By Daphne Psaledakis
WASHINGTON, Feb 26 (Reuters) – Cindy McCain intends to step down as head of the United Nations World Food Programme, she said on Thursday, months after she suffered a mild stroke.
“I had truly hoped I could finish out my term, but my health has not recovered to a level that allows me to fully serve the enormous demands of this job,” McCain said in the statement posted on X.
“This is one of the most difficult decisions I have ever had to make.”
WFP said in a separate statement that she would step down in three months.
McCain, 71, widow of the late U.S. Republican Senator John McCain, took up the job in 2023 after serving as U.S. ambassador to the United Nations agencies for food and agriculture.
In October, she experienced a mild stroke but was expected to make a full recovery, according to a WFP statement. She traveled home to Arizona to recover and returned to the headquarters in Rome in January.
Her departure allows U.S. President Donald Trump, who has heavily criticized the United Nations, to propose a replacement to U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres.
The White House did not immediately respond to a request for comment. The United States is traditionally the largest donor to WFP.
WFP is headed by an Executive Director, who is appointed jointly by the U.N. Secretary-General and the Director-General of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations for a five-year term, according to the program’s website.
(Reporting by Susan Heavey; Writing by Daphne Psaledakis; Editing by Doina Chiacu, Michelle Nichols and Ros Russell)
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