Contributions to WFP protracted crises Country Strategic Plans in 2024

Early 2024, up to 309 million people are acutely food insecure or at high risk, against 149 million people in 2019; famine-like conditions is a real threat today for 42.3 million people in 45 countries facing emergency levels of acute food insecurity.

Founded in 1961, the UN World Food Programme (WFP) is the world’s largest humanitarian agency saving and changing lives, delivering food assistance in emergencies and working to improve nutrition and build resilience. Against the 2020 COVID-19 crisis, climate shocks and an unprecedented number of violent conflicts since World War 2, food insecurity is reaching record levels on all continents.

WFP leads or co-leads humanitarian response and provides services such as the UN Humanitarian Air Service (UNHAS), UN Humanitarian Response Depots network (UNHRD) as well as the three Inter-Agency Standing Committee Clusters (Logistics, Emergency Telecommunications and Food Security Cluster, with FAO).

• Switzerland’s contributions stayed stable, from USD 110 in 2022 to 109 million in 2023 (-1%).
• Switzerland continues its policy work in high-impact areas such as chairing the Group of Friends of Protection & Accountability to Affected Populations or leading the Working Group on the Localization of Aid. Swiss engagement leads to meaningful improvement in WFP's policy reporting and drafting process.
• Switzerland is leading the 2024 MOPAN assessment along with USA and Turkey. It takes part in the Working Group on the Executive Board governance review. Swiss engagement leads to greater clarity and shared understanding of key governance issues.
• Switzerland has contributed to key programmatic activities through funding and policy inputs (new 2023 Cash-Based Transfers policy, financial support to Anticipatory Actions Trust Fund, secondments for Social Protection).
• To deliver inputs to country-specific programmatic issues in Rome, Switzerland benefits from its network of representations and secondees overseas. It has secured a seat until 2031 at the Executive Board, WFP's supreme body.

• WFP has strongly reacted to the worsening global food crisis in 120+ countries with upscales in 47 operations.
• After aid diversions uncovered in Ethiopia, WFP has launched a corporate-wide Global Assurance Plan to ensure aid is given "to those who need it most without interference" in 31 high-risk countries. WFP closed one of the three investigations.
• Diversions in Ethiopia has not been tarnishing WFP's satisfactory work in other major crises. It made progress on digitalization, protection & accountability to affected populations or social protection. Yet, it still has strong challenges on key issues such as resilience-building, nutrition, gender equality or inter-agency coordination.
• WFP has substantially changed with Executive Director McCain reshuffling Departments, appointing new Management and requesting greater budgetary discipline.

1. Centrality of Protection: Switzerland supports WFP to fully integrate Protection & Accountability to Affected Populations in its policies and actions, as appropriate for a non-protection mandated agency, so that WFP assistance is delivered in safe, accountable and dignified conditions.
2. Localization of Aid: Switzerland supports WFP in investing in the long-term institutional capacity of local actors, in promoting more equal partnerships and in ensuring better integration with local coordination mechanisms so that WFP continues to prioritize partnerships with national and local organizations, including women’s and youth groups, and to strengthen their long-term sustainability.
3. WFP Governance: Switzerland with its policies on humanitarian and development assistance exerts a greater influence within WFP structures and staffing; its statements are well taken into account at HQ, RB or CSP levels, being adequately represented within WFP staff and supporting a more inclusive, coherent and efficient WFP governance.

9th government donor

USA, UK, Germany, France, Norway, Canada, Japan, Sweden, Netherlands, South Korea, Australia, IFIs (WB, IDB, ADB, AsDB), UN Funds and Programmes (CERF, UNHCR, UNDP)

Switzerland actively seeks and facilitates coordination with donors and host countries. As an active member of the Executive Board and as one of the top 20 donors, Switzerland exerts a noticeable influence.