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WFP: Ukraine operations scaled but global donations lag, forcing cuts elsewhere
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Summary
Corinne Fleisher said WFP has returned to Ukraine and is serving about 2,000,000 people mainly at front lines while investing roughly $1.2 billion locally; she warned that donations reverting to pre‑COVID levels have forced cuts in other programs such as in Syria.
Corinne Fleisher, regional director for the Middle East, North Africa and Eastern Europe at the World Food Programme (WFP), said the agency redeployed to Ukraine after pulling back in 2018 and now reaches about 2,000,000 people, mainly near front lines, with cash and food assistance.
Fleisher described meeting displaced families in Sumy Oblast and related efforts to support local recovery: WFP said it has invested over $1,200,000,000 in the local economy and buys much of the food used inside Ukraine. She also noted WFP’s role in exports under the grain corridor, saying the agency has exported about 1,000,000 tons of food from Ukraine to countries in need.
At the same time, Fleisher warned that global donations have largely returned to pre‑COVID levels while needs and costs have risen. "We are a... entirely voluntarily funded organization," she said, adding that WFP must protect existing donor commitments and find new contributors, including from the private sector. She described painful prioritization decisions: WFP has reduced its monthly reach in Syria from about 6,000,000 to roughly 1,000,000 because of funding constraints.
Fleisher also discussed programs to restore agriculture, including a demining-linked project that has supported 5,000 farmers returning to fields in Ukraine in cooperation with FAO. She said WFP is working closely with the Ukrainian government to complement social protection systems, including top-ups to pensions and disability payments where appropriate.
Fleisher framed funding appeals as both donor protection and expansion: retaining current government donors, expanding the private-sector donor base and identifying the most vulnerable for targeting where resources are limited. The briefing concluded with WFP saying those fundraising efforts are ongoing.
