Cindy McCain announced Thursday that she is stepping down as head of the World Food Programme, citing health issues and saluting the work as "the honor of a lifetime."
"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, 71, said in a statement. "This is one of the most difficult decisions I have ever had to make."
McCain has served as the executive director of the humanitarian organization, which provides food assistance to more than 100 million people around the world.
The widow of Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., she made the decision experiencing in October what her office described as a mild stroke. She resumed her role after weeks of recuperation.
In a video posted to X, McCain addressed her agency's staff and said "my doctors and my family want me to come home," adding that she has not yet recovered.
"I’ve seen firsthand WFP’s ability to save lives in the most dangerous, destitute, and remote locations of the world, where people need us the most," McCain said in a statement. "Time and time again, I have seen the WFP team show up where no one else can, no matter the odds."
McCain, who has lead the organization since 2023, is expected to stay for a transition period. She said in her statement that she would still be the program's "biggest champion and continue to be an unwavering voice for those struggling with hunger everywhere."
During her tenure, McCain spoke out about hunger in Gaza, saying in a 2024 interview on "Meet the Press" that she believed there was a "full-blown famine."
"Whenever you have conflicts like this, and emotions rage high, and things happen in a war, famine happens," she said at the time.
McCain also raised awareness about attacks on humanitarian relief workers, and warned in 2024 that the war in Sudan "risks triggering the world’s largest hunger crisis."
Lawmakers praised McCain's work in the hours after she announced she was stepping down.
"While her departure will be an enormous loss, the work she’s done has left WFP in a better place — fit for the future," Rep. Michael McCaul, R-Texas, said in a post to X.
Sen. Chris Coons, D-Del., said on X that he was "grateful" for her leadership and "glad to call her a friend."
"I know when she fully recovers, she’ll head into her next chapter stronger than ever," Coons said.
Before helming the organization, McCain served as the U.S. ambassador to the United Nations Agencies for Food and Agriculture.
Her husband, who had brain cancer, died in 2018 at 81. The late senator was the Republican nominee for president in 2008, losing the race to Barack Obama.
