58-million face hunger crisis after huge shortfall in aid, says UN's WFP

The UN World Food Programme (WFP) warned on Friday 58-million people were at risk of extreme hunger or starvation unless urgent funding for food aid is secured after drastic shortfalls from donors so far this year, including the US.

The Rome-based agency said it faced a 40% slump in donations in 2025 compared with last year, adding the shortfall threatened feeding programmes in 28 crisis zones around the world, including Gaza, Sudan, Syria and the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC).

“WFP is prioritising the worst-affected regions and stretching food rations to maximise impact. We are approaching a funding cliff with life-threatening consequences,” said Rania Dagash-Kamara, WFP assistant executive director for partnerships and innovation.

WFP, which describes itself as the world's largest humanitarian organisation, said 343-million people globally were experiencing severe food insecurity, driven by conflict, economic instability and climate change.

It aims to assist 123-million in 2025, nearly half of whom face an imminent loss of food support, it said.

According to WFP's website, the agency received just $1.57bn (R28.8bn) in funding up until March 24. For the whole of 2024, WFP received $9.75bn (R178.85bn), well below the $21.1bn (R387.04bn) it had sought.

WFP did not point the finger at specific countries for cutting contributions, but a breakdown on its website showed the US, long the biggest donor, had so far contributed just under 10% of the $4.45bn (R81.62bn) it gave for the full-year 2024.

US President Donald Trump's administration is reviewing its foreign aid programmes and has largely shut down the foreign aid agency USAID.

US donations to WFP of food purchased from American farmers were briefly suspended by the Trump administration but resumed in February under a waiver authorising emergency food aid.

Other countries are also falling short of commitments from previous years, the WFP website showed, including Britain, which has said it will slash foreign aid this year to fund a defence build-up.

Anti-poverty group Caritas Europa has said a number of European countries are also looking to cut foreign aid budgets.

WFP said it required $2.49bn (R45.67bn) to sustain emergency relief efforts in the coming months in Sudan, South Sudan, the DRC, Palestine, Syria, Yemen, Lebanon, Myanmar, Haiti, the Sahel and Lake Chad Basin.

Earlier this week, it said programmes to help prevent malnourishment in children in Yemen, Afghanistan and Syria could be suspended within months if urgent funding was not found. It also announced it was reducing rations for Rohingya refugees in Bangladesh due to a lack of resources.

Earlier this month it said it was closing its Southern Africa bureau due to funding constraints.

Reuters