Thank you, Madam President.
I have the honour to deliver this statement on behalf of the Nordic countries: Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Sweden and my own country Norway.
Madam Executive Director,
The Nordic countries are strongly concerned about the acute food insecurity and the protracted and complex humanitarian crises across the world. The most vulnerable - children, women, people with disabilities and the poor – are paying the highest price.
Poverty, climate change, and intensified armed conflicts are major drivers of hunger and food insecurity. We are alarmed by the enormous humanitarian needs in Sudan, the Democratic Republic of Congo as well as the depth of the needs in Gaza, in Haiti, and also by the persisting humanitarian needs created and compounded by Russia’s war of aggression against Ukraine – and so many other countries.
Tragically, 2023 and 2024 have been the deadliest years on record for humanitarian aid workers. We deplore the tragic loss of lives of aid workers and the detention of staff members. We are saddened by the fact that four WFP colleagues have lost their lives in duty since we met last in the EB. We all need to work together to ensure respect for international humanitarian law. We encourage WFP to continue actively joining hands with other humanitarian partners for advocacy. The Nordic countries stand ready to support such efforts and we strongly support the enhanced focus on Duty of Care for all your staff.
These are dire times. Despite the increasing humanitarian needs, funding for the humanitarian support is limited, putting the system under pressure. Difficult choices must be made; this requires transparency. Priority must be given to life-saving humanitarian work, focused on the most at-risk, while recognising also that resilience-building helps curb the growth of humanitarian needs and reduce the cost of interventions.
Against this backdrop, we need to ensure that every dollar is spent in the most effective and efficient way. Flexible and multi-year – the so-called quality - funding is particularly important for an effective response. The Nordic countries support WFP in promoting this in all ways possible. In relation to flexible funding, we also underline the importance of transparency on prioritization and of timely dialogue with members on risk management.
The upcoming localization policy is also important to bring about a more effective use of resources and promote outcomes of high quality with sustainability.
Madam Executive Director,
The Nordic countries continue to support WFP’s fundamental role in addressing the current crises in the world. We are therefore pleased to join the work of WFP in preparing and
developing a new Strategic Plan for 2026-29. As came out of the mid-term review of the current plan, it will be important that the next strategic plan will be solidly based on WFP’s comparative advantages and considers the current complex and challenging context. How to set priorities – what will WFP do and what are other partners better suited to achieve – will be a crucial aspect.
The Nordic countries reiterate our firm support for WFP’s critical work on protection and inclusion. WFP’s focus on people most in need is pivotal. This also includes gender equality and people with disabilities.
Madam Executive Director,
Let me briefly touch upon three further topics.
Firstly, we welcome the progress on the roll out of the Global Assurance Plan. We see this as an important tool to safeguard the funding base. We look forward to continue to follow the role out of the plan to all WFP country engagements.
Secondly, a strengthened coordination with the Rome-based and other UN agencies and IFIs is essential for the best use of comparative advantages and a comprehensive Humanitarian-Development-Peace nexus approach.
Finally, we commend WFP’s engagement regarding home-grown School Meals with context specific programmes aiming for strong grounding in the local communities.
Thank you, Madam Executive Director and thank you, Madam President.