The Principality actively participated in the annual session of the Board of Directors of the World Food Program (WFP). This session coincided with the celebration of the International Day of Women in Diplomacy.
In her address, WFP Executive Director HE Ms. Cindy McCain highlighted the numerous ongoing crises in Gaza, Sudan, the Sahel, Haiti, Yemen, Myanmar, and Ukraine. She discussed measures taken to support and protect affected populations and the WFP teams working on the front lines to assist vulnerable communities facing severe food shortages.
Ms. McCain emphasised the critical need for emergency food aid delivery in these regions. She urged members to leverage their political and diplomatic influence to “ease access constraints, ensure the safety and security of humanitarian workers, and, above all, help negotiate political solutions to end the conflicts that fuel so much hunger and suffering worldwide.”
During the session, the WFP Executive Board approved several key documents, including the Annual Report on Results for 2023, the Management Plan for 2024-2026, and three country strategic plans, one of which covers the Kingdom of Lesotho from 2024-2029. On the sidelines of the session, HE Ms. Anne Eastwood met with the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Lesotho.
The Minister appreciated Monaco’s first partnership with the WFP, signed at the end of last year, which supports school feeding and small producers in two southern districts of Lesotho severely affected by poverty, malnutrition, and climate change. Monaco remains committed to Sustainable Development Goal 2 (Zero Hunger) and has made food security a primary focus of its interventions.
The WFP is Monaco’s largest multilateral cooperation partner, with nine ongoing development aid projects, more than half of which are related to school canteens. This initiative aligns with the WFP School Feeding Strategy 2020-2030 and the World Food Coalition’s school feeding program launched in 2021.
