UN food chief Cindy McCain to step down over health concerns

Cindy McCain will step down as executive director of the U.N. World Food Program later this year, citing ongoing health concerns after suffering a mild stroke in October.

McCain informed staff and the agency’s executive board today that she plans to leave her post in three months to focus on her recovery, according to a WFP statement. The 71-year-old returned to the Rome-based agency in early January but said the demands of the job were “outpacing” her recovery.

“With a heavy heart, I am announcing my intention to step down,” McCain said, calling the decision “one of the most difficult” she has ever made.

Carl Skau, No. 2 at WFP, will temporarily helm the agency while a successor is named. McCain’s final day has yet to be determined.

McCain, the widow of late U.S. Sen. John McCain, took the helm of the world’s largest humanitarian organization in April 2023. Her tenure has been dominated by spiraling global hunger driven by Russia’s war in Ukraine, climate shocks and funding shortfalls. In a 2023 interview with POLITICO, she warned the world faced a “catastrophic” hunger crisis without a surge in funding.

Her tenure was also marked by intense diplomatic pressure during the war in Gaza. In March 2024, she urged Israel to allow “consistent, sustained and safe access” for humanitarian convoys, telling POLITICO that blocked convoys, not lack of food, were driving the famine risk.

Since last year, WFP has been battered by a deep financial crunch. Cuts from major Western donors — including its largest backer, the U.S. — have forced the agency to slash rations even as acute food insecurity affects more than 340 million people worldwide

In October, McCain suffered a mild stroke and temporarily took leave, saying at the time she expected to make a full recovery.

She said Thursday she would remain “an unwavering voice” in the fight against hunger after leaving office.