World Food Programme (WFP) Acting Executive Director Carl Skau has reiterated the organisation’s dedication to providing food assistance to 1.3 million Rohingya refugees in Bangladesh.
He also stressed that addressing the crisis remains a top priority for the Rome-based UN agency. Skau made these comments during a meeting with Chief Adviser Muhammad Yunus in the Italian capital on Tuesday, according to the Chief Adviser’s Press Wing.
The discussion centered on the ongoing Rohingya crisis, the famine situations in Gaza and Sudan, and the increasing difficulty of securing funds to tackle global hunger, which affects millions of people.
Skau commended Yunus for his leadership, especially his tireless efforts over the past 15 months to bring international focus back to the plight of the Rohingya. Both leaders emphasised the urgent need for increased funding to support the refugees living in Bangladesh’s camps.
Skau also praised the high-level UN meeting on the Rohingya issue, held on September 30 at Yunus’s request. He noted that it had successfully renewed global attention to the crisis.
“It was an important meeting, and we must ensure the issue remains a priority on the international agenda,” Skau said.
The pair also discussed exploring new sources of funding, including from wealthy nations and multilateral financial bodies.
Skau pointed out that, following new humanitarian commitments from the United States and the United Kingdom during the UN meeting in New York, WFP would continue providing a $12 monthly food stipend to each Rohingya.
Yunus expressed his gratitude for WFP’s leadership in combating hunger globally and thanked the organisation for supporting a new school feeding initiative in Bangladesh.
“Several Asian countries have made remarkable strides in school feeding programs, and we aim to strengthen these efforts to improve both quality and expansion,” said the Chief Adviser.
The conversation also covered global hunger issues, with Skau highlighting WFP’s ongoing efforts to deliver aid to Gaza amidst worsening food insecurity affecting nearly 300 million people worldwide.
Food Adviser Ali Imam Majumder, Fisheries and Livestock Adviser Farida Akhter, SDG Coordinator Lamiya Morshed, and Foreign Secretary Asad Alam Siam were also present at the meeting.
