UN World Food Programme (WFP)

History. UN World Food Programme (WFP) was established pursuant to resolution 1714 (XVI) of the General Assembly on December 19, 1961 and Resolution 1/61 of the FAO Conference on November 24, 1961 - initially as a three-year joint pilot program and the UN Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) in the fight against hunger and malnutrition in the world.
Originally, the English name - World Food Programme
(WFP ) - translated into Russian as the World Food Programme (WFP), but in recent years, is now used name stuck - World Food Programme.
Its operational runway began in 1963, having been engaged in the liquidation of the aftermath of the second half of 1962 the humanitarian crisis caused by the earthquake in Iran (September), the hurricane in Thailand (October) and the presence of 5 million refugees have just received my independence Algeria .
Already the first results of its work has shown that the program successfully and, most importantly, to effectively cope with the tasks assigned to it, and in view of this state-founders WFP reached a consensus on whether to continue its activities as a permanent intergovernmental organization, which was reflected in resolution 2095 (XX) of the UN General Assembly
December 20, 1965 and Resolution 4/65 of the FAO Conference on 6 December 1965. In accordance with program provides food assistance to support development projects, and to meet emergency needs.
Organizational structure. Governing Body is the WFP Executive Board (EB), which consists of 36 members, half of whom are elected by the FAO Council and the other half - the Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC). Usually annually three regular and one annual session of EC.
Elections to the Board are held on the vacant seats, designed to a particular region. In WFP, there are five regional groups (the so-called "List A" - A group of African,
"Wish List" - Group of Asian and Pacific Rim
"List C" - Group of Latin America and the Caribbean, "List D " - Group of Western European and other States and
"The list of E" - A group of Central and Eastern Europe).
The Council shall review the general trends of food aid needs, formulate proposals for improving coordination of food assistance programs, review and approve the proposal of the Secretariat runway project and program of emergency food aid, and technical assistance programs for the rehabilitation and development of the agricultural sector.
The Council shall determine and approve the budget of the runway, which is formed from the contributions of the Member States of the Organization. All operations WFP's food assistance and maintenance costs of the Secretariat are funded by voluntary contributions provided by governments in the form of cash , goods (food grains) and / or services (transport, etc.).
In between sessions of the auxiliary body of the Executive Council - the Bureau, which considers and makes its recommendations to the Executive Board on the activities of WFP.
WFP is the executive body of the Secretariat, which is headed by the current work of the Executive Director, who is elected on the recommendation of the UN Secretary General and the Director General of FAO.
February 13, 2002 the Executive Director of WFP elected
James T. Morris (USA), which in July 2002, UN Secretary-General has appointed as his Special Representative for Humanitarian Needs in Southern Africa.
WFP headquarters is in Rome (Italy).
Operational activities. Currently, WFP is the world's largest international humanitarian organizations to provide urgent food aid to victims of natural disasters or armed conflicts (this is more than 80% of WFP resources), and to support development projects, primarily in countries with low income countries facing chronic food shortages.
In the 1962-2001 years. WFP has provided assistance for the reconstruction and development to the tune of more than $ 30 billion, or an average
U.S. $ 750 million a year. During this period, companies purchased, delivered and distributed more than 60 million tons of food in 100 countries. Beginning in the late 1980s, the share of WFP had one-quarter to one-third of the world provided by food aid.
In recent years, the amount provided through WFP food aid has increased to 40-50% at first, but now it is over 95% of all targeted food aid in the world, carried out through international humanitarian organizations.
For 40 years the runway changed parameters of the Organization. If earlier, in 1975, 88% of the runway has been focused on the implementation of the program "Food for Work" programs and support school feeding, pregnant and lactating women, it is now time for this activity have runways
only 14% of its resources.
Such a radical change in the parameters of the activity was mainly due to the significant growth in the world the number of people affected by natural disasters, such as extreme weather conditions in the various regions of the world, which in the 1990s, the frequency of three times the level of 1960.
The late 1980s and 1990s were marked by a significant increase in the number of refugees and other displaced persons due to armed conflict or political instability. Sharp peaks need of emergency food aid comes
by 1986 - the war in Ethiopia and Eritrea; B for 1997 - in connection with the conflict in the Balkans and complex food situation in North Korea and Sudan. In this regard, in the last decade WFP was forced to reorient almost U.S. $ 12 billion to implement programs designed to provide routine care and assistance for the development of individual countries for emergency food assistance to people affected in the last decade by natural disasters and armed conflicts.
In the hope that in the coming years, the number of such humanitarian crises will be reduced while increasing investments in early warning and preventive diplomacy through, WFP, for its part, continued to maintain the required level vital to the fight against hunger investment for development, the share of which in 1990 has dropped substantially.
In 1960's - early 1970's the majority of WFP provided food aid accounted for the countries of Asia and the Pacific, in the mid-1970s there was a transfer of the bulk of the assistance provided by WFP in Africa.
WFP and the Russian Federation. Russian Federation was first elected to the WFP Executive Board on quota ECOSOC
in 1997 and subsequently re-elected in 2000 and 2003. Another three years it expires December 31, 2006
In February 2005, the first regular session of the Executive Board of WFP Representative of Russia to the runway A.A.Titarenko was elected to the Office of the WFP Executive Board of the Group "E", which includes
27 Member States and observers of the runway.
Russian contributions to the fund runway. August 30, 2002 in connection with the appeal of the UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan to Russia in 2003 was made a voluntary contribution to the fund of the runway at 11 million.
Of these, 1 million - Angola (they were used for the purchase of corn runway in place and its distribution among the needy population of the country) and U.S. $ 10 million - North Korea (they were used by WFP to purchase wheat from Russian suppliers and payment of delivery and distribution of the population in need DPRK).
WFP activities in the North Caucasus.
As of May 1, 2005, WFP provided humanitarian food assistance to people in need TFR (internally displaced persons, refugees and other vulnerable groups), totaling about $ 120 million, including approximately $ 54 million
in 1994-1997. and about U.S. $ 66 million in 1999-2005. WFP provided humanitarian aid by volume is much higher than support from any other international organizations to the region of the Russian Federation.
Cooperation between the Russian Federation and the WFP in Afghanistan. The Russian Federation has taken an active part in humanitarian operations under the auspices of the UN in Afghanistan. As a contractor runway Agency "EMERCOM" ship to this country cargo of food aid by land , by air. Only in the winter of 2001-2002. Russian Emergencies Ministry forces in Afghanistan were brought in a total of 9 million tonnes of cargo.
April 17, 2003 between the runway and the Agency "EMERCOM" signed an agreement on the permanent reserve (so-called "stand-by agreement"), in which the parties agreed that the Agency shall establish and maintain a permanent reserve for emergency mobilization and provision of a staff on duty at the request of the runway to take part in emergency operations runway.