The World Food Programme (WFP), the United Nation’s food assistance branch, is the world’s largest humanitarian organization with a focus on combatting hunger and promoting food security. Established in 1961, it provides food assistance to an average of 80 million people in 75 countries annually. With its headquarters in Rome and more than 80 offices around the world, the organization employs some 11,300 people, most of them working in remote areas to alleviate hunger and help those unable to produce or obtain enough food for themselves and their families.

Ralf Südhoff is the head of the UN World Food Programme in Germany, Austria, Liechtenstein and German-speaking Switzerland. We spoke to Mr. Südhoff about the organization’s victories and challenges, the countries most affected by hunger, the causes and consequences of global food inequality and what each of us can do to end starvation.

I.L.: What inspired you to work in the humanitarian field?

R.S.: I’ve always wanted to work in international affairs, but I didn’t know this would lead me anywhere near the humanitarian field. In my student days I took a strong interest in global affairs, including the debate around globalization. I was very interested in addressing important questions on a global scale, trying to find out if and how they could be resolved, rather than wasting my time on somewhat petty national disputes within Germany. That’s why I took up a job with the World Health Organization (WHO) in 2006, and soon after – with the FWP.

I.L.: When disaster strikes, WFP helps those affected to rebuild their lives and become self-sufficient. It also aims to fight the root causes of hunger through development programs. Can you give us some examples of how this works in practice? 

R.S.: Last year, WFP had opened an emergency center in Nepal three weeks prior to the devastating earthquake. This is how we were able to offer emergency assistance to two million people within hours of the quake. Even today, we still provide many victims with food because their homes and fields were destroyed. Our focus, however, has shifted to rebuilding crucial infrastructure such as bridges, roads and houses.

On the global scale, our efforts to end hunger through long-term development programs mainly focus on small farmers, women and children. Three out of four people suffering from hunger are small farmers, livestock breeders or laborers in rural areas. Most of these farmers are women; they depend on what their fields yield to provide for themselves and their families. We help them to prepare for the effects of climate change, work with them to build irrigation channels and dams, improve local infrastructure in order to open up new markets and offer their children healthy school meals so that they can attend classes and find a way out of poverty.

I.L.: Can you give some specific examples of WFP’s successes? 

R.S.: In many South American countries the situation has improved considerably in the last 20 years, and WFP school meal programs have substantially contributed to this improvement. Meanwhile, more than 40 national governments worldwide have taken over programs that WFP introduced, continuing them on their own. Brazil is one of our model countries. Together with the federal government we opened the WFP competence center that supports knowledge exchange by implementing south/south and triangular cooperation projects. It also helps other national governments to launch their own school meal programs.

We have also been very successful with resiliency programs meant to help states to better cope with natural disasters. One very good example of how well these measures work is Ethiopia, which has been suffering from its worst drought in 50 years due to the climatic phenomenon known as El Niño. The country is much better prepared to handle this crisis, and the consequences of the drought are far less disastrous than they were in the 1980s.

I.L.: What difficulties do WFP staff members encounter in the course of their work? 

R.S.: WFP often has to provide relief to people living in regions that are not easily accessed by land or sea. That means flexible logistics are essential, especially in cases of emergency. After the earthquake in Nepal, for example, we used donkeys to reach villages high up in the Himalayas. After the floods in Bangladesh, we had to rent small boats.

We also work in countries such as Syria, South Sudan or Yemen, where violence and conflict have disrupted food supplies and left people short of essentials. This is an extremely challenging and often dangerous situation for our staff: they have to get through checkpoints and negotiate with warring factions in order to bring emergency rations to starving people. Delivering relief supplies calls for meticulous advance planning. While on a mission, our staff are in constant contact with the headquarters. They all receive special training in handling critical situations. However, when the risks are too great, the safety of our employees always comes first. At the moment, there are some besieged cities in Syria where we are forced to drop emergency rations from aircraft, because there is no other way we can reach people in need.

I.L.: How many people are suffering from hunger today? Is that number decreasing or growing? What are your predictions for the future?

