15 May 2015 – United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) Executive Director Ertharin Coursin received the credentials of Philippine Ambassador to Italy Domingo P. Nolasco on May 06 at the WFP Headquarters in Rome as the Permanent Representative of the Philippines.

They affirmed the importance of the continued active cooperation between the Philippines and the WFP. Early this year, the World Food Programme approved the country’s latest three-year Protracted Relief and Recovery (PRRO) program valued at US$ 73.6 million.

WFP’s latest country program has 408,000 targeted beneficiaries and geared towards food assistance, gender sensitive emergency preparedness, planning and nutrition interventions.

The WFP is one of the three UN agencies based in Rome aside from the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) and the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD).  Described as the food aid arm of the United Nations system, WFP is the world’s largest humanitarian agency with staff personnel reported at 14,000 with the majority working in remote areas in 75 countries around the world, including the Philippines.   END