It was UN Secretary General António Guterres who announced McCain’s appointment as the new head of the WFP last Thursday.

– McCain took over as head of the World Food Program at a time when the world is facing the most serious food security crisis in modern history, and this leadership role has never been more important. We wish him all the best and can assure him that he will have the full support of the executive board, WFP chairman Artur Andrzej Pollok said in comments about the appointment.

The United Nations estimates approx 340 million people will need emergency assistance this year and 828 million people go hungry every day because they do not have access to enough food.

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– Get ready to roll up your sleeves

The incoming WFP head will take over from Davis Beasley when he leaves the job in April after six years.

Cindy McCain is known as a longtime supporter of President Joe Biden. In fall 2021, he was appointed US representative to the UN organizations FAO (UN Food and Agriculture Organization), IFAD (International Fund for Agricultural Development) and WFP.

He previously held a number of board positions, including with several aid organizations. She is also the wife of the late Republican US Senator John McCain.

– I’m ready to roll up my sleeves and spend time both in Rome and on the pitch, wrote McCain in a statement in connection with this appointment.

– The road ahead is scary, and hunger is growing. However, I am sure of one thing – when we come together as one world, we can save lives, he continued.

The United Nations Food Program is the world’s largest humanitarian organization and has more than 21,000 employees worldwide. By 2022, the organization received approximately $14 billion in support and claims to have provided assistance to an estimated 158 million people in emergency situations. The organization received the Nobel Peace Prize in 2020.