The World Food Programme faces the imminent suspension of food aid for millions of refugees in Ethiopia due to sharp international funding cuts.
Ethiopia, Africa’s second most populous country, hosts refugees fleeing conflict in Sudan and South Sudan, alongside tens of thousands displaced internally.
WFP Ethiopia director Zlatan Milisic said the agency urgently needs $230 million to sustain humanitarian operations over the next six months.
“Without immediate new funding, WFP could be forced to completely suspend food assistance for all refugees in the coming months,” he warned.
Cuts in foreign aid by the United States and other Western countries have worsened funding shortfalls across multiple developing nations.
This month, WFP reduced rations for 780,000 refugees in 27 camps across Ethiopia, leaving many with fewer than 1,000 calories per day.
“Every ration cut is a child left hungrier, a mother forced to skip meals, a family pushed closer to the edge,” Milisic said.
The reductions fall far below the recommended daily intake of 2,100 calories, intensifying the risk of malnutrition among vulnerable populations.
Ethiopia continues to receive refugees from Sudan’s civil war and South Sudan’s ongoing instability, while internal conflicts displace tens of thousands of its own citizens.
Earlier in April, WFP halted aid for 650,000 malnourished women and children, highlighting the severity of the humanitarian crisis.
From January to October, the programme provided life-saving assistance to 4.7 million people across the country, though the outlook grows increasingly dire.
Milisic stressed that without rapid international intervention, the humanitarian lifeline could collapse, threatening the survival of countless families and children.