World Food Programme

World Food Programme (WFP), unit of the United Nations (UN), created in 1961 by the General Assembly as a three-year experimental project of the UN and the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) of the UN. In 1965 the assembly voted to extend the programme “for as long as multilateral food aid is found feasible and desirable”.

The purpose of the WFP is to provide food aid, primarily to people on low income, food-deficit countries, and to assist in the implementation of economic and social development projects. In cooperation with the FAO and other UN agencies, the WFP distributes food supplies after disasters and provides cash for emergencies and for wages of workers on rescue or rehabilitation projects. In 2004 the WFP fed 113 million people in 80 countries. The WFP’s executive board consists of representatives from 36 member nations.

The resources of the programme are provided through voluntary governmental contributions of commodities or of services such as shipping and of cash, which must amount to one-third of the total contribution. The programme is funded by voluntary contributions from donor countries and intergovernmental bodies. In 2004 its income from governments was US$2.2 billion. With corporations and individuals also making substantial contributions to the WFP, its total expenditure that year was US$2.9 billion.