Highlights
WFP is facing a highly demanding and increasingly complex operating environment. COVID-19 cases have surpassed 25 million and food insecurity is increasing globally, compounding additional incidents such as the devastating explosions in Beirut, Lebanon, the recent coup d'état in Mali, widespread flooding and an active hurricane and monsoon season.
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Resourcing remains the primary challenge to WFP’s ability to scale up and wage a global response to the COVID-19 pandemic. For WFP’s Global Response to COVID-19 plan, only USD 977 million in resources mobilized against the required USD 4.9 billion. WFP’s global Common Services also face significant funding shortfalls, with only USD 242 million mobilized against the USD 965 million requirement.
WFP has been forced to reduce food or cash transfers by up to 30 percent for over 2.7 million refugees in Djibouti, Ethiopia, Kenya and Uganda due to funding shortages. WFP will need to cut deeper in the coming months unless urgent additional funding is received. Reduced assistance could lead to increased population movements and related risks for COVID-19 transmission.
More than 3 million people are facing acute food insecurity in Burkina Faso as the country grapples with insecurity, conflict, climate change and COVID-19. The latest analysis indicates the number of people struggling to feed themselves has increased more than 50 percent since March. As it is the case in many other countries with WFP operations, experts say the crisis has been exacerbated by the pandemic's impact on people's ability to earn enough money to cover their daily needs.
WFP has launched its Innovation Challenge 2020, seeking cutting-edge solutions to transform emergency response and achieve Zero Hunger for communities impacted by COVID-19 and beyond. Innovators can apply to the WFP Innovation Accelerator by 14 September for the chance to attend the next WFP Innovation Bootcamp and receive up to US $100,000 in equity-free funding as well as mentorship from industry experts.
Distributed by APO Group on behalf of World Food Programme (WFP).
