UNITED NATIONS (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 18th June, 2020) The UN World Food Program (WFP) has received only 14 percent of funding out of the $965 million requested for 2020 and might be forced to shut down "common services" worldwide by the third week of July, WFP Director of Operations Amer Daoudi said on Thursday.
"WFP requested 965 million as part of the global humanitarian response plan to sustain the common services throughout 2020," Daoudi said. "So far, only 14 percent of that has been received. With this funding level, WFP common services will come to a standstill by the third week of July."
The lack of funding might halt the movement of WFP's air traffic that transports humanitarian workers and delivers cargo to vulnerable countries, Daoudi said.
The situation is especially worrisome given the expected spike in demand for WFP's services caused by the novel coronavirus pandemic, which does not show any signs of slowing down, Daoudi pointed out.
"We are feeding a hundred million people in 2020, and, as a result of COVID-19 and the socio-economic impact of the virus, we expect that these needs are going to increase significantly," Daoudi said.
To allow WFP to continue providing food security to people relying on such assistance, Daoudi said the private sector and individual donors need to step up with financial support.
"There is, unfortunately, enough food being wasted across the globe that meets ten-fold the needs where it is needed. Additionally, there is enough wealth in this world to address all the needs across the globe," Daoudi said.
