Cindy H. McCain today officially joins the World Food Program as its new Executive Director, underlining that the world is grappling with an unprecedented food crisis that requires the United Nations body to urgently raise more resources, further innovate and to develop new ambitious partnerships.

McCain, who has been the US Ambassador to three UN food and agriculture agencies in Rome since 2021, takes the helm of an organization that provided food assistance to a record 158 million last year of people around the world. Food insecurity remains at historic levels in 2023 as conflict, economic shocks, extreme weather conditions and rising fertilizer prices continue to challenge food production globally.

“Hunger continues to grow, resources are dangerously depleted and there will be ration cuts without the necessary funding to get food to those who need it most. Without the funds, we simply can't feed that many people", McCain said. "My priorities are clear: increase our resources, improve our effectiveness, and expand partnerships and innovation to deliver modern solutions to those most in need."

The new executive director stressed that no organization can solve world hunger alone and that global cooperation is essential to saving millions of lives at risk. McCain said one of his first actions at the helm of WFP will be to set up an innovation task force, bringing together the best minds in both the public and private sectors to help identify measurable actions to tackle hunger.

According to WFP estimates, 2023 will see more than 345 million people worldwide grapple with food insecurity at crisis levels, an increase of almost 200 million since early 2020. Of these, 43 million are just one step away from famine.

“We need even closer collaboration with our partners to reverse this unparalleled crisis”, McCain said. “Today we are asking new friends – especially from the private sector – to step up and join us. The world must not turn its back on the hungry”.

In her role as US Ambassador to the UN Food and Agriculture Agencies in Rome, McCain has seen WFP operations up close, traveling to Laos, Cambodia, Sri Lanka, Guatemala, Honduras, Kenya, Zambia, Tajikistan and Madagascar in the last twelve months. McCain succeeds former South Carolina Governor David Beasley, who served as Executive Director since 2017.

“I am deeply honored to lead WFP and thrilled to be a part of the team. WFP has been a part of my life for decades and has been an inspiration for my humanitarian career," McCain added.