Innovation and humanitarian response: How WFP tackled crises in 2024 and beyond
2024 was a year of unprecedented humanitarian crises and the surge continues into 2025. As needs grow, so does the urgency for efficient, effective emergency response. For the World Food Programme (WFP), innovation remains key.
By: Lucy Bloxham
A year like no other
To call 2024 a year of unprecedented humanitarian challenges would be an understatement. The world witnessed an alarming surge in crises — devastating conflicts, extreme weather-fueled disasters and economic instability — pushing hunger to catastrophic levels. In the countries where WFP operates, 343 million people went to bed hungry each night.
The official declaration of famine in Sudan’s Darfur region was a harrowing wake-up call; evidence of the urgent need for decisive, coordinated global action. For WFP, it was not just a call to respond but a reminder of its mission: to ensure food security for all, no matter the obstacles. And to help achieve this? Innovation.
Innovation in crisis: WFP’s ongoing emergency response
WFP has long been a leader in humanitarian innovation, pushing the boundaries of technology to deliver aid faster, smarter and more efficiently. As the leading United Nations agency in emergency response, it continuously adapts to meet the evolving challenges of global hunger, driven by a relentless commitment to achieving zero hunger (SDG 2) by 2030.
In 2024, WFP harnessed cutting-edge solutions to revolutionize how it responds to emergencies. And as crises persist in 2025, WFP continues to scale and strengthen these innovations to meet growing needs. As a support structure for WFP Country Offices, the Global Innovation Accelerator together with Regional Innovation Hubs serve as a launchpad for groundbreaking solutions, sourcing and scaling innovations that redefine what’s possible in humanitarian assistance.
So, what impact did WFP innovations have in emergencies in 2024? And how is it continuing to transform emergency response in 2025? Let’s take a closer look.
The power of collaboration
Through collaboration with Google.org in 2024, the WFP Humanitarian Ventures Accelerator supported ten internal WFP ventures in leveraging AI, machine learning, cloud computing and data analytics to tackle global hunger. These innovations enhanced emergency response, supply chain efficiency and smallholder farmer support, reaching 36 countries and achieving an average time savings of 75 percent across the portfolio. The programme delivered US$2.8 million in cost savings just in the first couple of months of implementation, highlighting the potential of scaling technological solutions within WFP operations. By coordinating efforts with other agencies and governments, we maximize impact and create more effective, scalable solutions.
One standout innovation from the WFP Humanitarian Venture programme is SCOUT, which is transforming WFP’s supply chain by using optimization AI to enhance global food sourcing and delivery planning. SCOUT helps WFP make informed decisions about where to buy food, where to send it, where to store it and how to use limited financial resources efficiently to deliver the food needed on time. By the end of 2024, SCOUT had saved WFP US$2 million in its first implementation thanks to replanning the corporate inventory supply chain of only one commodity in WFP operations in West Africa, also reaching all intended beneficiaries in the region. Once fully implemented, it is projected that SCOUT could save WFP US$50 million.
Rapid action when every second counts
When disaster strikes, speed and efficiency are of greatest importance. In 2024, WFP leveraged cutting-edge technologies to enhance emergency response, from satellite-driven earthquake assessments to drone-based connectivity.
After an earthquake, every second counts. But traditional satellite technology often struggles to provide quick and accurate damage assessments, especially in bad weather. WFP’s geospatial solution for emergency preparedness, early warning and response ADAM+ is changing that. ADAM is a system that collects, analyses and maps geospatial and socio-economic information following sudden humanitarian emergencies. Currently used for floods, earthquakes and tropical storms, ADAM issues alerts for preparedness and response dashboards aggregating relevant, evidence-based, near-real time risk and impact information.
This innovation allows WFP to assess earthquake damage faster and more precisely than before. Partnering with the Global Earthquake Model Foundation (GEM), ADAM+ integrates ground shake data and GEM’s risk model to provide more building and structural context required to better estimate the overall impact of the earthquake to help inform WFPs response on the ground . Being tested throughout 2024–2025 in Afghanistan, Syria, Turkey, Myanmar and the Philippines, it has the potential to revolutionize the way WFP visualizes and responds to earthquake emergencies improving our response capacities and ability to deliver more than ever.
