WFP Executive Director Luke Lindberg made the call during the first press conference since taking office earlier this week. “Conflict is a man-made situation. It is something that we can solve,” Lindberg said.
“The number one thing we can do to reduce hunger in the world is to reduce the amount of conflict that is happening all around the world.”
An intensifying El Niño weather pattern is expected to push another 49 million people into acute food insecurity. Disruption at global maritime and supply-chain chokepoints is placing additional pressure on food distribution.
Lindberg said the WFP would focus on protecting employees, strengthening partnerships with donors and improving operations.
More than 700 humanitarian workers have been killed in recent years while delivering lifesaving assistance. “Nobody should lose their life trying to save somebody else’s,” Lindberg said.
WFP will continue investing in disaster preparedness, including the use of artificial intelligence, while expanding school meal programmes.
Lindberg’s first official visit as Executive Director will be to Sudan, where WFP employees are working under severe conditions.
Sudan, South Sudan and Somalia are among the organisation’s current priorities. “In the short run, it’s no more famines,” Lindberg said.
Lindberg also described the number of people experiencing hunger in Gaza as unacceptable. WFP has access to deliver food but is reducing operations because of funding shortages. “If anywhere in the world there are people attacking humanitarians, I will absolutely do what I can to protect them,” Lindberg said.
The United States remains WFP’s largest financial contributor, while the private sector is the fifth-largest donor. “There is no one nation, no one entity that can do this alone,” Lindberg said.
Lindberg rejected suggestions that the appointment made the WFP chief Washington’s representative at the United Nations (UN), saying the mandate from the UN Secretary-General was to end hunger.
Lindberg succeeded Cindy McCain, who led WFP from April 2023 to May 2026, and Carl Skau, who served as Acting Executive Director from June.
–UN/ChannelAfrica–
