NEW YORK
AP
—
Cindy McCain, the widow of Sen. John McCain and head of the UN World Food Program, suffered a mild stroke this week and is alleged to be recovering “well,” in accordance with a press launch Thursday from the humanitarian group.
The assertion mentioned McCain, 71, is anticipated to make a “full recovery” and will be touring from Rome, the place the WFP relies, to Arizona to concentrate on her recuperation. She will return to her submit after her docs have cleared her in 4 to 6 weeks.
“I want to thank the medical staff in Italy for the excellent treatment I received,” mentioned McCain. “My recovery is progressing well thanks to their outstanding care.”
McCain was appointed in March 2023 to steer the world’s largest humanitarian group after serving as US ambassador to the UN businesses for meals and agriculture below former President Joe Biden. McCain broke with Republicans when she endorsed Biden for president in 2020, making her a key surrogate for the Democrat after now-President Donald Trump spent years criticizing her husband and his navy service.
She has since turn into the face of the World Food Program, one of many few UN businesses that has obtained bipartisan help for its efforts to assist practically 150 million individuals confronting conflicts, disasters and impacts of local weather change this 12 months. McCain and the WFP have been within the highlight because the company has sought to answer the humanitarian crises brought on by the continued battle between Russia and Ukraine and Israel’s offensive contained in the Gaza Strip.
In late August, after visiting Gaza, McCain informed The Associated Press it was “very evident” that there isn’t enough food in the Palestinian territory. She mentioned she had spoken with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu concerning the pressing want for extra support.
Her feedback got here a week after the world’s main authority on meals crises mentioned the Gaza Strip’s largest city is gripped by famine, and that it was more likely to unfold throughout the territory without a ceasefire and an end to restrictions on humanitarian support.
“I personally met mothers and children who were starving in Gaza,” she mentioned. “It is real and it is happening now,”
An advocate for youngsters, McCain has served on the board of administrators for Operation Smile, a nonprofit group devoted to addressing facial deformities for youngsters around the globe, visiting India, Morocco and Vietnam, the joint announcement mentioned.
McCain succeeded David Beasley, a former South Carolina governor who had led WFP by means of difficult instances, together with the COVID-19 pandemic and the worldwide meals disaster sparked by Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. Beasley was on the helm when the World Food Program was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 2020, partly for being “a driving force in efforts to prevent the use of hunger as a weapon of war and conflict.”
Carl Skau, the deputy government director of WFP, is anticipated to supervise the group’s day-to-day operations till McCain’s return.
In the assertion Thursday, McCain mentioned she has “full confidence” in her management crew’s capability “to stay laser-focused on delivering urgently needed food assistance to the more than 100 million people WFP is working to serve across 87 countries.”
She added, “The fight against hunger has never been more critical, and I am incredibly proud of the work our teams do every day. I look forward to being back in the field soon — alongside WFP teams — pushing back against famine and supporting communities in need.”