In Jordan, World Food Programme (WFP) deploys blockchain technology that allows over 100,000 Syrian refugees to buy groceries through iris scans rather than vouchers. This is just one of the ways WFP is changing lives.
The UN’s WFP, this year’s Nobel Peace Prize winner, is the world’s largest humanitarian organisation working towards zero hunger by 2030. WFP is the first on the scene in an emergency, providing food and other assistance to the victims of conflict, drought, floods, earthquakes, hurricanes, crop failures and pandemics.
At the same time, WFP focuses on sustainable development, promoting long-term change by working in partnership with national governments. WFP also has a sharp focus on long-term solutions to hunger and undernutrition. It further aims to prevent future emergencies rather than simply responding to them. By working to change lives, WFP is providing a cornerstone for sustainable development, seeking to build resilience and make the world a stable, more peaceful place. These pre-emptive actions can also be highly cost-effective. For example, US$ 1 invested in climate risk management and disaster risk reduction can save around US$ 3 in humanitarian response.
INNOVATION AND DIGITAL TRANSFORMATION
WFP, with a track record of innovation, is building practical, needs-based digital solutions to help achieve zero hunger. It partners with leading tech companies, entrepreneurs, NGOs and others to develop cutting-edge approaches at scale. In Jordan, WFP deploys blockchain technology that allows over 100,000 Syrian refugees to buy groceries through iris scans rather than vouchers.
In drought-hit Chad, WFP is scaling up a hydroponics cultivation system which allows refugees to grow fresh fodder with no soil and little water. It uses mobile technology and Artificial Intelligence to conduct and analyse data about household food needs in remote and hard-to-reach regions, from Yemen to Papua New Guinea. WFP has deployed drones for rapid and detailed assessments within minutes of a disaster striking, for example after Mozambique’s Cyclone Desmond.
CLIMATE ACTION
Climate shocks such as droughts and floods can wipe out crops, disrupt markets and destroy roads and bridges. WFP is working with governments and humanitarian partners on the frontlines of the global climate crisis, responding to an increasing number of climate-related disasters. At the same time, it takes pre-emptive action to prepare communities and limit damage. This also reduces the number of people requiring humanitarian assistance.
WFP helps restore land by giving food assistance to communities in return for them working on activities such as tree-planting and irrigation. It protects by providing climate-risk insurance to vulnerable people, and through more advanced weather forecasting and resulting actions, helping families prepare for disasters through measures such as delayed planting of crops or stockpiling of food.
NUTRITION
While WFP’s priority has long been addressing undernutrition in emergencies, over recent years it has broadened its focus to all forms of malnutrition including vitamin and mineral deficiencies and overweight and obesity. It addresses malnutrition from the earliest stages through programmes targeting the first 1,000 days from pregnancy to a child’s second birthday. It focuses on providing access to healthy and adequate diets, targeting young children, pregnant and breastfeeding women and people living with HIV.
SCHOOL FEEDING
WFP is the largest humanitarian organisation implementing school feeding programmes. As part of its drive towards sustainability, WFP handed over school feeding programmes to governments in Kenya and Bhutan in 2018. School meals improve children’s nutrition and health, while also increasing access to a potentially life-changing education. They are also a strong incentive for parents to send their children to school, reducing risks such as child labour and early marriage in some countries. WFP buys food locally where possible, with home-grown school feeding in turn increasing incomes for smallholder farmers.
SMALLHOLDER SUPPORT
In addition to home-grown school feeding, WFP’s smallholder programmes include the private-sector focused Farm to Market Alliance, which connects smallholders to markets and helps them diversify their crops and increase their business potential. These programmes complement established support including food assistance, training and, under the approach known as Food Assistance for Assets, taking part in projects such as restoring land and repairing roads.
CASH ASSISTANCE
WFP is the largest cash provider in the humanitarian community. Cash empowers families to choose food and other items they really need through local markets. It can also help strengthen local markets and economies, encouraging smallholders to be more productive.
UNITED NATIONS HUMANITARIAN AIR SERVICE (UNHAS)
This WFP-led service provides access for humanitarian workers and cargo to the world’s most remote and challenging locations, allowing life-saving work that would otherwise be impossible. As a prime example, the closure of Sana’a airspace made UNHAS the only common air service for humanitarian organisations in Yemen. With over 60 aircraft, UNHAS also provides medical and security evacuations.
