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Washington, D.C. – House Foreign Affairs Committee Chairman Michael McCaul released the following statement calling on United Nations Secretary General Guterres to quickly name the new Executive Director of the World Food Program (WFP). The WFP works in over 120 countries and territories to bring life-saving food to people displaced by conflict and made destitute by disasters. The new executive director would replace Governor David Beasley, who led the organization for the past six years – including when the WFP won the Nobel Peace Prize in 2020.

“As the world continues to combat a food crisis that has been greatly exacerbated by Putin’s unprovoked war of aggression in Ukraine, it is critical we have stable leadership at the World Food Program. In 2022, WFP reached more than 166 million people, including 15 million children under five who were reached with programs to prevent and treat malnutrition. Unfortunately, the numbers are only expected to grow in 2023, with estimates as high as 349 million people being food insecure, and eight million children facing the deadliest form of undernutrition. If we want the world to be prepared to face these hard times, now is the time to name a replacement for Governor Beasley.”

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