Pope Francis meets with David Beasley, executive director of the World Food Program, Jan. 28, 2021 at the Vatican. On the same day, the WFP issued a joint press release with UNICEF warning that millions of children have missed meals since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic. (CNS photo/Vatican Media)
Vatican City Pope Francis met with David M. Beasley, the executive director of the U.N. World Food Program, which was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 2020.
Headquartered in Rome, the WFP is the world s largest humanitarian organization addressing hunger and promoting food security.
The private papal audience was held in the apostolic library at the Vatican Jan. 28, and the Vatican provided photographs, but no other details.
U.N. officials say that the designation of the Houthis as a terrorist organization could choke food deliveries to Yemen, where millions face starvation.
The head of the World Food Program believes that 2021 could see
“famines of biblical proportions” as the economic struggles of COVID-19 may hamper global responses to food shortages caused by military conflicts,
the rise of Islamic extremism and
locust infestations.
In an interview late last year with The Christian Post during a visit to Washington, D.C., WFP Executive Director David Beasley, a former Republican governor of South Carolina, expressed concern for the funding problems that could be in store for 2021. Despite receiving historic levels of funding and leading the food-assistance branch of the United Nations to a Nobel Peace Prize since he took the helm in April 2017, the 63-year-old Beasley warned the fiscal realities of the COVID-19 pandemic could lead to a decrease in funding at a time when as many as 270 million could be pushed to the brink of starvation.
Reported By Samuel Smith, U.S. Editor | Wednesday, January 06, 2021 Read more at https://www.christianpost.com/news/world-food-program-warns-of-famines-of-biblical-proportions.html?uid=03bea79789 World Food Programme Executive Director David M. Beasley (middle) and U.S. Ambassador Kip Tom visit South Sudan on July 23, 2019. | WFP/Giulio d'Adamo The head of the World Food Program believes that 2021 could see “famines of biblical proportions” as the economic struggles of COVID-19…
The head of the World Food Program believes that 2021 could see
“famines of biblical proportions” as the economic struggles of COVID-19 may hamper global responses to food shortages caused by military conflicts,
the rise of Islamic extremism and
locust infestations.
In an interview late last year with The Christian Post during a visit to Washington, D.C., WFP Executive Director David Beasley, a former Republican governor of South Carolina, expressed concern for the funding problems that could be in store for 2021. Despite receiving historic levels of funding and leading the food-assistance branch of the United Nations to a Nobel Peace Prize since he took the helm in April 2017, the 63-year-old Beasley warned the fiscal realities of the COVID-19 pandemic could lead to a decrease in funding at a time when as many as 270 million could be pushed to the brink of starvation.