WFP’s work to prevent and address wasting in food insecure contexts in 2024

Tackling child wasting globally amid unprecedented challenges requires renewed, and joint effort and is a key focus for WFP. In a world where humanitarian needs are outpacing resources, prevention programmes are the foundation to effectively address malnutrition and build resilience and develop human capital development.

In 2024, WFP will scale up its work on prevention and supplementation of moderate acute malnutrition in the 15 prone-to-crisis and food insecure countries to address wasting in children and women to reduce the immediate needs for humanitarian response in collaboration with UNICEF.  

Starting from the premise that a child’s nutritional needs can only be met within the setting of a food secure household, WFP will provide nutritionally adequate household assistance to food insecure households and nutritional targeted support to the individual nutritionally at risk (e.g., PBWG and Children). Depending on the severity of the situation and if markets are functional, the individual support can be a SNF, a cash transfer, and/or a local food solution combined with Social Behaviour Change activities and malnutrition detection. WFP will provide supplementation to children that have fallen into moderate wasting and we will elevate the focus on maternal nutrition through programming that tackle the needs of mother and child as a pair to ensure continuum of care from pregnancy until child is 2.

WFP is committed to address the root causes of malnutrition related to poor diet and ensure that the most vulnerable and the most marginalised are better equipped to mitigate and cope with future shocks. This means increasing our efforts in emergency preparedness, anticipatory actions and shock-responsive social protection while making intentional connections with longer term resilience, food system strengthening and social protection programming.  

In 2024, the World Food Programme (WFP) aims to reach 36 million children and women with programmes to prevent and address malnutrition. In all aspects of our work, WFP remains committed to working closely with, and ensuring better coordination between, national governments, development and humanitarian partners and UN agencies to ensure we meet these ambitious goals.