United Nations, Sept 19:
The United Nations has appointed US agriculture official Luke Lindberg as the new executive director of the World Food Programme at a time when the agency is facing a major funding challenge.
Lindberg, 37, currently serves as the US Department of Agriculture’s undersecretary for trade and foreign agricultural affairs. He will succeed Cindy McCain, who stepped down earlier this year. His appointment was announced by UN Secretary-General António Guterres and Food and Agriculture Organization Director-General Qu Dongyu after approval by the WFP board.
The leadership change comes as the WFP says as many as 266 million people are experiencing acute hunger. Because of funding constraints, however, the agency is planning to assist around 110 million people this year.
The WFP is particularly active in countries affected by war, displacement, natural disasters and economic crises. Its new leadership will therefore face the challenge of maintaining food assistance while donor funding remains under pressure.
The United States continues to be the organisation’s largest donor, while the agency is seeking wider international support to sustain operations across multiple humanitarian emergencies.