The United Nations Office at Geneva
Multimedia Newsroom
Edited News | UNITED NATIONS , WFP
UNOG Bi-weekly press briefing: First Food Supplies For Venezuela - WFP
First food supplies to school children arrived in Venezuela, the UN World Food Programme announced
The United Nations' World Food Programme (WFP) has moved its first food supplies to its logistics hub in Maracaibo, Venezuela, as it prepares to launch its school meals programs for Venezuelan school children in the South American country, which is suffering a humanitarian crisis spurred by an economic collapse.
Speaking today at a news briefing at the United Nations in Geneva, WFP’s spokesperson Tomson Phiri said that “following an agreement that was met earlier this year between the United Nations World Food Programme and the Bolivarian Government of Venezuela, the first of food supplies has now been delivered in Venezuela as WFP gears up to launch its school meals programmes for vulnerable school children and school employees in the country”.
WFP's work in the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela will focus on the provision of nutritious school meals, the rehabilitation of school canteens, and the training of school staff to observe and implement the highest food safety practices.
“WFP has moved the food supplies to its logistics hub in Maracaibo, Venezuela”, Tomson Phiri said. “As schools in Venezuela are currently closed, the World Food Programme will provide take-home rations that include rice, lentils, salt, and vegetable oil prioritizing school children under the age of 6 in areas most affected by food insecurity”.
The first 42,000 food packages which have arrived in Maracaibo, Venezuela's second-largest city, will be distributed in the first month of the operation. WFP will manage its own supply chain, from purchasing food to distributing in schools.
“WFP aims to progressively reach up to 185, 000 children and school personnel by the end of this year and 1,5 million people by the end of the 2022/2023 academic year”, stated Mr. Phiri. He added that “each food package that will be going to be provided to these children includes 6 kilos of rice, 4 kilograms of lentils and 454 grams of iodate salt as well as 1 liter of vegetable oil. Each food ration totals a little more than 11 kg, that’s what will be provided to each child”.
Humanitarian aid groups had pressed Maduro for years to allow the WFP to distribute food in Venezuela before he acceded in April. Child malnutrition is on the rise in the once-prosperous OPEC nation.
-ends-
- Exterior wide shot, Palais des Nations flag alley, nations’ flags flying, a sunny day.
- Wide shot, podium with spokesperson in a near-empty Room XIV in line with COVID-19 distancing measures, Palais des Nations.
- SOUNDBITE (English) — Tomson Phiri, Spokesperson for the World Food Programme (WFP): “Following an agreement that was met earlier this year between the United Nations World Food Programme and the Bolivarian Government of Venezuela, the first of food supplies has now been delivered in Venezuela as WFP gears up to launch its school meals programms for vulnerable school children and school employees in the country”.
- Medium shot, cameraman
- SOUNDBITE (English) — Tomson Phiri, Spokesperson for the World Food Programme (WFP): “WFP has moved the food supplies to its logistics hub in Maracaibo, Venezuela. As schools in Venezuela are currently closed, the World Food Programme will provide take-home rations that include rice, lentils, salt, and vegetable oil prioritizing school children under the age of 6 in areas most affected by food insecurity”.
- Medium shot, journalist in room looking at the cellphone
- SOUNDBITE (English) — Tomson Phiri, Spokesperson for the World Food Programme (WFP): “WFP aims to progressively reach up to 185, 000 children and school personnel by the end of this year and 1,5 million people by the end of the 2022/2023 academic year”.
- Medium shot, journalist listening in room
- SOUNDBITE (English) — Tomson Phiri, Spokesperson for the World Food Programme (WFP): “Each food package that will be going to be provided to these children includes 6 kilos of rice, 4 kilograms of lentils and 454 grams of iodate salt as well as 1 liter of vegetable oil. Each food ration totals a little more than 11 kg, that’s what will be provided to each child”.
- Wide shot, podium and screen
- Medium shot, journalist with laptop
- Medium shot, journalist listening
Similar Stories
1
1
1
Edited News | OHCHR , UNOG
UN Human Rights Spokesperson Ravina Shamdasani on Tuesday made the following remarks on the current situation in the Middle-East.
1
1
1
Edited News | OHCHR , UNHCR , WFP
Schoolgirls killed, thousands displaced, aid routes compromised: UN humanitarians deplore effects of new Middle East war
On the fourth day of Israeli and United States airstrikes against Iran and amid growing violence and instability in the Middle East, the UN urgently called for protection of civilians and warned of growing displacement and humanitarian needs.
1
1
1
Edited News | IOM
Well over 1.3 million people have fled Sudan’s ongoing war for South Sudan, the UN migration agency, IOM, reported on Friday, amid rising violence and a massive humanitarian emergency linked to the country’s political crisis.
2
1
2
Statements , Conferences , Edited News | HRC , OHCHR
UN Human Rights Chief Volker Türk on Friday presented to the 61st Human Rights Council his global update on the human rights situation.
2
1
2
Edited News | OHCHR
UN Human Rights Chief Volker Türk on Thursday presented to the UN Human Rights Council a new report on the human rights situation in occupied Palestinian territory.
2
1
2
Edited News | OHCHR
UN Human Rights Chief Volker Türk on Thursday briefed the Human Rights Council in Geneva on the human rights situation in Sudan: “Nearly three years of brutal conflict have almost turned Sudan into a land of despair. The report I am presenting today is yet another chapter in the chronicle of cruelty. It outlines clear, ongoing patterns of violence against civilians, including killings, rape, and torture. As the fighting has intensified, violations of international law by all parties to the conflict have surged, while accountability has remained practically absent,” he said.
1
1
1
Edited News | OHCHR
UN Human Rights Chief Volker Türk on Thursday told the Human Rights Council in Geneva today: “Afghanistan is a graveyard for human rights. The cascade of edicts and laws announced by the de facto authorities since coming to power in 2021 is having a crushing impact on the Afghan people, particularly women and girls.”
3
1
Edited News | UNITED NATIONS , OCHA , UNHCR
Ukraine enters fifth year of war: Attacks and displacement deepen human suffering amid mounting recovery challenges
On the fourth anniversary of Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine, UN officials took stock of the immense human and economic toll of the conflict while appealing to the world to “never get used to war.”
2
27
2
2
Edited News , Press Conferences , Images | General Assembly , UNITED NATIONS
The full-scale invasion of Ukraine by Russian troops on 24 February 2022 shattered the peaceful aspirations of an entire continent, but war must never be the new normal, UN General Assembly President Annalena Baerbock said on Tuesday.
1
48
1
1
Edited News | UNOG
A ceremony marking the completion of the construction of the Portail des Nations, a soon-to-open visitors centre for the UN in Geneva, was held today for diplomats from around the world who have gathered in the Swiss city for the opening session of the Human Rights Council.
1
1
1
Edited News | OHCHR , UNOG
UN Human Rights Chief Volker Türk on Monday delivered his opening remarks to the 61str session of the Human Rights Council in Geneva.
1
10
1
1
Edited News | HRC , SG
In Geneva, delegates from more than 120 countries gathered on Monday to mark 20 years of the UN Human Rights Council and a shared commitment to international law, amid runaway global instability and conflict, amid runaway global instability and conflict.