WFP Struggles to Deliver More Food Aid with Less Funding

In 2024, the World Food Programme delivered emergency assistance to at least 90 million people globally.

Serious-to-severe food insecurity has been widely felt among those living through the worst, protracted humanitarian crises. For organizations like the World Food Programme (WFP), they must work under the “relentless demand” for humanitarian aid, including food.

In their 2024 annual review, Staying and Delivering Amid Multiple Crises, the WFP noted that there was “no slowdown in the relentless demand for humanitarian support as new and protracted conflicts, more frequent disasters, economic volatility and persistent inflation fueled surging rates of hunger.”

Despite these challenges, the WFP made significant strides in its efforts to deliver aid in 2024. It supported 124.4 million people, including 90 million receiving emergency assistance. Through its nutrition treatment and prevention programmes, it reached 27.6 million people. Over the course of the year, the WFP delivered 16.1 billion daily rations and distributed a total of 2.5 million metric tons of food.

The WFP received USD 9.8 billion in funding, the second-highest level on record, yet it covered only 54 percent of the organisation's total needs. With operational costs in 2024 amounting to USD 18.2 billion, the WFP was forced to make critical and difficult cost-cutting decisions. These included “severe trade-offs” such as ration reductions and programme scaling back in key operational areas.

Executive Director for WFP, Cindy McCain, said:

“Like every other humanitarian organization, WFP is facing deep budget shortfalls which have forced drastic cuts to our food assistance programmes. Millions of hungry people have lost, or will soon lose, the critical lifeline we provide. We have tried and tested solutions to hunger and food insecurity. But we need the support of our donors and partners to implement them.”

Aligned with UNICEF’s plan for the acceleration of nutrition action, the WFP maintained a “laser focus” on young children and pregnant and breastfeeding mothers, groups with the highest nutritional needs. In 2024, it provided malnutrition treatment and prevention to 21.4 million women and children in twenty crisis-affected countries.

To reach and distribute aid to these populations, the WFP heavily relied on school meals and social protection programmes to reach its most vulnerable targets. In these efforts, the WFP provided 20 million children with school meals, take-home rations, and cash-based transfers across 61 countries.

In addition, through its partnership with the School Meals Coalition, with the WFP as secretariat, they mobilised domestic investments from governments, unlocked partnerships, and amplified global advocacy for school meals.

During the 2024 G20 Summit in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, 14 governments and 11 partners vowed to double the number of children reached in low to lower-middle-income countries, aiming to support 150 million more children by 2030.

As a result of these campaigns, the WFP indirectly reached 119 million children—a 12 million increase from 2023—by supporting governments in establishing national school meal programmes.

Innovation was paramount between 2022 and 2024, with more than 4.8 million families registered on WFP’s Building Blocks (BB)—the world’s largest humanitarian blockchain technology. BB connects various humanitarian organisations providing assistance, allowing a family access to cash, food, education, and health from one account, simplifying the way they receive aid.

BB supports 4 million people each month and has processed USD 555 million in cash-based transfers, saving USD 3.5 million in bank fees.

Thirty organisations are now using BB in Ukraine, which can flag potential unintended assistance overlaps—saving USD 337 million. Another tool, SCOUT, uses artificial intelligence (AI) for global food sourcing and delivery planning, saving an additional USD 3 million, with estimates to generate over USD 50 million in future savings.

Despite “diminishing resources,” the WFP achieved major logistical milestones. Through its strategy, it managed on-demand supply chain services to 145 clients, handling 456,583 metric tons of cargo, and supporting governments and humanitarian organisations. To improve efficiency, the WFP switched from air to land delivery in locations such as Chad and Gaza, increasing access and coverage while cutting costs to deliver more aid.

Strengthening its grassroots network, the WFP partnered with 927 NGOs—85 percent of which were national organisations—allocating USD 707 million to them. In total, 62 percent of WFP aid was delivered via these partners. An additional USD 947 million came through agreements with international financial institutions and country agreements.

The outlook for 2025 remains challenging, with supply chains under strain and target areas facing worsening conditions. Seventy percent of people classified as “acutely food insecure” live in fragile or conflict-affected situations, placing both recipients and aid workers at significant risk.

Conflict has displaced over 123 million people, with 43 million fleeing in search of necessities like shelter and food. To continue meeting urgent needs and deliver the most aid possible, the WFP requires an additional USD 5.7 billion to reach “the most vulnerable people with emergency food, nutrition, and resilience support.” With current funding estimates, the WFP plans to reach 98 million people in 2025—leaving millions still in dire need of humanitarian aid.

Rania Dagash-Kamara, WFP Assistant Executive Director for Partnerships and Innovation, warns:

“WFP is prioritising the worst-affected regions and stretching food rations to maximise impact. But make no mistake, we are approaching a funding cliff with life-threatening consequences.”