WFP therefore run constantly after donors

In Africa, in Asia, as in Latin America, WFP are three magical initials for those who are hungry. There is even a story that, during the war in Angola, "pam" became a common name: picking up the logo printed on the bags of food aid, children were thus the corn they had never eaten before...

Unknown in developed countries, the World Food Programme is yet on most of the theatres of wars and natural disasters: Darfur, Ethiopia, Afghanistan, Pakistan, tsunami, Haiti, Colombia are a few examples of areas of intervention of this United Nations body dealing urgently 30 attacks per year on average. About 25,000 people die of hunger every day in the world.

Created in 1963 on the initiative of the democratic United States Senator George McGovern, "the more operational institutions of the United Nations", according to doctors without borders, is today the first logistics organization in the world. Everything is good for transport each year about 6 million tonnes of food to more than 100 million people in about 80 countries, for a bill of about $ 3 billion: aircraft, camels, boats, trucks, bicycles, horses, helicopters, canoes or elephants. WFP rents permanently about 50 vessels, 20 aircraft and thousands of trucks. Not counting 12,000 agents around the world, "local" 10,000, and the multiplier effect more of 2,000 NGOs, technical relay at the local level. WFP is even known to diplomats, experts or journalists to crisis areas where no traditional way is able to do so. "Currently, only WFP can travel to the Sudan", said Jean-Jacques grease, his Chief Deputy. And, when needed, he built even airport runways.

During the summer 2005, in the full season of rains in Niger, he was able to distribute in record time 53,000 tons of food to 2.4 million people: "of 80 to 100 trucks leaving every day up to 2,000 tons of stores", remembers Giancarlo Cirri, WFP Niger responsible. "Without the map, how to find suppliers, how to deal with international operators of grain, procedures, clear, tranship" All that, it is their job! ", recognizes on action against hunger.

Managed as a business

Among the three institutions of the United Nations based in Rome and with the objective the eradication of hunger in the world (with the food and agriculture organization FAO and IFAD international fund for agricultural development), WFP is atypical. Anglo-Saxon tradition, often led by a US Executive Director, "it is managed as a business", note Charles Millon, Ambassador to FAO. The image of its premises, which could be similar to those of IBM or Total, near the airport and not to the centre of the Italian capital. It is mostly completely dependent on the goodwill of the 40 countries that fund its piecemeal projects: "WFP is the only body of the United Nations to not be powered by a mandatory, no jackpot contribution," explains Cécile Sportis, Director of the new liaison office of the WFP in Paris. Which is not without problems: "It launches plans at the risk of not being funded." 2005 Emergency program was covered 66! ", regrets and Giancarlo Cirri. The principle of a reserve of cash of $ 500 million was accepted by the General Assembly of the United Nations. Still left to him playing. WFP therefore run constantly after donors.

Another debate: where to get food distributed Oppose on this topic the United States, donations in-kind... dissolving their agricultural surplus, and other countries, generally European, supporters of a supply by purchasing on-site.

Finally, the donors questioned today the vocation of WFP: emergency or development If it has been designed as a "Developer", the multiplication of crises explains that, last year, 92 of its expenditures went to the emergency. Sometimes to the chagrin of Governments awestruck with the landing of an also omnipotent organization. And while local people appreciate at their highest point the security provided by operations in the medium term, as the "Food for Work", this work of agricultural environmental management paid in food.