The upcoming second regular session will be held from 18–21 November 2024.
Intervention by Ms. Cindy McCain, Executive Director United Nations World Food Programme. Annual Session of the Executive Board 2024. Photo: © WFP/Matteo Minnella
The Executive Board will convene from 18–21 November for its Second Regular Session to discuss key governance issues as WFP faces a complex landscape of overlapping crises, deteriorating food insecurity, and funding constraints straining global humanitarian efforts.
Included on the Board agenda are the WFP management plan (2025-2027), 3 policy updates on resilience, climate change, and school meals, 4 Country Strategic Plans (CSPs) for Colombia, Namibia, Senegal and Ukraine, and 8 evaluation reports and related management responses, including the mid-term evaluation of the WFP Strategic Plan (2024-2026). Additionally, the Second Interim Report of the Executive Board Working Group on the Governance Review is submitted for Board approval.
The session will open with remarks from the Executive Director (ED), Cindy McCain, recently returned from field missions to WFP’s frontline teams in Sudan, Nigeria and Kenya. This will be followed by an oral global overview of humanitarian needs and operational concerns presented by the Deputy Executive Director, with subsequent insights from each Regional Director.
Resource, financial and budgetary matters
WFP management plan (2025–2027), for the Board’s approval, outlines a budget of USD 8.8 billion to reach 98 million beneficiaries. Crisis response remains the priority, with 77 percent of the budget dedicated to supporting emergency operations, while 20 percent will be dedicated to resilience-building and 3 percent to addressing hunger’s root causes to enhance longer-term food security. The Program Support and Administrative (PSA) budget of USD 480 million focuses on strategic direction, services, and governance, emphasizing efficiency to support country offices. Key investments include digital modernization, accountability, and partnerships, funded by the General Fund to strengthen operational effectiveness. WFP also plans to expand self-insurance schemes for cost savings and flexibility.
Policy issues
Resilience policy update: the policy update renews WFP’s commitment to resilience strengthening and guides WFP’s efforts by clarifying priorities in the context of unprecedented humanitarian needs driven by multiple shocks. The policy highlights three outcomes that contribute to WFP’s vision on resilience: empowering women, girls and marginalized populations, improving livelihoods, and strengthening local capacities. Resilience sits at the core of WFP's priorities, aligning with its policies on emergency preparedness, climate change, and social protection, as well as with international frameworks like the Sendai Framework and Paris Agreement to ensure sustainable impact.
Climate change policy update: between 2010 and 2020, 83 percent of disasters were driven by climate extremes—floods, storms, droughts, and extreme heat—affecting 1.7 billion people and causing 410,000 deaths. In 2023 alone, climate extremes forced 72 million people into crisis-levels of hunger and caused over 20 million internal displacements. WFP’s climate policy focuses on supporting the most vulnerable, including Indigenous and displaced communities, pregnant and breastfeeding women, and people with disabilities. The policy emphasizes climate-specific and climate-relevant action to address both chronic and acute food insecurity, focusing on solutions to avert, minimize, and address loss and damage in food systems and livelihoods.
School meals policy update: emphasizes the role of national school meal programs in addressing key development challenges, promoting education, and reforming food systems. It focuses on enhancing programme integration, nutrition quality, and resilience to climate impacts. With countries increasingly investing domestic resources to expand these programs, the update also highlights the powerful momentum of the School Meals Coalition, a Member State-led, global movement committed to expanding access to school meals, with WFP acting as the Secretariat and coordinating body.
Operational matters and evaluation reports
The Board will also review CSPs from Colombia, Namibia and Senegal, and an interim CSP for Ukraine; evaluation reports and management responses from the mid-term evaluation of WFP strategic plan (2022-2025), Colombia, Cuba, the Sahel and other countries of Central Africa, Mali, Syria, and Rwanda. Documentation available here.
Other business
Second interim report of the Executive Board working group on the governance review: Following the approval of the governance review working group’s first interim report at the annual session, this report presents a second set of governance recommendations – including those relating to WFP’s four governance frameworks: strategy, policy, oversight, accountability, as well as the workings of the Board and the Bureau.
Key recommendations include updating the policy formulation framework, transitioning to a new oversight and accountability framework, strengthening Board oversight, enhancing reporting on accountability, rationalizing Board documentation, streamlining informal meetings. Rationalized meeting schedules and enhanced engagement processes aim to strengthen governance efficiency and strengthen the Board’s role in providing policy guidance and operational oversight for more strategic and effective decision-making.
The following events will take place in the Auditorium during the week of the Board:
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Tuesday, 19 November 2024 13:30-14:30 - Strengthening immediate and long-term support in an emergency context: The case of Haiti (POSTPONED TO A FUTURE BOARD SESSION)
Haiti is facing a severe humanitarian crisis due to long-standing complex factors and recent intensifications. Violence by non-state armed groups has worsened insecurity and disrupted essential goods and aid distribution, with civilians caught in the crossfire. As of September 2024, there are at least 700,000 internally displaced persons (IDPs), triple the number from last year.
The side event, organized by WFP’s Regional Bureau for Latin America and the Caribbean along with the Permanent Representations of Brazil, Canada, Haiti, and the USA, aims to highlight Haiti's critical food security situation and discuss strategies for immediate humanitarian needs and long-term resilience.
The event features a high-level panel discussion with the ED, permanent representatives from Canada, Brazil, the USA, and government officials from Haiti, focusing on collaborative approaches to scale up interventions like school feeding programmes and social protection systems to support Haiti’s national development objectives.
- Wednesday, 20 November 2024 - The School Meals Coalition: status and what’s next
The side event will highlight the remarkable growth of the School Meals Coalition, which has expanded from 45 countries and one regional body in 2021 to over 100 countries and three regional bodies by 2024. This rapid expansion reflects a global commitment to ensuring every child has access to nutritious school meals by 2030. The session will provide an overview of the Coalition’s achievements, including new initiatives like the School Meals Impact Accelerator, launching in 2025.
The session will provide an overview of the Coalition’s mission and milestones, with insights from the recent Ministerial Task Force meeting in Nairobi. Key updates will include the School Meals Impact Accelerator, set to launch in 2025, Kenya’s new national school meals plan, and upcoming opportunities for member engagement.
- Exhibit throughout the week of the Board - Engineering a Sustainable Future: Building the Pathway for Food Security
The exhibit aims to highlight WFP’s engineering contributions to food security and sustainable development. Through showcasing infrastructure projects, such as storage facilities, bridges, and dams, the exhibit emphasizes the role of engineering in connecting communities to food markets and reducing food insecurity. Case studies will demonstrate collaborative efforts across WFP’s Supply Chain, Programme, and Engineering teams.
Follow the Executive Board session and side events on the Executive Board livestream.