The Weeknd is donating four million emergency meals to the UN’s response efforts in Gaza
Written by ABC Audio. All rights reserved. on December 1, 2023
The Weeknd has been a United Nations World Food Programme Goodwill Ambassador since 2021, and now he’s donating millions to the WFP’s humanitarian response efforts in Gaza.
Amid the war, the singer is giving $2.5 million from his own charity fund, the XO Humanitarian Fund, to the UN. That will be used to purchase the equivalent of four million emergency meals — enough to feed over 170,000 people for two weeks. During the recent ceasefire, the WFP helped more than 120,000 people by bringing in trucks full of food and aid, but more assistance is needed.
Using the artist’s birth name, a WFP executive said in a statement, “We hope others will follow Abel’s example and support our efforts.”
The Weeknd’s first major donation through his fund was for $2.5 million to supply food to women and children in Ethiopia, where his parents are from. In 2024, he’ll donate the equivalent of one dollar per ticket sold from his After Hours ’til Dawn stadium tour to the XO fund.
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