View previous stories
	US Aid funding freeze leaves millions in jeopardy by UN News, Interaction, Caritas, ICVA, agencies   May 2025   Millions will die from aid funding cuts, says UN aid chief. (UN News)   Lifesaving operations everywhere continue to be shut down by sweeping funding cutbacks which will result in millions of people dying, the UN’s top aid official said on Wednesday.   “Cutting funding for those in greatest need is not something to boast about...the impact of aid cuts is that millions die,” warned UN Emergency Relief Coordinator Tom Fletcher.   Speaking from an overcrowded hospital in Kandahar in southern Afghanistan where three or four patients have to share a bed, Mr. Fletcher warned that the financial crisis has already forced UN aid teams to close 400 primary health centres across the country so far.   His warning echoes dire announcements of drastic forced cost-cutting measures in response to chronic – and now acute – funding shortfalls, including an end to aid programmes by numerous UN relief agencies. These include the World Food Programme (WFP), the World Health Organization (WHO), the UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF), the UN aid coordination office (OCHA), the UN refugee agency (UNHCR) and UNAIDS.   The reality of funding cuts continues to play out in its hospitals “where you can see doctors making the most horrific decisions about which lives to save and which lives not to save”, Mr. Fletcher said at Mirwais Regional Hospital.   In an interview with reporters U.N. spokesman Stephane Dujarric said the UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres was “deeply troubled by the drastic funding reduction.”   “The heads of our humanitarian agencies are being forced to take impossibly painful decisions as budget cuts have an immediate and often deadly impact on the world’s most vulnerable,” Dujarric said. “We understand the pressures on national budgets faced by governments, but these cuts come at a time when military spending again hits record levels.” (SIPRI 2024 Military spending: $2.7 trillon. U.S.$997 billion)   http://www.ungeneva.org/en/news-media/news/2025/04/105810/millions-will-die-funding-cuts-says-un-aid-chief http://humanitarianaction.info/document/us-funding-freeze-global-survey http://www.unicef.org/press-releases/acute-food-insecurity-and-malnutrition-rise-sixth-consecutive-year-worlds-most http://www.fsinplatform.org/report/global-report-food-crises-2025/   (AP) — Several U.N. agencies that provide aid to children and other vulnerable people around the world are being forced to dramatically reduce their programs, with officials pointing to funding reductions mainly from the United States and warning that vital humanitarian relief programs will be severely affected as a result.   The U.N. children’s agency projects that its funding will be at least 20% less in 2025 compared with 2024. The U.N. World Food Program is expected to be forced to cut up to 30% of its staff. The head of the U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees said it would be forced to reduce costs by 30%.   The International Organization for Migration said it had been hit by a 30% decrease in funding for the year, mainly because of U.S. cuts. It said it was ending programs that affect 6,000 personnel.   The U.N. Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, known as OCHA, also announced this month that it is cutting its 2,600 staff who operate in more than 60 countries by 20% because of “brutal cuts” in funding that have left it with a nearly $60 million shortfall.   In a letter to staff, U.N. humanitarian chief Tom Fletcher didn’t say which country was responsible for the cuts but indicated it was the United States.   The World Food Programme, the world’s largest humanitarian organization, received nearly half of its funding from the United States in 2024. Asked about the planned cuts, the organization said in a statement that WFP will prioritize its limited resources on vital programs that bring urgently needed food assistance to the 343 million people struggling with hunger and increasingly facing starvation.”   The WFP said the cuts will “impact all geographies, divisions and levels” in the agency.   “Hard-earned gains and future progress for children are at risk because of a global funding crisis in which some donors are sharply decreasing their financial support to UNICEF and our partners, as well as their contributions to international aid more broadly,” UNICEF said in a statement.   The U.N.’s top refugee agency provides help to some 43.7 million refugees worldwide, along with others among the 122 million people driven from their homes by conflicts and natural disasters.   “The impact of this funding cut back on refugees’ lives and those displaced is already devastating and will get far worse,” the agency said. Programs providing food, clean water, medicines, emergency shelter and other services “will reduce or stop.”   7 Apr. 2025   InterAction, the leading alliance of international non-governmental organizations (NGOs) and partners in the United States, issued the following statement in response to the Trump administration’s latest terminations of life-saving foreign assistance awards.   InterAction strongly condemns the latest wave of terminations of humanitarian life-saving grants.   The terminations include grants that were previously terminated, reviewed, reinstated, and now re-terminated. Some programs were in active conversations with the United States government to scale up or extend programming in crisis settings. Additionally, the State Department notified Congress of active programs, only to terminate them later.   “This sudden withdrawal of vital humanitarian support will have devastating consequences for millions of people,” said Tom Hart, President and CEO of InterAction. “These cancellations cut off life-saving food, water, shelter, and medical services to women, children, and families in countries like Yemen, Syria, Afghanistan, and Sudan.”   “We call on the administration to reverse these decisions and collaborate with implementing NGOs on a responsible approach to life-saving assistance,” added Hart. “We also urge Congress to assert its oversight authority to ensure America’s humanitarian commitments are fulfilled.”   http://www.interaction.org/statement/statement-on-the-latest-wave-of-foreign-assistance-terminations/ http://www.pbs.org/newshour/world/as-u-s-foreign-aid-drops-united-nations-agencies-that-provide-aid-worldwide-slash-jobs-or-cut-costs http://www.wfp.org/news/tens-millions-risk-extreme-hunger-and-starvation-unprecedented-funding-crisis-spirals http://reliefweb.int/report/world/food-security-impact-reduction-wfp-funding http://www.unicef.org/press-releases/statement-unicef-executive-director-catherine-russell-globalforeign-aid-reductions http://www.unicef.org/press-releases/least-14-million-children-face-disruptions-critical-nutrition-services-2025-unicef http://reliefweb.int/report/world/children-facing-extreme-hunger-crisis-put-risk-aid-cuts-clinics-close http://alliancecpha.org/en/brief-global-impact-funding-cuts-children   http://www.oxfamamerica.org/press/trump-administration-plan-for-future-of-foreign-aid-will-cause-further-suffering-oxfam/ http://www.acaps.org/en/us-funding-freeze http://www.unhcr.org/news/briefing-notes/unhcr-funding-crunch-increases-risks-violence-danger-and-death-refugees http://www.msf.org/after-first-100-days-us-aid-budget-cuts http://www.who.int/publications/m/item/the-impact-of-suspensions-and-reductions-in-health-official-development-assistance-on-health-systems http://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-025-01191-z http://www.icvanetwork.org/90-day-suspension-order-resources/ http://www.icvanetwork.org/uploads/2025/03/Lives-on-the-Line-Final-Report.pdf http://www.unocha.org/news/not-drill-aid-cuts-risk-costing-lives http://unocha.medium.com/this-is-not-a-drill-lives-are-already-being-lost-c8e965f94590   28 Mar. 2025   Tens of millions at risk of extreme hunger and starvation as unprecedented funding crisis spirals.   The United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) warned today that 58 million people risk losing life-saving assistance in the agency’s 28 most critical crisis response operations unless new funding is received urgently.   Despite the generosity of many governments and individual donors, WFP is experiencing a steep decline in funding across its major donors. The severity of these cuts, combined with record levels of people in need, have led to an unprecedented crisis for tens of millions across the globe reliant on food aid.   