The Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) and the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) established the World Food Programme (WFP) in 1961, with headquarters in Rome, Italy.
It is also a member of the UN Sustainable Development Group (UNSDG), a group of UN organisations and agencies dedicated to achieving the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). The World Food Programme (WFP) is a non-governmental organisation that strives to alleviate hunger and ensure food security around the world.
International organisations and activities like these are crucial for the UPSC exam’s international relations section. You may learn everything there is to know about the World Food Programme and its efforts, particularly about India, in this article.
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World Food Programme UPSC
In a recent development, the World Food Programme (WFP) was awarded the Nobel Prize for Peace in 2020 for its work in the field of hunger relief and “efforts to prevent hunger from being used as a weapon of conflict and war.”
The World Food Programme (WFP) is a United Nations agency that fights hunger and promotes global food security. It focuses in particular on places where hunger is a problem.
#WFP, which operates in more than 80 countries, offers emergency food aid and works with communities to build resilience and improve nutrition.
#Its primary goal is to eliminate hunger, provide food security, and improve nutrition by 2030.
#It is primarily concerned with relief and rehabilitation, disaster relief, development assistance, and special operations.
#The majority of their work is done in nations where there is a war.
#The Sustainable Development Goals guide its efforts (SDGs).
#Its headquarters are in Rome, Italy, where it was founded in 1961.
UPSC Exam Notes: WFP Functioning
The WPF is entirely funded by voluntary contributions.
#The Executive Board, which is made up of 36 member nations, is in charge of the organisation.
#It collaborates closely with the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) and the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD) (IFAD).
#WFP also collaborates with several national and international non-governmental organisations (NGOs).
It is a UNDP or United Nations Development Programme member and is led by an Executive Director, who is jointly appointed by the FAO Director-General and the United Nations Secretary-General.
WFP Focus Areas
Climate action
Disaster risk reduction
Gender equality
Nutrition
Smallholder market support
Social protection and safety nets
Sustainable livelihoods and ecosystems
UPSC Preparation Notes: WFP’s Strategic Plan for 2017-2021
Just over a year after the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, it was accepted. It links the organization’s activities with the global call to action of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, which prioritises efforts to reduce poverty, hunger, and inequality, including humanitarian and development efforts.
The SDGs outlined in the 2030 Agenda guide the Strategic Plan, particularly SDG 2 on ending hunger and SDG 17 on renewing global partnerships for SDG implementation.
It introduces a new planning and operational framework, as well as the implementation of results-based national portfolios, which will optimise WFP’s support to governments’ efforts to achieve the SDGs.
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Some More Points
WFP’s operations remain focused on responding to catastrophes and saving lives and livelihoods, whether via direct aid or by boosting country capacity, especially as humanitarian needs become more complicated and protracted.
By continuing to develop resilience for nutrition and security, as well as addressing the enormous challenges posed by climate change and rising inequality, the WFP will assist governments in ensuring that no one is left behind.
WPF and India
Since 1963, the WPF has operated in India. It backs the Indian government’s various nutrition safety efforts. Previously, the organization’s concentration in India was on basic needs distribution. However, as India’s cereal output has improved, the organization’s focus has shifted to providing technical help to the government in its related programmes.
WFP is working to strengthen the country’s own subsidised nutrition distribution system, which provides sugar, rice, wheat, and kerosene oil to around 800 million impoverished people across the country.
Some More Points
Despite tremendous progress in poverty alleviation and per capita income, the country’s malnutrition levels remain unacceptable. In the 2019 Global Hunger Index, India is ranked 102nd out of 117 countries.
WFP collaborates with many NGOs in India in addition to partnering with Indian governments. WFP’s country strategy plan for India (2019-2023) includes the following goals:
Allow India’s most vulnerable citizens to meet their basic food and nutrition needs throughout the year. Improve the nutrition of those at risk of malnutrition, particularly children, women, and teenage girls, by 2025.
Report Released by WFP
Global Report on Food Crises – The Global Report on Food Crises explains the global scope of severe hunger. It examines the factors that contribute to food crises around the world. The Global Network against Food Crises, a worldwide coalition striving to address the core causes of extreme hunger, released the report.
Conclusion
Hopefully, this material has been really helpful in your UPSC preparation. You must do your best to keep up with current events and facts to answer questions correctly in the examination.
The UPSC preparation is the time for you to seek out the most reliable sources of information so that you can learn and remember everything. To serve your homeland properly, you must make the most of your UPSC preparation phase and learn about all of the programmes and activities.
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