ROME: The UN’s World Food Programme has warned that staggering funding cuts risk pushing up to 13.7 million current food aid recipients into emergency hunger levels.
This emergency level is just one step before a full-scale famine classification.
Six key operations in Afghanistan, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Haiti, Somalia, South Sudan, and Sudan are currently facing major disruptions.
These disruptions are projected to worsen significantly by the end of the year.
The Rome-based agency reported a staggering 40% reduction in its funding for 2025.
Projected funding of $6.4 billion compares to $9.8 billion received in 2024.
The humanitarian system is under severe strain as partners withdraw from frontline locations.
This withdrawal creates a dangerous vacuum in essential aid delivery.
The report highlighted a Lancet medical journal analysis about the huge impact of US assistance cuts.
Former US President Donald Trump slashed foreign aid upon his return to office in January.
These cuts have dealt a heavy blow to humanitarian operations across the globe.
Programme coverage has been severely reduced and food rations have been cut.
Life-saving assistance to households in Catastrophe, or IPC Phase 5, is now at serious risk.
Preparedness for future shocks has also dropped drastically due to funding shortages.
The Integrated Food Security Phase Classification is a UN-backed initiative measuring global hunger.
WFP estimates its funding shortfalls could push 10.5 to 13.7 million people into Emergency Phase 4.
These individuals are currently experiencing Crisis, or IPC Phase 3, levels of acute food insecurity.
WFP Executive Director Cindy McCain stated the world faces hunger on an unprecedented scale.
She said the funds needed to respond are woefully insufficient for the current crisis.
McCain added that they are watching the lifeline for millions of people disintegrate.
Just 600,000 people will receive WFP food aid this month in the Democratic Republic of Congo.
This figure is dramatically down from a planned 2.3 million recipients.
Less than 10% of those in need are getting assistance in Afghanistan despite soaring malnutrition.
Expensive airdrops in famine-risk areas of South Sudan are under threat from funding constraints.
Families in Haiti are now receiving only half of the agency’s standard monthly food rations.
Global hunger has reached record levels with 319 million people facing acute food insecurity.
This total includes 44 million people already at emergency levels of hunger.
The UN formally declared a famine in Gaza earlier this year.
The number of people in famine or on the brink has doubled in just two years to 1.4 million.
This catastrophic situation spans across five different countries.
Rising hunger levels not only put lives at immediate risk but also undermine regional stability.
They fuel the displacement of communities from their homes and homelands.
McCain warned that decades of progress in the fight against hunger are now at risk of being lost. – AFP