Right now, the organization is facing an alarming 40 percent drop in funding for 2025, as compared to last year. This is having severe repercussions for its food aid efforts globally, particularly emergency feeding programmes that support the most vulnerable.   “WFP is prioritizing countries with the greatest needs and stretching food rations at the frontlines. While we are doing everything possible to reduce operational costs, make no mistake, we are facing a funding cliff with life-threatening consequences,” said Rania Dagash-Kamara, WFP Assistant Executive Director for Partnerships and Innovation. “Emergency feeding programmes not only save lives and alleviate human suffering, they bring greatly needed stability to fragile communities, which can spiral downwards when faced with extreme hunger.”   Today, global hunger is skyrocketing as 343 million people face severe food insecurity, driven by an unrelenting wave of global crises including conflict, economic instability, and climate-related emergencies.   In 2025, WFP’s operations are focused on supporting just over one-third of those in need - roughly 123 million of the world’s hungriest people - nearly half of whom (58 million) are at imminent risk of losing access to food assistance.   Last year, WFP teams helped feed more than 120 million people in 80 countries, delivering urgent food aid to hunger hot spots and frontline crises around the world.   As WFP works to quickly adapt its operations to current low funding levels, it is alerting donors that its 28 most critical crisis response operations are facing severe funding constraints and dangerously low food supplies through August.   The 28 programmes span: Lebanon, Sudan, Syria, South Sudan, Chad, Afghanistan, Myanmar, Uganda, Niger, Burkina Faso, DRC, Yemen, Mali, Bangladesh, Venezuela, Haiti, Mozambique, Nigeria, Somalia, Kenya, Ukraine, Malawi, Burundi, Ethiopia, Palestine, Central African Republic, Jordan, and Egypt.   Below are a few examples of these programmes.   Sudan: WFP requires nearly US$570 million to support over 7 million people per month in Sudan where a looming pipeline break will hit as early as April. Famine was first confirmed in Zamzam camp near the embattled city of El Fasher and has since spread to 10 areas across North Darfur and the Western Nuba mountains. In Sudan 24.6 million people do not have enough to eat.   Delays in funding to deliver emergency food assistance, emergency nutrition and emergency logistics will cut a vital lifeline for millions with immediate and devastating consequences for vulnerable populations, who in many cases are just one step away from starvation.   Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC): WFP requires US$399 million to feed 6.4 million as escalating violence by militia groups in the east has already displaced more than a million people. Food and nutrition assistance across the DRC is vital to stabilize the region and reach the most vulnerable who have already been displaced by conflict multiple times.   Palestine: WFP emergency response requires approximately US$265 million over the next six months to provide support to nearly 1.4 million people in Gaza and the West Bank.   An additional US$34 million is urgently needed for 3-month shock-responsive cash transfer assistance to support 40,000 families in the West Bank. The humanitarian situation in Gaza remains critical with over 2 million people fully dependent on food assistance – most of them displaced, without shelter and income.   Syria: WFP requires US$140 million to provide food and nutrition assistance to 1.2 million people every month. Without new funding, WFP faces a pipeline break in August which would cut off food assistance to one million of the most severely food-insecure individuals. Any disruption in life-saving assistance threatens to erode stability and social cohesion during a critical moment when millions of Syrians try to return home.   Lebanon: WFP requires US$162 million to feed 1.4 million people as severe funding shortfalls are already disrupting food assistance to vulnerable Lebanese and Syrian refugees – fostering instability and heightened social tensions. With an ongoing economic crisis and government transition in Lebanon, food insecurity continues to rise with one in three already facing acute hunger.   South Sudan: WFP requires US$281 million to provide food and nutrition assistance to 2.3 million people escaping war, climate extremes, and an economic disaster - plunging them into a severe hunger crisis. South Sudan has also seen more than one million people arrive, fleeing from the war in Sudan.   Nearly two-thirds of the people in South Sudan are acutely food insecure. New funding for WFP’s crisis response activities in South Sudan is needed now to preposition life-saving food ahead of the rainy season.   Myanmar: WFP requires US$60 million to provide life-saving food assistance to 1.2 million people. Without immediate new funding a pipeline break in April will cut off one million from all support. Increased conflict, displacement and access restrictions are already sharply driving up food aid needs as the lean season is expected to begin in July when food shortages hit hardest.   Haiti: WFP requires US$10 million to feed 1.3 million as brutal violence by armed groups has caused record levels of hunger and displacement. Half the population is facing extreme hunger and a quarter of the children under the age of five are stunted.   More than a million people have been forced from their homes, including a record 60,000 in just one month this year. WFP has been providing hot meals and cash assistance to displaced people, but without new funding, that lifesaving assistance could be suspended in the coming weeks.   Saheland Lake Chad Basin: WFP requires US$570 million to reach 5 million people with life-saving food and nutrition assistance. Without new funding a pipeline break is expected in April. Millions of the most vulnerable people in Burkina Faso, Mali, Mauritania, Niger, the Central African Republic, Cameroon, and Nigeria in need of emergency support also face dire consequences as the June to August lean season approaches. At current funding levels, five million people risk losing critical support from WFP in the months ahead.   * The United Nations World Food Programme is the world’s largest humanitarian organization saving lives in emergencies and using food assistance to build a pathway to peace, stability and prosperity for people recovering from conflict, disasters and the impact of climate change.   http://www.wfp.org/news/tens-millions-risk-extreme-hunger-and-starvation-unprecedented-funding-crisis-spirals http://www.wfp.org/news/persistent-violence-and-displacement-lead-record-hunger-haiti-needs-skyrocket http://www.wfp.org/news/wfp-runs-out-food-stocks-gaza-border-crossings-remain-closed http://www.wfp.org/news/conflict-and-rising-food-prices-drive-congolese-one-worlds-worst-food-crises-according-new-ipc http://www.wfp.org/news/wfp-calls-urgent-access-preposition-food-sudan-rainy-season-risks-cutting-roads-starving http://www.fao.org/newsroom/detail/two-years-since-the-start-of-the-conflict-sudan-is-facing/en http://www.wfp.org/stories/people-south-sudan-deserve-freedom-prisons-conflict-and-hunger http://www.wfp.org/news/wfp-warns-rising-hunger-and-malnutrition-ethiopia-humanitarian-needs-outpace-resources http://www.wfp.org/news/wfp-calls-urgent-investment-prevent-child-wasting-leaders-convene-nutrition-growth-summit http://www.ipcinfo.org/ http://reliefweb.int/report/sudan/hunger-hotspots-fao-wfp-early-warnings-acute-food-insecurity-november-2024-may-2025-outlook http://www.fao.org/giews/country-analysis/external-assistance/en/ http://www.wfp.org/publications/wfp-2025-global-outlook http://humanitarianaction.info/document/global-humanitarian-overview-2025   12 Mar. 2025   Many will die because of humanitarian funding cuts. (UN News, agencies)   The UN’s top humanitarian relief official has warned that the global humanitarian system has reached breaking point, with funding cuts forcing life-or-death decisions over which desperately needed aid programmes to sustain and which to shut down.   Tom Fletcher, Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs, told reporters at a briefing in New York that the current crisis was the most severe challenge to international humanitarian work since World War II.   “We were already overstretched, under resourced and literally under attack, with last year being the deadliest year on record to be a humanitarian worker. But it is far tougher for the 300 million plus people who we serve,” he said.   “The pace and scale of the funding cuts are a seismic shock to the sector … many will die because aid is drying up. Right now, programmes are shutting down, staff are being laid off, and we are being forced to choose which lives to prioritise.”   Humanitarian crises are unfolding against a backdrop of instability, rising conflicts, climate shocks and economic downturns that have left millions in need of assistance. However, rather than an increase in support, the UN and its humanitarian partners are facing deep funding shortfalls.   Mr. Fletcher revealed that in February alone, 10 percent of humanitarian non-governmental organization (NGO) workers were laid off due to funding gaps, while UN agencies are being forced to scale back life-saving operations across multiple countries.   “For the people we serve, these cuts are not abstract budget numbers – they are a matter of survival,” he stressed.   Mr. Fletcher said UN humanitarian country teams were prioritizing existing funding for local and national organizations, those closest to the crises so they can have more impact over the distribution of the limited resources. He acknowledged that many decisions will be painful, as vital programmes will be cut due to the dramtic shortfall in available resources.   “Our mission remains clear: to save as many lives as we can with the resources we have,” Mr. Fletcher said.   The UN’s World Food Programme (WFP) said its aid provision in Somalia is being reduced, after last month’s estimate that 4.4 million people in the east African nation will be pushed into malnutrition from April because of drought, global inflation and conflict. This follows the WFP halving food rations for Rohingya refugees in Bangladesh and a similar cut in rations for refugees in Kenya   Elizabeth Campbell, director of ODI Global said the cuts “will mean high malnutrition rates, starvation and death”.   “The United States was by far the biggest global humanitarian donor, especially to the food sector, outstripping almost all other donors combined,” she said. “There is no other donor or group of donors who can fill that void, certainly not in the short term.”   The world had 281.1 million people facing high levels of severe food insecurity in 2023, according to the UN’s Food and Agriculture Organization’s (FAO) most recent report, but the “stop work” orders issued by the US government in January have probably pushed millions more into hunger.   As well as the cuts increasing malnutrition, aid workers are concerned that they will also affect the ability to treat them because of the closure of health clinics.   Rein Paulsen, FAO’s emergencies director, said food aid was now being directed to only a limited number of the most extreme immediate cases. “About 200 million people in severe need are left behind,” he said. “The support being provided is focused on the very short term, aimed at keeping people alive for the coming weeks or months.”   Alexandra Rutishauser-Perera, head of nutrition for Action Against Hunger, said the aid sector was in “emergency mode” to feed people in crisis, after setbacks from Covid, a series of conflicts and the climate crisis.   Meg Sattler, of Ground Truth Solutions, which surveys recipients of aid, said malnourished children in Somalia were now dying as a result of funding cutbacks. She said her organisation had documented aid deliveries stopping in Darfur – the worst-hit region of Sudan’s civil war – and families having the cash payments they relied on stopped. “The reality is people are dying and they’re going to continue dying,” said Sattler.   27 Feb. 2025   Trump administration says it’s cutting 90% of USAID foreign aid contracts. (AP)   The Trump administration said it is eliminating more than 90% of the U.S. Agency for International Development’s foreign aid contracts and $60 billion in overall U.S. assistance around the world, putting numbers on its plans to eliminate the majority of U.S. development and humanitarian help abroad. The cuts detailed by the administration would leave few surviving USAID projects remaining.   President Donald Trump and ally Elon Musk have hit foreign aid harder and faster than almost any other target. Trump on Jan. 20 ordered what he said would be a 90-day program-by-program review of which foreign assistance programs and cut off all foreign assistance funds almost overnight.   The funding freeze has stopped thousands of U.S.-funded programs abroad, and the administration and Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency teams have pulled the majority of USAID staff off the job through forced leave and mass firings.   Widely successful USAID programs credited with containing outbreaks of Ebola and other threats and saving more than 20 million lives in Africa through HIV and AIDS treatment are among those cut off from agency funds, USAID officials and officials with partner organizations say. Meanwhile, formal notifications of program cancellations are rolling out.   A coalition representing major U.S. and global businesses and nongovernmental organizations and former officials expressed shock at the move. “The American people deserve a transparent accounting of what will be lost — on global health, food security, counterterror and competition,” the U.S. Global Leadership Coalition said.   Liz Schrayer, President and CEO of USGLC: "Nothing about this process has been in ‘good faith'. Gutting nearly all U.S. international assistance programs, dangerously undermines America".   The State Department said Secretary of State Marco Rubio had reviewed the terminations. In all, the Trump administration said it will eliminate 5,800 of 6,200 multiyear USAID contract awards, for a cut of $54 billion. Another 4,100 of 9,100 State Department grants were being eliminated..   http://tinyurl.com/8d6hsprj http://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2025/03/15/opinion/foreign-aid-cuts-impact.html http://apnews.com/article/usaid-cuts-hunger-sickness-288b1d3f80d85ad749a6d758a778a5b2 http://www.interaction.org/statement/60-ngos-respond-to-terminations-of-life-saving-programs/ http://www.interaction.org/statement/interaction-statement-on-terminations-of-thousands-of-foreign-assistance-programs http://www.unicef.org/press-releases/statement-unicef-executive-director-catherine-russell-global-foreign-aid-reductions http://reliefweb.int/report/world/children-facing-extreme-hunger-crisis-put-risk-aid-cuts-clinics-close http://www.rescue.org/article/united-states-terminates-thousands-aid-programs http://www.rescue.org/article/what-humanitarian-aid-and-why-it-important http://www.mercycorps.org/blog/human-cost-of-foreign-aid-cuts http://www.nrc.no/news/2025/february/nrc-forced-to-suspend-even-lifesaving-us-funded-aid-this-week http://globalprotectioncluster.org/publications/2208/reports/report/gpc-funding-analysis-and-protection-risks-understanding-link-and   Feb. 2025   Critical supplies of life-saving medicines have been blocked and children left without food and battling malnutrition as multiple effects were reported across the globe after billionaire Elon Musk resolved to shut down the US government’s pre-eminent international aid agency USAid.   Chaotic scenes were seen in scores of countries as aid organisations warned of the risk of escalating disease and famine along with disastrous repercussions across multiple areas of humanitarian aid assistance programs. In 2023, the agency managed more than $40bn.   Countless aid organisations have already been forced to close down or lay off staff. Trump has tasked the billionaire Musk – who has falsely accused USAid of being a “criminal” organisation – with scaling down the US government’s lead agency for humanitarian assistance.   The impact on the global aid sector has been profound and immediate. US foreign aid accounts for four out of every $10 spent globally on humanitarian aid.   The initial repercussions include the abandonment in warehouses of supplies of crucial drugs in Sudan, the site of what is currently the world’s worst humanitarian crisis, as well as in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), where recent fighting in the east has further destabilised the fragile region.   