The United Nations Office at Geneva
Multimedia Newsroom
World Food Programme reaches deal to supply food to 185,000 children in Venezuela
The United Nations' World Food Programme (WFP) has signed an agreement with the Government of Venezuela to begin operations to provide the most vulnerable children in the South American country with nutritious school meals, it announced on Tuesday.
The agency’s goal is to reach 185,000 students by year’s end and 1.5 million by the end of the 2022-2023 school year. It estimated the food assistance programme’s annual budget at $190 million.
Humanitarian aid groups have long pushed for the Government of Venezuela's President Nicolas Maduro to allow WFP to distribute food aid in Venezuela.
The agency has previously worked in the country on a development project in the early 70s and has responded to flooding emergencies in later years.
The development follows Monday’s meeting between WFP Executive Director David Beasley and President Maduro and Venezuelan opposition leader Juan Guaido.
“Our school meals programmes are independent, they’ve always been and separate from any other interference. Not only in Venezuela, but elsewhere that we have worked,” WFP spokesperson Tomson Phiri told journalists in Geneva.
Mr Phiri explained that the operation will focus on pre-primary and special education schools, as well as “investing in the rehabilitation of school canteens and training school staff on food safety practices as a means of reaching the wider community”.
In total, there are around eight million children under 14 in Venezuela,” according to WFP, its project coming amid a rise in child malnutrition linked to the spiralling economic crisis in the oil-rich country, soaring food prices and hyperinflation.
“One out of three Venezuelans - which is about 32.3 per cent is food insecure today - and they are in need of assistance” said Mr. Phiri. This includes 2.3 million people who are severely food insecure.
A joint analysis by WFP and the UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) in October included Venezuela among 20 countries that were “likely to face potential spikes in high acute food insecurity” over the following three to six months requiring “urgent attention.”
ENDS
STORY: Venezuela School Meals - WFP
TRT: 02 min 18s
SOURCE: UNTV CH
RESTRICTIONS: NONE
LANGUAGE: ENGLISH / NATS
ASPECT RATIO: 16:9
DATELINE: 20 APRIL 2021 GENEVA, SWITZERLAND
SHOTLIST
- Exterior wide shot, Palais des Nations flag alley, nations’ flags flying, a sunny day.
- Wide shot, podium with speakers in a near-empty Room XIV in line with COVID-19 distancing measures, Palais des Nations.
- SOUNDBITE (English) — Tomson Phiri, spokesperson for WFP (UN World Food Programme): “After reaching an agreement with the government, WFP will start a humanitarian operation in Venezuela that will forecast on a school meals programme in areas that are most food insecure. Through a phased approach, WFP will aim to provide daily meals to 1.5 million students by the end of the 2022/2023 school year.”
- Medium shot, participant typing on phone, Room XIV, Palais des Nations.
- SOUNDBITE (English) — Tomson Phiri, spokesperson for WFP (UN World Food Programme): “By the end of 2021, the World Food Programme operation will reach up to 185,000 children. WFP will also invest in the rehabilitation of school canteens and training of school staff on food safety practices as a means of reaching the wider community.”
- Medium wide shot, participants sitting in Room XIV, Palais des Nations.
- SOUNDBITE (English) — Tomson Phiri, spokesperson for WFP (UN World Food Programme): “One out of three Venezuelans, which is about 32.3 per cent is food insecure today and they are in need of assistance. The signing allows the World Food Programme to set up a presence in Venezuela and to start our operation which is focusing on children and schools.”
- Medium wide shot, podium with speakers to rear, Room XIV, Palais des Nations.
- SOUNDBITE (English) — Tomson Phiri, spokesperson for WFP (UN World Food Programme): “There are some eight million children under the age of 14 in Venezuela. Our plan through a phased approach is to reach 1.5 million children by the end of the 2022/2023 academic year. This will cost us, it will cost WFP approximately 190 million to effectively start and mount an effective response.”
- Medium shot, journalist taking notes, Room XIV, Palais des Nations
- SOUNDBITE (English) — Tomson Phiri, spokesperson for WFP (UN World Food Programme): “Our school meals programme are independent, they’ve always been and separate from any other interference. Not only in Venezuela, but elsewhere that we have worked.”
- Medium shot, spokesperson speaking on the podium, Room XIV, Palais des Nations.
- Medium shot, journalist sitting in front of laptop, Room XIV, Palais des Nations.
- Wide medium shot, podium with speakers, side shot, Room XIV, Palais des Nations.
Similar Stories
1
1
1
Edited News | UNIFIL
UN peacekeepers are supporting civilians who’ve chosen to stay in the south amid deadly dangers from Israel-Hezbollah clashes, UNIFIL spokesperson Kandace Ardiel tells us.
1
1
1
Edited News | UNHCR , WFP
Middle East war fallout: Hundreds of thousands flee Lebanon to Syria; vital food aid blocked – UN agencies
The trauma of mass displacement and humanitarian supply chain disruptions throughout the world are among the devastating impacts of the war raging in the Middle East, UN humanitarians warned on Tuesday.
1
1
1
Edited News | UNRWA
Bitterness, sadness and pride for UNRWA staff, says departing chief
Asking the softly spoken, veteran humanitarian worker Philippe Lazzarini how he feels as he comes to the end of his second term as the head of the UN agency for Palestinians, UNRWA, is perhaps an unfair question.
1
1
1
Edited News | IFRC , UN WOMEN , UNHCR , UNICEF , WHO
Middle East war causes civilian terror and disrupts aid, but some relief efforts resume.
1
1
1
Edited News | OHCHR
UN Human Rights Chief Volker Türk addressed the Human Rights Council, delivering a video statement on the strike that hit a girls school in Minab, Iran recently, calling for accountability and protection of children.
1
1
1
Edited News | OHCHR , UNOG
A new UN Human Rights report published on Tuesday details the human rights impacts of the expanding reach of gangs in Haiti. According to data verified by the Office, at least 5,519 people were killed in Haiti, and 2,608 were injured between 1 March 2025 and 15 January 2026.
1
1
1
Edited News | OHCHR , UNOG
UN Human Rights spokesperson Marta Hurtado on Tuesday described the deadly impact of drone strikes in Sudan.
1
1
1
Edited News | WHO , OHCHR
Sudan: Hospital strike highlights surge in drone attacks on civilians
The death toll from a horrific attack on a hospital in Sudan’s Darfur has risen further, amid a “sharp increase” in drone attacks against civilians this year, UN agencies said on Tuesday.
1
1
1
Edited News | UNCTAD
Middle East conflict impacts global trade, raising oil and commodity prices due to disruptions.
3
1
3
Press Conferences , Edited News | WMO
WMO State of the Global Climate 2025 report - UNDER EMBARGO 0400 GMT (0500 CET) Monday, 23 March 2026
UN weather agency warns of record ‘climate imbalance’ as planetary warming accelerates
All-time high greenhouse gas concentrations in our planet’s atmosphere continue to drive heat records on land and sea, with long-lasting consequences for humanity, the World Meteorological Organization (WMO) has warned.
1
1
1
Edited News | OHCHR , UNOG
A UN Human Rights Office report released today on Israel’s settlement expansion in the occupied West Bank.
1
1
1
Edited News | OHCHR , UNOG
UN Human Rights Spokesperson Thameen Al-Kheetan made the following remarks on Tuesday concerning the deadly blast at a drug rehabilitation centre in Kabul: