Aid cuts ‘risk pushing 13.7 mln people into extreme hunger’
ROME
The U.N.'s World Food Program warned on Wednesday that "staggering" cuts to its funding risked pushing up to 13.7 million people currently receiving food aid into "emergency" levels of hunger, one step before famine.
It warned that six key operations, in Afghanistan, the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), Haiti, Somalia, South Sudan, and Sudan, "are currently facing major disruptions, which will only get worse by year-end."
"WFP is facing a staggering 40 percent reduction in funding, with projections of $6.4 billion compared to $9.8 billion in 2024," the Rome-based agency wrote in a new report.
"The humanitarian system is under severe strain as partners pull back from frontline locations, creating a vacuum," it added.
It did not name any one country, but noted a report in The Lancet medical journal about the huge impact of cuts to U.S. assistance.
Donald Trump slashed foreign aid after returning as U.S. president in January, dealing a heavy blow to humanitarian operations worldwide.
Across the world, "WFP estimates that its funding shortfalls could push 10.5 to 13.7 million people currently experiencing ‘Crisis’ levels of acute food insecurity into ‘Emergency,’" it said.
"The world is facing hunger issues on a scale never seen before, and the funds needed to help us respond are woefully insufficient," said WFP Executive Director Cindy McCain.
"We are watching the lifeline for millions of people disintegrate before our eyes."
Global hunger "is at record levels," with 319 million people facing acute food insecurity, including 44 million in emergency levels of hunger, the agency said.
