STATEMENT BY THE INTERNATIONAL GRAINS COUNCIL AND

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1  Food Assistance Convention – 2024 Annual Narrative Report

1.  The Food Assistance Convention (FAC) represents a continued commitment by its 16 Parties (Australia; Austria; Canada; Denmark; European Union; Finland; France; Japan; Korea, Republic of; Luxembourg; Russian Federation; Slovenia; Spain; Sweden; Switzerland; United States of America) to contribute to global food security, and to improve the ability of the international community to respond to emergency food situations and other food needs of developing countries.

2.  Through commitment to cooperation and collaboration, Parties to the FAC seek to improve the effectiveness, efficiency, and quality of food assistance in saving lives, reducing hunger and improving the nutritional status of the most vulnerable populations.

3.  The year 2024, has been a year of resilience, solidarity, and innovation. In 2024, all parties fulfilled or substantially exceeded their commitments by collectively contributing over USD 8.6 billion to the improvement of worldwide food security. Cash based transfers (CBT) as well as mixed Cash and Voucher Assistance (CVA) continued to receive support by many of the FAC parties. The majority of total contributions were provided fully in grant form, with a substantial part consisting of earmarked or lightly earmarked contributions, predominately at country level.

4.  Generally, the FAC members' interventions were implemented in collaboration with various agencies and programmes of the United Nations, the International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement, and civil-society organizations. Geographically, the interventions of FAC members focused on food assistance in some of the most critical humanitarian crises in 2024. Amongst others, this included Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Myanmar, Burkina Faso, Chad, Mali and Niger, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Palestine, Somalia and Ethiopia, Sudan and South Sudan, Syria and its neighbouring countries, Ukraine and Yemen. Apart from these contributions, several parties to the FAC provided food assistance to people living in so-called forgotten crises, such as the Central African Republic; Haiti; Venezuela, Bolivarian Republic of and Colombia.

5.  For the first time, the 2024 report also highlights how innovation is shaping the future of food assistance. From piloting digital payment systems and catastrophe bonds to deploying AI‑driven tools and supporting anticipatory action, members have embraced forward-thinking solutions that enhance efficiency, accountability, and impact. These innovations also include post‑harvest management and the restoration of irrigation structures to increase agricultural production, improving financial operations within the UN system and its partners, developing financing mechanisms to accelerate the scale-up of sustainable policies, programmes and supplies to end child undernutrition in high-need countries, and supporting the WFP Innovation Accelerator. These innovations are not just technical, they reflect a broader shift toward inclusive, locally led, and protection-sensitive approaches that place affected communities at the center of humanitarian action.

6.  The report also underscores the growing emphasis on flexible and multi-year funding, strategic partnerships, and the integration of food assistance within broader humanitarian-development peace efforts. These collective efforts demonstrate the Convention's enduring relevance and its capacity to evolve in response to global needs.

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