R.S.: Today about 795 million people are enduring hunger, which means that one person in nine doesn’t have enough food to live a healthy and active life. A further two billion are malnourished because their diet contains insufficient minerals and vitamins. Both hunger and malnutrition have a severe effect on our physical and mental well-being and development. Although we have seen a drop of 200 million in the number of those suffering from hunger since 1990, that trend has slowed in recent years. Progress stalled because due to crises in Syria, South Sudan, Yemen and other places. Climate change, which destroys regional crops by leading to droughts or floods, further aggravates the situation. It is thus impossible to predict the future. But there is one thing we know for sure: we already have ways and means to end hunger today. Most serious food crises are caused by men.

I.L.: Which countries are most affected by famine today?

R.S.: The term “famine” is usually applied to certain emergency situations that are rarely officially recognized. The last one occurred in Somalia in 2011. While no country in the world is currently affected by “famine,” some are certainly on the brink, for example South Sudan or Yemen. There could be an acute crisis brewing in Iraq and other countries close to Syria as they take in millions of refugees from the war-torn country. And we cannot forget the besieged towns and cities in Syria itself, where the ongoing conflict has hampered relief efforts for months and even years.

I.L.: WFP is also active in Syria and across the Middle East. How does WFP help people there? What are the challenges your relief organization faces today?  

R.S.: WFP provides the Syrian people with emergency rations containing basic food like bulgur, rice, flour, pulses and oils. In neighboring countries such as Iraq, Lebanon and Jordan, and also in Egypt, WFP mostly provides refugees with electronic food stamps, so-called “e-cards.” They have proven to work: although there is plenty of food available in these countries, the refugees simply couldn’t afford to buy it.

Our biggest obstacle in the last few years has been a chronic lack of funds. WFP is entirely dependent on donations and we’ve run out of money several times, which made it impossible to maintain constant food support to four million Syrians who stayed in their country and another 1.4 million who fled. Thanks to the generous support of the German government, we are fortunately in a much better situation this year.

Financial obstacles are not our only problems: very often, we are denied access to areas where a humanitarian crisis is unfolding. We have to negotiate again and again for every single convoy to be allowed to pass 10 or more checkpoints to reach areas under siege.

I.L.: What causes worldwide hunger, besides natural disasters and wars? In Western countries, tons of food is thrown away every year. Why is there such a disparity in the worldwide distribution of food? Shouldn’t the food industry be one the most active contributors to fighting hunger?

R.S.: The amount of food currently produced in the world is fully sufficient to feed the entire global population – if it wasn’t for a number of problems. First of all, 30 percent of everything we produce goes bad or is thrown away. Secondly, a lack of roads and storage capacity often prevents food from being transported to wherever it is needed the most. Last but not least, some absurd standards and regulations in the food industry lead to food being thrown away. In the future, in addition to problems with distribution we’ll have those of production, caused by ever-growing demand. Rising living standards in emerging economies, biofuel, bioenergy and heavy consumption of meat are just some of the issues to be factored in.

I.L.: Apart from donating money, how can individuals make a contribution to fighting hunger in the world?

R.S.: We, as consumers (basically anyone who throws away food), are responsible for a large part of the food that gets wasted. I think consumer awareness and lifestyle choices aimed at conserving resources would have an immediate impact. It’s highly unproductive that a great deal of the global harvest is no longer used to feed people directly, but goes to all the animals we breed and eat. In order to produce a kilogram of beef, seven kilograms of corn or wheat are needed. When it comes to eating meat, moderate consumption would suffice and benefit everybody – there’s no need to go completely vegetarian, just include two meatless days a week in your diet.

I.L.: Would you like to share a vision with our readers?

R.S.: We at WFP have one goal: a world with zero hunger, where everybody has access to the food they need to live an active and healthy life. We’ve been working toward this goal for 50 years and are working even harder to ensure that it will not take another 50 years to get there. Everyone, you and I, can all make a contribution, however small it may seem at first.

Header image: Ralf Südhoff. Photo: WFP