New fundraising campaign to support WFP’s food assistance to the people of Ukraine

Following a recent visit to Ukraine by ICC Secretary General, John W.H. Denton AO, and the anniversary of a strategic partnership signed between ICC and WFP, the fundraising appeal aims to support WFP’s response strategy and efforts to reach six million Ukrainians by the end of June.

The unsolicited war that has been ravaging Ukraine since February has transformed what was once known as the breadbasket of Europe and the world, into one of the largest recipients of humanitarian aid.

The situation on the ground is dire. One in three households is food insecure. When looking at displaced people in South and East Ukraine, the areas most affected by the war, 62% of people are affected by food insecurity.

Before the war, Ukraine’s monthly export of agricultural produce was 4.5 million tonnes. This represented 12% of the planet’s wheat and made it a strategic country for global food security. To put its strategic importance into perspective, WFP used to buy half of its grain to be used in all global crises in which it was involved from Ukraine.

Since the war started, seven million tonnes of wheat and 14 million tonnes of corn have been prevented from being exported by sea, and the land-based alternatives (road and freight transport) are far from having sufficient capacity to export such a large number of grain in such limited time. When coupled with the already existing effects of climate change and COVID-19, there is a risk of seeing tens of millions of people fall into food insecurity and malnutrition.

Since the conflict began WFP has supported 5.5 million Ukrainians with food or cash assistance by mobilising 163 staff in the country and opening six offices and 13 warehouses (seven in Ukraine and six in neighbouring countries). WFP’s response strategy consists of three pillars:

1. In-kind assistance to encircled cities and conflict-affected populations by providing food distribution to resident and internally displaced populations.
2. Cash-based transfer assistance where markets are still functioning such as cash for essential needs and food vouchers.
3. Preserving food market functionality by providing targeted cash to support national food systems and value chains and by identifying supply gaps to be remedied.

You can help ICC and WFP provide food assistance to an additional 500 thousand people in Ukraine by joining the fundraising campaign here.

This latest partnership comes as ICC has taken a leading role in advocating for business action in response to the war in Ukraine since the conflict’s onset. As the institutional representative of more than 45 million companies in over 130 countries, ICC has mobilised its global network and built historic collaborations with strategic partners to protect lives and livelihoods, support humanitarian efforts and promote business continuity and economic resistance.

ICC’s leadership in response to the crisis was officialised by United Nations Secretary General Antonio Guterres, who appointed Mr Denton to represent the global private sector on a new Steering Committee of the Global Crisis Response Group, to address the immense interconnected challenges the world is facing.