GENEVA — GENEVA (AP) — The U.N. food aid agency said Wednesday that deep funding cuts from its biggest donors are hurting its operations in six countries and warned that nearly 14 million people could be pushed into extreme levels of hunger.
The World Food Programme, traditionally the UN's best-funded agency, said in a new report that its funding this year has “never been more challenging” – in large part because US spending has fallen under the Trump administration and other leading Western donors.
He warned that 13.7 million food aid recipients could face extreme hunger due to funding cuts. Countries facing “severe disruption” include Afghanistan, Congo, Haiti, Somalia, South Sudan and Sudan, it said.
“We are watching the lifeline of millions of people unravel before our eyes,” said executive director Cindy McCain.
WFP said it expects to receive 40% less funding this year, bringing its projected budget to $6.4 billion – after receiving about $10 billion last year.
“It's not just a funding gap—it's a real gap between what we need to do and what we can afford,” McCain said. “We risk losing decades of progress in the fight against hunger.”
The Rome-headquartered agency says global hunger has already reached record levels, with 319 million people facing acute food insecurity, including 44 million at emergency levels. Famine began in the Gaza Strip and Sudan.
In Afghanistan, food aid reaches less than 10% of food-insecure people, meaning they don't know where their next meal will come from, the agency says.
The WFP says it has received about $1.5 billion from the United States this year, down from nearly $4.5 billion last year, while other top donors have also cut funding.
Many United Nations system organizations, including migration, health and refugee agencies, have announced steep cuts in aid and staff this year as support from traditional major donors dwindles. The humanitarian aid community has also been hit by drastic spending cuts. US Agency for International Developmentor USAID.
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Correction to clarify that WFP received about $1.5 billion from the United States this year, not the amount the agency expects.
