Internally displaced women wait for their food ration during a food distribution next to a World Food Programme truck in Bentiu on Feb 7, 2023. Four straight years of flooding, an unprecedented phenomenon linked to climate change, has swamped two-thirds of South Sudan but nowhere more dramatically than northern city Bentiu. (PHOTO / AFP)

NAIROBI – The United Nations World Food Program (WFP) and intergovernmental international development organization Global Green Growth Institute (GGGI) signed an agreement on Friday to enhance the capacity of developing and emerging economies in addressing challenges of the climate crisis.

The deal – inked in the Kenyan capital of Nairobi by Malle Fofana, Africa regional director of the South Korea-headquartered GGGI, and Ute Klamert, WFP's assistant executive director for partnerships and advocacy – advances collaboration on climate change adaptation. 

This agreement will combine GGGI's policy and technical expertise with WFP's vast operational footprint and enable governments to support families on the frontlines of the climate crisis and improve food security.

Ute Klamert, Assistant Executive Director, WFP

It aims to strengthen government policies, enable access to climate finance, and promote the sharing of climate-smart agricultural techniques while safeguarding natural resources for future generations.

Klamert said the climate crisis is no longer a distant future scenario but a daily reality for communities worldwide. 

"This agreement will combine GGGI's policy and technical expertise with WFP's vast operational footprint and enable governments to support families on the frontlines of the climate crisis and improve food security."

The climate crisis serves as a significant driver of the global increase in hunger, with a record 345 million people worldwide facing acute food insecurity, according to the UN.

Fofana expressed optimism that the cooperation would strengthen evidence-based knowledge sharing on green growth and sustainable development, drawing upon experiences from both the public and private sectors. 

"We look forward to collaborating with WFP to support food security in Africa in a more transformative manner."