Across Africa, hundreds of thousands of children who rely on school meals have been left without sustenance after food was left to rot in the wake of Musk’s declaration that he wanted the US aid agency to “die”.   “Partners on the ground are saying that in DRC and Sudan, medical supplies are stuck in warehouses,” said a spokesperson for a leading international aid organisation.   Among the projects already forced to close is a girls’ education project in Nepal, raising the risk of a rise in child marriage and trafficking.   “All payments are frozen for these projects. There’s a lot of misinformation. Organisations are having to make decisions in a vacuum,” said one humanitarian official.   In Bangladesh, the International Centre for Diarrhoeal Disease Research, which coordinates pioneering research into one of the most prolific killers of children, has laid off some of the world’s most respected scientists working on malaria programmes.   In Africa, malaria-control programmes in Uganda have been forced to adopt equally draconian measures with reports that dozens of vital projects for frontline care have been closed.   Farther south in Malawi, where many rely on donor-funded programmes for survival, fears are mounting that the aid freeze could redraw the country’s entire economy.   Within farming communities – the backbone of Malawi’s economy – Mike Dansa, chair of the Nsanje Civil Society Organisati­on, warned it could upend agricultural aid programmes that support smallholders with improved seeds, irrigation and climate-resilience projects, threatening food security in a country reeling from extreme weather events.   In Johannesburg, projects that have relied for more than 20 years on funding from the US HIV/Aids response programme, known as Pepfar, have had to lock their doors.   Dawie Nel, director of a Johannesburg clinic called Out, said his organisation, which looks after 6,000 clients, had suspended its treatment.   Across the Atlantic, similar scenes of chaos were playing out. In Colombia, which has been plagued by six decades of internal conflict and violence, large numbers of organisations rely on USAid funding.   Programmes providing emergency relief to families fleeing violence between armed groups and encouraging farmers to swap coca – the base ingredient of cocaine – for legal alternatives have ceased operating.   Colombia’s former president and Nobel peace prize laureate, Juan Manuel Santos, told the Guardian: “I have seen the massive benefit these programmes funded by USAid have generated for people across the country. To cut it, suddenly, is going to have a terrible humanitarian effect.”   Elsewhere, the director of a major international aid organisation in Colombia – who also requested anonymity – feared the impact on those who most needed help.   “The people who this is going to affect the most are those already without a safety net. Precisely those who are least able to find another source of food, shelter or income,” they said.   “Without naming countries or areas, we have had to close life-saving services, for children with acute malnutrition, and also testing and treatment sites for health facilities, nutrition facilities and wash facilities,” said one aid worker.   Jeremy Konyndyk, president of Refugees International and a former official at USAid, described Musk’s wish to close the agency as posing an existential threat to the humanitarian sector.   “It really is an extinction-level event for the global aid sector in the US and for much of the global relief and development sector around the world.”   Konyndyk added that it would also “destabilise” budgets of many large aid and United Nations organisations around the world. “It threatens really the collapse not just of what USAid does, but of the ecosystem of relief and development organisations that are doing good around the world every day,” he said.   Research from the Guttmacher Institute underlined such warnings, revealing that 11.7 million women and girls will be denied access to contraceptive care over the course of the 90-day aid freeze, which they predict means 8,340 women and girls would die from complications during pregnancy and childbirth.   Elsewhere, concern over the fate of the humanitarian sector was laid bare in a survey of 342 international development organisations, which concluded that without US funding, more than half were likely to close before May.   http://www.icvanetwork.org/uploads/2025/02/Impact-of-US-Funding-Suspension-Survey-Results-ICVA.pdf   Feb. 2025   US Aid funding pause leaves millions ‘in jeopardy’, insist UN humanitarians. (UN News)   UN Secretary-General António Guterres warned that severe cuts to humanitarian and development funding by the United States will have devastating consequences for millions of vulnerable people worldwide.   “These cuts impact a wide range of critical programmes,” he told reporters, highlighting the potential disruption to lifesaving humanitarian work and development projects.   He expressed the UN’s gratitude “for the leading role” the US has played over decades providing overseas aid, highlighting that thanks to the US and other donors, over 100 million people each year receive humanitarian support through UN programmes.   The cuts come at a time when global crises are intensifying, leaving millions at risk of hunger, disease and displacement, he said. “The consequences will be especially devastating for vulnerable people around the world,” Mr. Guterres said.   Beyond direct humanitarian relief, the cuts will also severely affect global health and security efforts. The UN Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) will be forced to halt many counter-narcotics operations, including those targeting the fentanyl crisis and dramatically scale back its activities against human trafficking. “And funding for many programmes combatting HIV/AIDS, tuberculosis, malaria and cholera have stopped,” Mr. Guterres said.   The Secretary-General urged the US Government to reconsider the funding cuts, warning that reducing America’s humanitarian role would have far-reaching consequences, not only for those in need but also for global stability.   “Going through with these cuts will make the world less healthy, less safe, and less prosperous,” he said, stating that UN agencies stand ready to provide the necessary information and justification for its projects. “We look forward to working with the United States in this regard,” he added.   Mr. Guterres said the UN would continue to do everything possible to provide lifesaving assistance and diversify funding sources. “Our absolute priority remains clear. We will do everything we can to provide life-saving aid to those in urgent need,” he said.   UN agencies offered a dire assessment of the global impact of deep cuts to grassroots humanitarian funding by the US Trump administration and reiterated calls for Washington to retain its position as a global aid leader.   The development follows the pause announced to billions of dollars of funding on 24 January by the US administration affecting “nearly all US foreign aid programmes.   Pio Smith from the UN Population Fund said that in response to the executive order, UNFPA “has suspended services funded by US grants that provide a lifeline for women and girls in crises, including in South Asia”.   The UN aid coordination agency OCHA, spokesperson Jens Laerke said that the agency’s country offices were “in close contact" with local US embassies to better understand how the situation will unfold.   He explained that the US Government funded around 47 per cent of the global humanitarian appeal across the world last year; “that gives you an indication of how much it matters when we are in the situation we are in right now, with the messaging we’re getting from the US Government”.   The move follows the announcement that the new US administration has placed the country’s principal overseas development agency, USAID, under the authority of the Secretary of State.   Staff from the agency have been locked out of their offices, while the head of the newly-formed Department of Government Efficiency Elon Musk has accused USAID of criminal activity and a lack of accountability.   “Public name-calling won't save any lives,” said OCHA’s Mr. Laerke, while Alessandra Vellucci, head of the UN Information Service at UN Geneva, highlighted the UN Secretary-General’s appeal for a productive relationship with the Trump administration.   “We are looking at continuing this work together and listening… if there are criticisms, constructive criticism and points that we need to review,” she told reporters, underscoring the “decades-long relationship between the UN and the US.   