Today's Edition
ABU DHABI (WAM)
The UAE will celebrate World Food Day on Thursday, October 16, reaffirming its global leadership in driving and mobilising international efforts to enhance food production, in ensuring the sustainability of food supply chains, and toward combating hunger worldwide.
The occasion comes at a time when around 673 million people suffer from hunger due to conflicts, climate change, and economic downturns, while 2.8 billion people are unable to afford a healthy diet, according to the UN Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO).
The UAE continues to play an active role in addressing global food shortages affecting millions worldwide. Among its notable initiatives are the food aid efforts to Palestinians in Gaza under Operation Chivalrous Knight 3, ongoing for nearly two years. These efforts form a core part of the UAE’s total humanitarian assistance to Gaza, which reached over 90,000 tonnes by September 2025.
The UAE’s initiatives have helped alleviate hunger and thirst among Palestinians in Gaza through sustainable, on-the-ground projects. These include sending automatic bakeries into the Strip, supplying flour and essential ingredients to operate dozens of field bakeries, and supporting mobile kitchens and over 50 charity community kitchens that serve hot meals daily to affected families.
In June 2024, the UAE signed an agreement with the UN World Food Programme (WFP), allocating $25 million to provide emergency food aid to the people of Sudan. In parallel, the UAE contributed $5 million to the Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) to support its food security programmes.
Throughout 2025, the UAE has swiftly dispatched emergency food relief to several countries hit by natural disasters, including Afghanistan, the Republic of the Union of Myanmar, and Somalia.
In July 2025, the UAE announced the completion of the 1 Billion Meals humanitarian initiative, launched by His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice President, Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai. The initiative successfully distributed meals across 65 countries, with plans to deliver an additional 260 million meals in the coming year.
Through such sustained humanitarian action, the UAE reaffirms its unwavering commitment to promoting food security, global solidarity, and human dignity—core principles that embody its approach to building a more equitable and nourished world.
In the same context, the UAE’s participated in the UK-led Agriculture Breakthrough Initiative, aimed at making climate-resilient, sustainable agriculture the most attractive and widely adopted option for farmers worldwide by 2030.
An initiative to improve collaboration for food security has also been agreed by the UAE, Brazil and Cuba during the Conference of the Parties to the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (COP28), which took place at Expo City Dubai, from November 30 to December 12, 2023. The tripartite cooperation initiative aims to deliver $50 million worth of food aid, which will be shipped from Brazil.
During COP28, 134 countries signed the COP28 UAE Declaration on Sustainable Agriculture, Resilient Food Systems and Climate Action—the first initiative of its kind.
The UAE also announced the mobilisation of more than $2.5 billion to support global food security efforts as part of broader actions to address the impacts of climate change.
The UAE also has witnessed numerous initiatives aimed at promoting and marketing locally produced agricultural goods.
