The Weeknd Donates 4 Million Emergency Foods To Gaza Through Its XO Humanitarian Fund

JAKARTA - The United Nations World Food Program announced on December 1 that WFP Ambassador The Weeknd (now using its birth name, Abel Tesfaye) distributed USD 2.5 million from his XO Humanitarian Fund to assist the WFP humanitarian response in Gaza.

The organization said the donation "equivalent to four million emergency foods" would fund the delivery of 820 metric tons (about 1.8 million pounds) of food packages that could feed more than 173,000 Palestinians for two weeks.

"This conflict has caused an unpredictable humanitarian catastrophe. WFPs work around the clock to provide assistance in Gaza but a large scale increase is needed to address the hunger rates we see," said WFP Director for Middle Eastern, North Africa and Eastern Europe, Corinne Fleischer in a statement quoted by Billboard on Monday.

The crisis was the result of a massive bombing by Israeli forces for weeks in response to a surprise attack by Hamas Islamic fighting forces on October 7 against Israel.

Our team needs safe and sustainable humanitarian access, as well as sustainable support from donors to reach as many people as possible, continued Fleischer.

"We thank Abel for his valuable contribution to the Palestinian people. We hope others will follow Abel's example and support our efforts."

The WFP said donations from Tesfaye came at a critical time in the group's efforts to feed more than one million Gazans facing starvation.

During the recently ended week-long ceasefire between Israel and Hamas, the WFP said it reached more than 121,000 people in Gaza, providing fresh bread, enriched date bars, canned food, wheat flour, pasta, tomato sauce. and oil.

Tesfaye was appointed Ambassador Goodwill Ambassador in October 2021 and has supported the WFP global hunger assistance mission with personal donations of US$1.8 million to date through his XO funds.

The singer has committed to dedicate the equivalent of $1 per concert ticket sold at 2024 from a global tour of the After Hours til Dawn stadium to the XO Humanitarian Fund.