Amid uncertainty about future US funding, UNFPA’s Mr. Smith underscored the immediate impact on at-risk individuals in the world’s poorest settings: “Women give birth alone in unsanitary conditions; the risk of obstetric fistula is heightened, newborns die from preventable causes; survivors of gender-based violence have nowhere to turn for medical support,” he said.   “We hope that the US Government will retain its position as a global leader in development and continue to work with UNFPA to alleviate the suffering of women and their families as a result of catastrophes they did not cause.”   UNFPA works across the world including in Afghanistan, where more than nine million people are expected to lose access to health and protection services because of the US funding crisis, it said.   This will impact nearly 600 mobile health teams, family health houses and counselling centres, whose work will be suspended, Mr. Smith explained.   “Every two hours, a mother dies from preventable pregnancy complications, making Afghanistan one of the deadliest countries in the world for women to give birth. Without UNFPA’s support, even more lives will be lost at a time when the rights of Afghan women and girls are already being torn to pieces.”   In Pakistan, the UN agency warns that the US announcement will affect 1.7 million people, including 1.2 million Afghan refugees, who will be cut off from lifesaving sexual and reproductive health services, with the closure of over 60 health facilities.   In Bangladesh, nearly 600,000 people, including Rohingya refugees, face losing access to critical maternal and reproductive health services.   “This is not about statistics. This is about real lives. These are literally the world’s most vulnerable people,” Mr. Smith insisted. In Bangladesh’s Cox’s Bazar refugee camp complex –where more than one million Rohingya refugees remain trapped in dire conditions – nearly half of all births now take place in health facilities, with UNFPA’s support.   http://www.unocha.org/latest/news-and-stories http://humanitarianaction.info/document/global-humanitarian-overview-2025 http://www.nrc.no/news/2024/december/alarming-gap-in-humanitarian-assistance--millions-will-receive-no-support/ http://asiapacific.unfpa.org/en/news/unfpas-work-supporting-vulnerable-women-and-girls-south-asia http://news.un.org/en/story/2025/02/1160631 http://news.un.org/en/story/2025/02/1160646   Feb. 2025   Caritas strongly condemns the reckless decision by the U.S. Administration to abruptly close USAID funded programmes and offices worldwide.   Caritas recognizes the right of any new administration to review its foreign aid strategy. However, the ruthless and chaotic way this callous decision is being implemented threatens the lives and dignity of millions. Stopping USAID will jeopardise essential services for hundreds of millions of people, undermine decades of progress in humanitarian and development assistance, destabilise regions that rely on this critical support, and condemn millions to dehumanizing poverty or even death.   For over six decades, USAID has been a vital partner of Caritas and the Church globally, supporting vulnerable communities worldwide, providing lifesaving assistance for people affected by crises, alleviating hunger, delivering basic healthcare and education, improving access to clean water, sanitation, shelter and protection, and addressing the root causes of poverty. Its contributions have been paramount, fostering stability and development across many regions for decades.   Alistair Dutton, Secretary General, Caritas Internationalis, noted:   “Stopping USAID abruptly will kill millions of people and condemn hundreds of millions more to lives of dehumanising poverty. This is an inhumane affront to people’s God-given human dignity, that will cause immense suffering. Killing USAID also presents massive challenges for all of us in the global humanitarian community, who will have to completely reassess whom we can continue to serve and how.”   “Our immediate focus is working collaboratively with our partners and allies globally to reduce the impact of the freeze and ensure continued support for as many vulnerable people as we can. The lives and dignity of millions hang in the balance. We call on governments, international agencies, and stakeholders to speak out and strongly urge the U.S. Administration to reverse these dangerous measures.”   The ramifications of this decision extend far beyond U.S. borders. With USAID accounting for approximately 40% of the total global aid budget, the disruption will have catastrophic consequences worldwide. Direct recipients of USAID funds, secondary beneficiaries, UN agencies, and multilateral organisations, as well as national governments reliant on bilateral aid, all face severe operational setbacks. The resulting harm to people, particularly the poorest all around the world will be catastrophic, threatening the lives and dignity of millions".   http://www.caritas.org/2025/02/closure-of-usaid-foreign-aid-will-kill-millions/   Feb. 2025   ACT Alliance statement of concern over US administration policies’ impacts on humanitarian aid   As a Christian-based and rights-based coalition, the ACT Alliance is deeply concerned about the profound humanitarian consequences that may result from recent decisions by the United States administration severely limiting the ability of organizations around the world to continue to provide life-saving assistance to vulnerable individuals and families.   The ACT Alliance stands in solidarity with our members in the United States and around the world whose programs and standing have been affected by actions and narratives shared by the new administration. These sweeping and harmful policy decisions have significantly limited many of our members’ ability to maintain programs and serve vulnerable families who need critical services. These actions undermine the values of mercy, compassion, solidarity, inclusion, respect, and justice, which guide our mission and commitment to the most marginalized communities.   As people of faith, we believe in the moral imperative to care for those on the margins – mothers, children, people with disabilities, refugees, asylum seekers, migrants, and all who face systemic injustices. Foreign assistance has always been a testament to shared humanity; abrupt funding cuts threaten the ability of international and local NGOs to sustain essential services. The recent measures have life-and-death consequences for countless individuals. These shifts also reflect global trends in reductions of foreign assistance to respond to today’s humanitarian challenges.   We stand firm in our belief that together, through faith and rights-based action, we can build a world that upholds and protects the dignity and worth of every human being.   http://actalliance.org/act-news/act-general-secretary-statement-of-concern-over-us-administration-policies-impacts-on-humanitarian-aid/   State Department freezes funding for nearly all US aid programs worldwide. (25 Jan.)   The US State Department has issued a halt to nearly all existing foreign assistance and paused new aid. It makes exceptions only for emergency food aid. The notice calls for a 90-day pause in all foreign development assistance programmes pending a review. The United States is the world's biggest international aid donor.   Dave Harden, a former US Agency of International Aid (USAID) mission director, told the BBC the move was "very significant", saying it could see humanitarian and development programmes funded by the US around the world being immediately suspended, while the review is carried out. He said it could affect a wide range of critical development projects including water, sanitation and shelter.   "Not only does it pause assistance, but it puts a 'stop work' order in existing contracts that are already funded and underway. It's extremely broad".   Leading aid organizations were interpreting the directive as an immediate stop-work order for U.S.-funded aid work globally, a former senior U.S. Agency for International Development official said. Many would likely cease operations immediately so as not to incur more costs, the official said. The official was not authorized to speak publicly and spoke on condition of anonymity.   Suspending funding “could have life or death consequences” for children and families around the world, said Abby Maxman, head of Oxfam America.   “By suspending foreign development assistance, the Trump administration is threatening the lives and futures of communities in crisis, and abandoning the United States’ long-held bipartisan approach to foreign assistance which supports people based on need, regardless of politics,” Maxman said in a statement.   At the United Nations, deputy spokesman Farhan Haq said: “These are bilateral decisions but nonetheless we expect those nations who have the capability to generously fund development assistance".   InterAction, the leading alliance of U.S. international non-governmental organizations (NGOs) said America’s humanitarian and development organizations work tirelessly to save lives.   "The recent stop-work cable from the State Department interrupts critical life-saving work including clean water to infants, basic education for kids, ending the trafficking of girls, and providing medications to children and others suffering from disease, it halts decades of life-saving work through PEPFAR that helps babies to be born HIV-free".   "The foreign assistance review mandated by the President should proceed without disrupting existing programs, especially those programs millions need to survive".   The National Council of the Churches in the USA (NCC) said it was “alarmed by the freeze on federal funding for aid programs providing assistance and support to millions of vulnerable people around the world.. NCC strongly urges the Trump Administration to immediately rescind the Order.. Humanitarian groups are already experiencing significant negative impacts. We pray for a swift reversal of this decision”.   UN Secretary-General calls on US to exempt development and humanitarian funds from aid ‘pause’.   “The United Nations Secretary-General notes with concern the announcement of a pause in US foreign assistance,” said the statement issued on behalf of Antonio Guterres by his Spokesperson. “The Secretary-General calls for additional exemptions to be considered to ensure the continued delivery of critical development and humanitarian activities for the most vulnerable communities around the world, whose lives and livelihoods depend on this support:   http://news.un.org/en/story/2025/01/1159486   * Assessing the Impact of Trump’s Foreign Aid Freeze, interview with former senior USAid official Jeremy Konyndyk who now heads Refugees International. (Global Dispatches podcast):   http://www.globaldispatches.org/p/assessing-the-impact-of-trumps-foreign   28 Jan. 2025   UN Agencies, Charities reel from US Aid freeze warn of ‘life or death’ effects.   News agencies report UN agencies have begun cutting back their global aid operations following the 90-day suspension of all foreign assistance ordered by the Trump administration.   Filippo Grandi, the head of the UN’s refugee agency, UNHCR, responsible for providing life-saving assistance to the 122 million people forcibly displaced from their homes across 136 countries, sent out an overnight email to employees ordering an immediate clampdown on expenditure, including a 90-day delay in ordering new supplies except for emergencies, a hiring and contract freeze, and a halt to all international air travel, as the agency tries to adapt to the US funding freeze.   Grandi said the majority of UN agencies and other international aid organisations have been affected. Around the world, humanitarian assistance programmes have been forced to fire staff and slow down operations following the unprecedented US funding suspension ordered by Trump, pending a review of all aid programmes.   In his all-staff email, Grandi said: “We must proceed very carefully over the next few weeks to mitigate the impact of this funding uncertainty on refugees and displaced people, on our operations and on our teams.”   The US provided £2bn ($2.49bn) in funding to the UNHCR, according to the latest figures for 2024 – a fifth of the agency’s total budget.   Clinics in Uganda are scrambling to find new sources for vital HIV drugs, aid workers in Bangladesh fear refugee camp infrastructure will crumble, and mobile health units may have to stop treating civilians near the frontline in Ukraine. Services worldwide have been thrown into disarray by President Donald Trump’s executive order.   The US president’s Emergency Plan for Aids Relief (Pepfar) is included in the order. It provides antiretrovirals to 20 million people with HIV globally, and funds test kits and preventive medicine supplies for millions more. Already, clinics worldwide are reporting that supplies have been halted.   “This is a matter of life or death,” said Beatriz Grinsztejn, president of the International Aids Society, adding that stopping Pepfar would be disastrous. “If that happens, people are going to die and HIV will resurge.”   (UN AIDS reports they have received an emergency waiver to allow the continuation of life-saving HIV treatment funded by the US across 55 countries worldwide).   The One campaign estimated that nearly 3 million children could be at higher risk of malaria if the president’s malaria initiative paused work for 90 days.   The Secretary General of The Danish Refugee Council; “The latest figures indicate that 60 per cent of global funding for humanitarian response remained unmet. Disrupting or cutting off life-saving aid will have deadly consequences at a moment when humanitarian crises are multiplying, and the needs are greater than ever”.   Andriy Klepikov, executive director of the Alliance for Public Health in Ukraine, said: “Mobile integrated medical services to people in remote locations closely located to the frontline are impacted. We provide mobile medical services to people in the areas where there are no clinics, doctors or nurses. This is a very demanded and effective programme. “I hope Ukraine – being amid the war – will be able to continue such critical services.”   Thomas Byrnes, who runs a consulting firm specialising in the humanitarian sector, said the sudden stop-work orders would have a harsh, far-reaching impact because of the extent the global system relies on US funding. The US provides 42.3% of global aid funding, according to the UN, and as much as 54% of the World Food Programme’s funding.   Byrnes said the “unprecedented” freeze was “forcing organisations to halt programmes abruptly, leading to job losses and reduction in essential services to vulnerable populations. They are so abrupt, there’s no cool-down period – it’s not in 30 days or 60 days. You have to stop now.”   http://www.interaction.org/statement/interaction-statement-on-recent-actions-impacting-usaid http://www.icvanetwork.org/90-day-suspension-orders/ http://www.icvanetwork.org/90-day-suspension-order-resources/ http://www.icvanetwork.org/the-humanitarian-imperative-must-come-first/ http://www.cgdev.org/blog/usaid-being-dismantled-when-world-needs-it-most   http://www.unaids.org/en/resources/presscentre/pressreleaseandstatementarchive/2025/february/20250201_us-funding http://www.ipsnews.net/2025/02/tanzanians-with-hiv-left-in-crisis-as-u-s-aid-ends/ http://www.msf.org/uncertainty-around-pepfar-programme-puts-millions-people-risk http://www.gatesfoundation.org/ideas/media-center/press-releases/2025/01/pepfar-us-international-aid http://www.nytimes.com/2025/02/05/health/trump-usaid-pepfar.html http://www.nrc.no/news/2025/february/nrc-forced-to-suspend-essential-aid-work-in-almost-20-countries http://www.npaid.org/mine-action-and-disarmament/news/all-of-npas-us-funded-activities-are-put-on-pause http://www.theguardian.com/global-development/2025/jan/28/charities-reeling-from-usaid-freeze-warn-of-life-or-death-effects   http://www.devex.com/news/i-don-t-think-anyone-can-survive-for-90-days-aid-s-grim-new-reality-109207 http://www.nytimes.com/2025/02/05/opinion/usaid-spending-trump-musk.html http://newrepublic.com/article/191063/death-usaid-trump-musk-lives http://www.saveusforeignassistance.net/ http://www.propublica.org/article/trump-doge-rubio-usaid-musk-death-toll-malaria-polio-tuberculosis http://www.propublica.org/topics/usaid http://www.cgdev.org/blog/no-90-percent-aid-not-skimmed-reaching-target-communities http://tinyurl.com/3jcncj7z http://tinyurl.com/yc3p2k5r http://www.cgdev.org/blog/secretary-rubio-waivers-arent-working-please-fix-process http://carnegieendowment.org/emissary/2025/02/usaid-trump-foreign-aid-policy-why?lang=en   http://www.doctorswithoutborders.org/latest/freeze-us-foreign-aid-will-result-humanitarian-disaster http://www.crisisgroup.org/united-states/united-states/united-states-internal/us-aid-cuts-make-famine-more-likely-and-easier http://www.theguardian.com/global-development/2025/jan/31/trumps-aid-freeze-shuts-down-gold-standard-famine-monitoring-system http://drc.ngo/resources/news/global-displacement-crisis-set-to-surge-by-6-7-million-people-due-to-ongoing-conflicts-and-civilian-attacks-new-drc-forecast/ http://www.dw.com/en/us-foreign-aid-freeze-sends-shock-waves-around-the-world/a-71478989