Being prepared ahead of crises
WFP has long recognized that anticipating emergencies is just as critical as responding to them. In 2024, investments in predictive analytics and geospatial intelligence helped us act faster and more effectively in crisis zones.
One example is PREDICT; a powerful forecasting tool, developed in partnership with the Danish Refugee Council, that uses machine learning to anticipate displacement patterns, up to four months in advance. Using open-source related to conflict, food security and climate conditions, PREDICT helps WFP prepare for surges in displacement before they happen.
With European Commission’s Civil Protection and Humanitarian Aid Operations (ECHO)-funding, the Danish Refugee Council has deployed the tool in Burkina Faso, which helped cut emergency response times in half. In South Sudan, a pilot showed that every US$1 invested in acting ahead of forecasted conflict and displacement saved US$6 by preventing crises before they spiraled out of control. The PREDICT tool will be integrated into a wider regional multi-hazard anticipatory action framework in East Africa, where it will be used by other agencies such as the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), the International Federation of Red Cross (IFRC) and IGAD/ICPAC, demonstrating its ability to scale across the humanitarian world.
Anticipating the secondary impacts of conflict and humanitarian access disruptions is crucial but challenging due to complex variables and data gaps. Conflict Forecast tackles this by providing global, national and subnational conflict predictions to potential access disruption. It identifies potential outbreaks in peaceful regions and shifts in active conflict zones by integrating socio-economic indicators, population density and infrastructure data. Using machine learning and natural language processing, it forecasts fatalities and riots while correlating these risks with access to essential services. The web-based platform visualizes risks through layered maps, enabling better resource planning and helping humanitarian organizations safeguard aid delivery and resilience.
Conflict Forecast was selected for CGIAR’s Stability and Peace Accelerator, co-run with WFP Innovation Accelerator, to address challenges in Fragile and Conflict-Affected Settings across Jordan, Kenya and Nigeria. Developments from this partnership have further solidified Conflict Forecast as an essential tool in the fight against hunger and conflict and it is now being used as an additional data source for the Kenya Red Cross Society’s (KRCS) contingency planning.
Conflict Forecast also works with other governments including the UK and Germany, delivering critical forecasting for the wider humanitarian sector and partners.
Building resilience for the future
WFP’s impact extends beyond immediate crises, leveraging technology to support long-term food security and economic stability. The SHAPES analytics platform, developed with support from Google via the WFP Humanitarian Ventures Accelerator, tracks the effects of WFP’s food assistance using satellite data, market trends and surveys. In 2024, SHAPES reduced emergency assessment times from six months to three, enabling faster, data-driven decisions. Already saving WFP over US$184,000 across six countries, its expansion to 20 more could unlock over US$600,000 in savings — ensuring more resources reach those in need.
The road ahead
WFP’s work in 2024 proved that innovation is not just about technology, it’s about saving lives and building a future free from hunger. By harnessing artificial intelligence, geospatial analytics and predictive modeling, WFP is rewriting the playbook for humanitarian response.
As crises intensify, the need for bold, forward-thinking solutions has never been greater. The question now is not if innovation can transform humanitarian assistance; but how fast we can scale it to reach those who need it most. It is clear that 2025 will be another year of unrelenting humanitarian needs. With determination, innovation and the support and collaboration of our partners around the world, we can fulfil our vital mission to bring life-saving assistance in emergencies and achieve a world with zero hunger.
Explore more than 80 cutting-edge innovations from across WFP offices in the WFP Innovation 2024 Year in Review.
The WFP Innovation Accelerator sources, supports and scales high-potential solutions to end hunger worldwide. We provide WFP colleagues, entrepreneurs, start-ups, companies, and non-governmental organizations with access to funding, mentorship, hands-on support, and WFP’s global operations.
Find out more about us: http://innovation.wfp.org.
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