The World Food Programme (WFP) has welcomed a US$7.75 million contribution from Denmark's Novo Nordisk Foundation to scale up action ahead of forecast weather shocks, including the potential impact of El Niño — the largest private-sector investment ever made in WFP's anticipatory action. The money is meant to help vulnerable communities protect lives, preserve livelihoods and secure food before a predicted crisis strikes.

Forecasts indicate the current El Niño could be among the strongest ever recorded, and WFP's own analysis projects its effects could push 49 million people into acute food insecurity by the end of 2027, with impacts on harvest cycles felt well beyond the event's expected peak. The funding can be directed flexibly across the 22 countries at highest risk of weather-related emergencies, as anticipatory cash transfers to communities at risk or as WFP expertise in early warning and predictive analytics lent to governments.

'Scientific innovations, including advances in data and forecasting, are creating new opportunities to act before crises escalate,' said Rikke Johannessen, director of global development at the Novo Nordisk Foundation. 'Where shocks can be anticipated with sufficient confidence, acting in advance can reduce the scale and severity of humanitarian needs, and enable a more effective, cost-efficient and dignified response.'

'This is a powerful signal on how the private sector drives a new generation of humanitarian action,' said Rania Dagash-Kamara, WFP assistant executive director for partnerships and innovation. 'It acts on early warning and equips communities to withstand climate shocks before they become emergencies.' WFP and the foundation will together promote the FAO–WFP Joint Anticipatory Action Appeal, which seeks to protect 8.8 million people across the 22 high-risk countries.

The contribution builds on the Danish foreign ministry's support for WFP anticipatory action since 2020 and, announced ahead of the UN General Assembly and New York Climate Week, is offered as an example of philanthropy, governments and humanitarian agencies shifting from responding to crises to preventing their worst effects on farming families.

Source: WFP