	343 million people across 74 countries are experiencing acute food insecurity by GRFC, WFP-FAO News Release   May 2025   Hunger in the 21st century is indefensible. We cannot respond to empty stomachs with empty hands and turned backs   Acute food insecurity and malnutrition rise for sixth consecutive year in world's most fragile regions - Global Report on Food Crises (GRFC)   Acute food insecurity and child malnutrition rose for the sixth consecutive year in 2024, pushing hundreds of millions of people to the brink, in some of the world’s most vulnerable regions, according to the Global Report on Food Crises (GRFC).   The report shows conflict, economic shocks, climate extremes, and forced displacement continued to drive food insecurity and malnutrition around the world, with catastrophic impacts on many already fragile regions.   In 2024, more than 295 million people across 53 countries and territories experienced acute levels of hunger. Of great concern is the worsening prevalence of acute food insecurity, which now stands at 22.6 percent of the population assessed. This marks the fifth consecutive year in which this figure has remained above 20 percent.   The number of people facing catastrophic hunger (IPC/CH Phase 5) more than doubled to the highest on record since the GRFC began tracking in 2016.   Malnutrition, particularly among children, reached extremely high levels, including in the Gaza Strip, Mali, Sudan, and Yemen. Nearly 38 million children under five were acutely malnourished across 26 nutrition crises.   The report highlights a sharp increase in hunger driven by forced displacement, with nearly 95 million forcibly displaced people — including internally displaced persons (IDPs), asylum seekers and refugees — living in countries facing food crises such as the Democratic Republic of Congo, Colombia, Sudan, and Syria, out of a global total of 128 million forcibly displaced people.   Conflict remained the top driver of acute food insecurity, affecting around 140 million people in 20 countries and territories. Famine has been confirmed in Sudan, while other hotspots with people experiencing Catastrophic levels of acute food insecurity include the Gaza Strip, South Sudan, Haiti, and Mali.   Economic shocks including inflation and currency devaluation, drove hunger in 15 countries affecting 59.4 million people. Some of the largest and most protracted food crises were largely driven by economic shocks, including in Afghanistan, South Sudan, Syrian Arab Republic, and Yemen.   Weather extremes particularly El Nino-induced droughts and floods, pushed 18 countries into food crises affecting over 96 million people, with significant impacts in Southern Africa, Southern Asia and the Horn of Africa.   Antonio Guterres, UN Secretary-General:   "This Global Report on Food Crises is another unflinching indictment of a world dangerously off course.   Hunger is not an emergency confined to certain pockets of the world or periods of time. It is fast becoming a scar etched into the lives of tens of millions of people around the world. Fueled by conflict, geopolitical tensions, climate chaos, environmental vulnerabilities, and economic upheaval, food and nutrition crises define the lives of millions– not for weeks or months, but for years.   As detailed in this report, more than 295 million people faced acute hunger last year, the sixth consecutive annual increase. From Gaza and Sudan, to Yemen and Mali, catastrophic hunger driven by conflict and other factors is hitting record highs, pushing households to the edge of starvation.   Displacement has also surged, as violence and disasters rip families from their homes and condemn people of all ages to malnutrition and even death. Meanwhile climate extremes are growing in intensity – wreaking havoc on global food security, crippling harvests, and breaking supply chains.   The message is stark. Hunger and malnutrition are spreading faster than we are responding. The dramatic reduction in lifesaving humanitarian funding to respond to these needs is unacceptable. This is more than a failure of systems – it is a failure of humanity. Hunger in the 21st century is indefensible. We cannot respond to empty stomachs with empty hands and turned backs.   Governments, businesses and decision-makers must heed the clear warnings issued in this report. We must summon the funding and global solidarity to build the food-secure future that every person, everywhere, needs and deserves".   Catherine Russell, Executive Director, UNICEF:   “In a world of plenty, there is no excuse for children to go hungry or die of malnutrition. Hunger gnaws at the stomach of a child. It gnaws, too, at their dignity, their sense of safety, and their future. How can we continue to stand by when there is more than enough food to feed every hungry child in the world?   How can we ignore what is happening in front of our eyes? Millions of children’s lives hang in the balance as funding is slashed to critical nutrition services.”   Cindy McCain, Executive Director, World Food Programme:   “Like every other humanitarian organization, the World Food Programme is facing deep budget shortfalls which have forced drastic cuts to our food assistance programs. Millions of hungry people have lost, or will soon lose, the critical lifeline we provide. We have tried and tested solutions to hunger and food insecurity. But we need the support of our donors and partners to implement them.”   QU Dongyu, Director-General, FAO:   "Acute food insecurity is not just a crisis – it is a constant reality for millions of people, many who live in rural areas. Supporting rural communities – especially smallholder farmers – is central to greater food security. Investing in local food systems and nutrition services to address vulnerabilities and build resilience to shocks – especially in crisis-prone regions where 70 percent of rural households rely on agriculture for sustenance and livelihood is essential. It is a cost-effective solution to deliver significant long-lasting impact".   Raouf Mazou, Assistant High Commissioner for Operations, UNHCR:   “People who have been displaced show remarkable strength, but resilience alone can't end hunger. As food insecurity worsens and humanitarian crises become more prolonged, we need to shift from emergency aid to sustainable responses. That means creating real opportunities — access to land, livelihoods, markets and services — so people can feed themselves and their families, not just today, but well into the future.”   The report identified 36 countries and territories which have had prolonged food crises, with 80 per cent of their inhabitants facing high levels of food insecurity every year since 2016.   The report notes that worldwide food insecurity is the result of multiple, intertwined factors. “No region is immune, with crises overlapping and interacting, eroding decades of development gains and leaving people unable to recover,” the report states.   * In an indictment on the global failure of Governments and the private sector to respond, funding shortages are projected to further exacerbate food insecurity with funding for food-based humanitarian services and child nutrition programs expected to drop by 45 percent during 2025.   http://www.fsinplatform.org/report/global-report-food-crises-2025/ http://www.fsinplatform.org/report/global-report-food-crises-2025/#download http://www.wfp.org/news/acute-food-insecurity-and-malnutrition-rise-sixth-consecutive-year-worlds-most-fragile-regions http://news.un.org/en/story/2025/05/1163321 http://www.fao.org/newsroom/detail/acute-food-insecurity-and-malnutrition-rise-for-sixth-consecutive-year-in-world-s-most-fragile-regions---new-report/en http://www.unicef.org/press-releases/unicef-director-child-nutrition-and-development-joan-matjis-remarks-launch-global http://www.careinternational.org.uk/news-stories/care-response-global-report-food-crises-2025/   Dec. 2024   The World Food Programme (WFP) has called for some $16.9 billion to address the escalating global hunger crisis – or roughly what the world spends on coffee in just two weeks. The call follows the release of the agency’s Global Outlook 2025, which assesses global food security needs.   