WFP to Slash Somalia Food Aid Amid Funding Shortfall
The U.N. World Food Programme announced on Oct. 3, 2025 that it will cut emergency food assistance in Somalia, reducing recipients from about 1.1 million in August to roughly 350,000 by November because of critical funding shortfalls. WFP officials warned the cuts come as 4.6 million Somalis face crisis levels of hunger and 1.8 million children are at risk of acute malnutrition, and they said $98 million is needed to sustain minimum life‑saving operations through March 2026. The agency and quoted officials also tied the shortfall to reduced foreign aid — including U.S. funding cuts — and to the compounding effects of drought, flooding and insecurity from al‑Shabab in parts of Somalia.
International
Humanitarian
U.S. Policy
🔍 Key Facts
- WFP will shrink the number receiving emergency food assistance from 1.1 million (August) to 350,000 (November 2025).
- The U.N. reports 4.6 million people in Somalia face crisis hunger; 1.8 million children projected to suffer acute malnutrition this year, including 421,000 children with severe malnutrition.
- WFP says it needs $98 million to sustain minimum life‑saving operations for 800,000 people through the lean season until March 2026; officials cite U.S. foreign‑aid cuts as worsening the response.