Driving progress and hope: Innovation across WFP
In 2025, innovations we support reached 132.5 million people in 75 countries. From millions in cost savings to millions of school meals, innovation is maximizing WFP’s resources to support those in need.
By Jackie Negro
“Innovation is not optional. As needs rise faster than resources, we must work differently. Innovation in WFP is how we maximize the impact of every dollar we receive. With our focus on innovation, artificial intelligence, innovative financing, partnerships and new technologies, we ensure we stay agile in a rapidly changing world.”
-Rania Dagash-Kamara, Assistant Executive Director, Partnerships & Innovation
With ongoing crises and rising humanitarian needs outpacing limited resources, innovation — and the people behind its implementation — has been a beacon driving progress and hope in support of those in need.
In fact, in 2025, innovations supported by the WFP Innovation Accelerator reached 132.5 million people in 75 countries, saved WFP and other organizations US$324.8 million and enabled more than 130 organizations and governments to implement their solutions, bolstering the broader humanitarian community.
Behind the numbers are countless stories: of individuals receiving more efficient and effective humanitarian assistance, of innovators striving to transform the humanitarian system and of a global network taking part in lasting change.
Take a look at what we accomplished last year:
We saved time and money at a critical moment for WFP and the humanitarian system.
Resources are scarce across WFP and the humanitarian system. Efficiency and effectiveness is a must, as every dollar saved is another that is available for reinvestment in emergency assistance and resilience programmes.
In complicated supply chain planning situations, SCOUT uses AI to optimize planning and help WFP make informed decisions. Now active in Western and Central Africa and Eastern and Southern Africa, SCOUT has saved USD 6.2 million in 18 months. At a global scale, it is projected to save WFP USD 25 million annually.
In this critical time, we must also take a system approach to support collaborative action between impact organizations. Building Blocks, a blockchain solution reducing unintended avoidance overlap, has saved the humanitarian system USD 288 million. 159 organizations in Ukraine, Syria and Palestine used it last year to coordinate assistance.
We found significant impact at scale, reaching new heights.
Several long-supported innovations expanded their operations, showing the value of early support and attention to sustainable scaling.
School Connect, developed and driven by WFP colleagues, is now operational in 26 countries and 11,000 schools, helping local schools, WFP and governments monitor and report on school meal programmes for 3.6 million school children.
Sanku, an external venture supported by the WFP Innovation Accelerator, multiplied its reach last year, moving from 9.4 million people in 2024 to 59.3 million people in 2025. Thanks to its fortification system, each of those individuals has better opportunities to fill micronutrient gaps by eating fortified flour.
Together, we put innovation at the heart of WFP’s mission and embedded it in daily operations.
Country offices are the engines of that change, adapting global strategies to meet the needs of local communities. 56 WFP offices adopted machine learning, blockchain, artificial intelligence, robotics or drone technologies, spreading cutting-edge solutions across the world. Several also include innovation as cornerstones of their operational strategies, revolutionizing how WFP approaches assistance.
19 offices now have teams specifically focused on innovation implementation and methodology, and more than 600 colleagues in 165 duty stations have joined the Innovation Champions community, a voluntary community of practice that shares expertise on implementing innovative solutions.
Each of these contributions makes further collaboration and scale possible, helping WFP stay a leader in innovation across the UN.
We took risks, tried new approaches and embraced uncertainty.
Innovation goes beyond individual solutions. As the humanitarian system evolves and shifts, WFP evolves with it, finding novel ways to solve problems and forging new paths forward.
Through the Strategic AI Partnership for Humanitarian Actions, we are developing AI tools for damage assessment, anomaly detection and sensitive data processing, leveraging the most cutting-edge technologies for the humanitarian landscape. These solutions are building a foundation for a longer-term digital infrastructure capable of predictive analysis for humanitarian operations.
We have embraced deeper collaboration across WFP, understanding that knowledge is power in the face of uncertainty. The Innovation Network and SDGx Community host frequent knowledge sharing sessions and we celebrated innovation work during WFP Innovation Week. Next, our collective work will culminate in the launch of the WFP Innovation Strategy, which charts a path toward making innovation a force multiplier across the organization.
Innovation strengthens every part of WFP’s work, boosting efficiency and delivering greater results for the people who need it most.
None of this would be possible without the dedication of our colleagues, partners, innovators and supporters. With the commitment we have seen to make these results possible, we know we can face whatever challenges await us in 2026 and beyond.
For more information, read the Year in Review 2025.