According to WFP, hunger continues to rise, with 343 million people across 74 countries experiencing acute food insecurity – a 10 per cent increase from last year.   This includes 1.9 million people who are on the brink of famine, with catastrophic hunger recorded in regions such as Gaza, Sudan, South Sudan, Haiti, and Mali.   Cindy McCain, WFP’s Executive Director, described the gravity of the situation: “Global humanitarian needs are rising, fuelled by devastating conflicts, more frequent climate disasters, and extensive economic turmoil. Yet funding is failing to keep pace.”   Funding shortfalls in 2024 forced WFP to scale back activities, often leaving some of the most vulnerable behind.   In Sub-Saharan Africa, over 170 million people face acute hunger, making the continent the focus of half of WFP’s funding needs for 2025.   Conflict in Sudan, the Democratic Republic of Congo, and the Sahel, combined with climate extremes exacerbated by El Nino, has deepened the crisis.   Humanitarian operations are under significant strain, with rising displacement and reduced access to essential resources creating further challenges.   The Middle East is witnessing alarming levels of food insecurity, with Gaza, Syria, and Yemen among the hardest-hit regions.   In Gaza, 91 per cent of the population is acutely food insecure, and 16 per cent are living under catastrophic conditions. Syria and Yemen face similar challenges, with millions dependent on food assistance amid ongoing conflict.   In Asia and the Pacific, 88 million people are struggling with hunger caused by climate-related disasters. The region’s vulnerabilities have been compounded by extreme weather events, which have disrupted food systems and livelihoods.   WFP plans to enhance social protection systems and anticipatory action to mitigate the effects of these crises.   Latin America and the Caribbean are also severely affected, with over 40 million people food insecure and 14.2 million identified as needing immediate assistance.   WFP’s focus in the region includes strengthening food systems, building climate resilience, and supporting social protection programmes to stabilise vulnerable communities and prevent further deterioration.   The $16.9 billion funding appeal would allow the organization to feed 123 million of the hungriest people globally in 2025.   “We urgently need financial support from the international community to help the most vulnerable communities meet their most basic food security needs,” Ms. McCain emphasised.   http://www.wfp.org/publications/wfp-2025-global-outlook   Nov. 2024   Acute food insecurity is set to increase in both magnitude and severity across 22 countries and territories, according to a new United Nations report.   The report warns that the spread of conflict, particularly in the Middle East – coupled with climate and economic stressors - is pushing millions of people to the brink.   The report spotlights the regional fallout from the crisis in Gaza which has seen Lebanon engulfed in conflict and warns that the La Nina weather pattern could impact climates through March 2025, threatening fragile food systems in already vulnerable regions.   The report draws attention to famine in the Zamzam camp in North Darfur and famine risk in other areas of Sudan, the enduring risk of famine in Palestine (Gaza Strip) and the catastrophic levels of acute food insecurity in Haiti, Mali and South Sudan.   It warns that without immediate humanitarian action and concerted efforts to overcome severe access constraints and resolve ongoing conflicts, further starvation and death are likely.   ‘Hunger Hotspots – FAO-WFP early warnings on acute food insecurity’, issued by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) and the United Nations World Food Programme (WFP), calls for urgent humanitarian action to save lives and livelihoods and prevent starvation and death in hotspots where acute hunger is at high risk of worsening between November 2024 and May 2025.   In total, 22 countries/territories are classified as “hunger hotspots”, where high levels of acute food insecurity are expected to further deteriorate due to the combination of conflict, economic instability, and climate shocks during the outlook period.   Without immediate intervention, including increased funding for food and livelihoods assistance, hundreds of thousands more people are expected to face starvation in the coming months.   “The situation in the five hunger hotspots of highest concern is catastrophic. People are experiencing an extreme lack of food and face unprecedented enduring starvation fuelled by escalating conflicts, climate crises and economic shocks. If we are to save lives and prevent acute hunger and malnutrition, we urgently need a humanitarian ceasefire, and to restore access to and availability of highly nutritious food, including reactivating local food production.   But this alone is not enough; we need longer-term stability and food security. Peace is a pre-requisite for food security. Without peace and stability, farmers cannot grow food, harvest or sustain their livelihoods. Access to nutritious food is not just a basic need – it is a fundamental human right,” said QU Dongyu, FAO Director-General.   “Worldwide, conflicts are escalating, economic instability is rising, and climate disasters are becoming the new norm. With more effective political and financial support, humanitarians can and will continue to implement proven solutions to address hunger and reduce needs over the long term,” said Cindy McCain, WFP Executive Director.   “It’s time for world leaders to step up and work with us to reach the millions of people at risk of starvation – delivering diplomatic solutions to conflicts, using their influence to enable humanitarians to work safely, and mobilizing the funding resources needed to address global hunger,” Director McCain added.   The effects of the La Nina weather pattern, anticipated to impact global climates from November 2024 through March 2025, are expected to further exacerbate a number of the food crises. The La Nina weather pattern is likely to cause devastating floods in countries such as Nigeria and South Sudan, while contributing to excessive dry conditions in Somalia, Kenya, and Ethiopia. These extreme weather events threaten already fragile food systems, putting millions of people at risk of rising hunger.   The report stresses that early action is essential to prevent the further deterioration of the crisis and avert mass hunger-related mortality.   The Food and Agriculture Organization and the World Food Programme are urging world leaders to prioritize conflict resolution, economic support, and climate adaptation measures to protect the most vulnerable populations from the brink of famine.   Among the Key Findings   According to the report, Palestine, the Sudan, South Sudan, Haiti and Mali remain at the highest alert level and require the most urgent attention. Conflict is the primary driver of hunger in all these areas. All hotspots of the highest concern have communities already facing or at risk of famine or facing catastrophic conditions of acute food insecurity.   Chad, Lebanon, Myanmar, Mozambique, Nigeria, the Syrian Arab Republic and Yemen are hotspots of very high concern, with a large number of people facing critical acute food insecurity, coupled with worsening drivers that are expected to further intensify life-threatening conditions in the coming months.   Since the previous edition of the Hunger Hotspots report (June 2024), Kenya, Lesotho, Namibia and Niger have joined the list of hunger hotspots, alongside Burkina Faso, Ethiopia, Malawi, Somalia, Zambia and Zimbabwe, where acute food insecurity is likely to deteriorate further during the outlook period.   http://www.fightfoodcrises.net/articles/hunger-hotspots-conflict-induced-famine-and-catastrophic-hunger-5-major-hotspots-alongside http://www.fightfoodcrises.net/hunger-hotspots http://www.wfp.org/news/new-un-report-warns-conflict-induced-famine-and-catastrophic-hunger-5-major-hotspots-alongside http://www.fao.org/newsroom/detail/report-warns-of-conflict-induced-famine-and-catastrophic-hunger/en http://www.ipcinfo.org/ http://reliefweb.int/report/sudan/hunger-hotspots-fao-wfp-early-warnings-acute-food-insecurity-november-2024-may-2025-outlook Visit the related web page
	View more stories