The World Food Programme is forced to suspend aid for 650,000 malnourished women and children in Ethiopia from May, due to lack of funding, the United Nations agency said on Tuesday.
World Food Programme to halt aid for 650,000 women and children in Ethiopia
An Ethiopian woman sits next to a sack of wheat after it was distributed to her by the Relief Society of Tigray in 2021.
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AP Photo
The organisation warned that without "urgent new funding", 3.6 million people could lose access to food assistance in Ethiopia in the coming weeks.
“The situation has become untenable, and WFP has no other choice but to cut life-saving support”, said Zlatan Milišić, WFP Country Director in Ethiopia.
The Eastern African country is especially vulnerable to food insecurity, with more than 10 million of its people facing hunger and malnutrition.
Conflicts in Ethiopia and neighbouring countries, like Sudan and South Sudan, have also forced a million people out of their homes.
The World Food Programme also alerted about the risk of drought, which could further raise the urgency for humanitarian action.
Despite these growing needs, the UN agency has been directly hit by American President Donald Trump’s decision to drastically reduce US foreign aid. The US had traditionally been WFP’s largest donor.
Ethiopia, with its population of over 125 million people, had been the biggest beneficiary of US aid in sub-Saharan Africa, receiving $1.8 billion in the 2023 financial year.
Other Western countries, including in Europe, have also cut their foreign aid budgets.
The World Food Programme in Ethiopia said it faces a funding shortfall of US$222 million between April and September 2025.
"Millions of Ethiopians are one shock away from falling into a catastrophe", said Zlatan Milišić. "We need a swift and generous donor response to ensure the country’s most vulnerable people get the assistance they need.”