladoras Maya, a group of women mountaineers, who are flying the WFP flag high in the mountain peaks of Bolivia. They are sharing messages of Indigenous women’s empowerment, promoting the production and consumption of ancestral foods – and providing first-hand accounts of how climate-change is changing the landscape in the altiplano, or highlands, whose mountains are sacred to them. 

As it turns 10, 's popular philanthropic trivia game is becoming more than just a fun platform for testing your knowledge and earning rice grains. is now a Youth Hub aimed at building a community of Hunger Heroes.

Soil degradation threatens crop productivity, plant health, the quality of food and, ultimately, people; a hefty consideration as we mark World Soil Day on Monday (5 December). Every year, soil erosion is responsible for the loss of. Land use plays a key role in mitigating climate change. Healthy forests and soils help to regulate the planet’s temperature and store carbon. Every year, the rehabilitates almost 200,000 hectares of land around the world – more than twice the size of New York City.

In Syria after years of conflict, 12 million people are food insecure. Goodwill Ambassador George Stroumboulopoulos visited the country in September to see what life is like for people wrestling with unrelenting crises for all this time. In Aleppo he met Ghufran, a former Taekwondo champ, who said her martial arts training helps combat hard times. Ghufran took on cleaning, cooking, and tutoring jobs, to make a living for herself and her three children. But last year as economic downturn led to skyrocketing prices across the country, Ghufran’s income fell short of making ends meet. She turned to WFP, which provides monthly food assistance for families like Ghufran’s. Find out more about Ghufran’s .

While Africa contributes just 4 percent of the world’s greenhouse gas emissions, the continent is being hammered by the fallout from climate change.  Already it is seeing extreme weather events, mass migration and rising poverty and hunger. Tanzanian environmental and climate expert Jacqueline Tesha is working to help rural women in her homeland access vital weather and climate information. She is participating in a programme working to develop climate tools to better anticipate and mitigate disasters. “We must halt the crisis and help people adapt,” Tesha says.  Finding the right channels to communicate key climate information will be essential to that goal. Find out more about the

Due to the devasting fallout from the COVID-19 pandemic, Sahar and her husband were among the young Gazans left with an income barely allowing them to get by. They could scarcely keep their family business afloat. Today, their products are quickly snapped up by local residents across the Gaza Strip.  Sahar’s fortunes changed dramatically last year thanks to a joint UN initiative to mitigate the pandemic’s impact on women entrepreneurs. Targeting small and medium businesses, the programme rolled out by the and four sister UN agencies, developed the skills and capacities of 40 women-led agribusinesses in the Gaza Strip and West Bank. Find out more about the programme .

Heatwaves, droughts, floods, and storms are increasing in intensity and frequency and impacting people’s ability to feed their families. As world leaders prepare to meet in Sharm el-Sheikh in Egypt for the UN Climate Change Conference (), is calling on world leaders to act swiftly to help millions of people facing rising hunger and famine. The UN agency is urging global leaders to invest in systems that predict climate hazards and provide physical and financial protection to the most vulnerable. It is calling on world leaders to invest in climate action in communities in fragile contexts and to transform food systems. about the coordinated action needed to tackle the climate crisis.

Indigenous women like this Ecuadoran farmer have precious ancestral knowledge about growing and using traditional foods. They are the backbone of their families and communities — and make up roughly one-eighth of Latin America’s rural population. Even more crucially, perhaps, they keep and transmit precious ancestral knowledge on growing and using traditional foods, whose importance is only now being recognized. Yet the vital role the region’s Indigenous rural women play in their communities and society is very seldom acknowledged, much less celebrated.  helps to support Indigenous rural women to overcome historic barriers, fully harness the ancestral wisdom they carry, and contribute on an equal footing to the life of their communities.