ROME, Italy – The United Nations’ World Food Programme (WFP) has sounded the alarm over an “unprecedented crisis,” warning of a severe funding shortfall that jeopardizes life-saving food assistance for 58 million people worldwide.
The Rome-based agency revealed on Friday that its funding for 2025 has dropped by a staggering 40 percent compared to the previous year, driven by reduced contributions from some of its largest donors.
“Despite the generosity of many governments and individuals, the WFP is experiencing a steep decline in funding across its major donors,” the organization said in a statement. “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.”
Although the WFP did not name specific nations, the United States—historically its largest donor—has significantly reduced aid funding in recent years.
Other major contributors, including Germany and the United Kingdom, have also scaled back their overseas aid budgets, with the UK redirecting funds toward defense spending.
Rania Dagash-Kamara, WFP Assistant Executive Director for Partnerships and Innovation, described the situation as a looming “funding cliff.”
She emphasized that while the organization is working to reduce operational costs and prioritize the most critical needs, “we are facing life-threatening consequences.”
The WFP identified 28 critical operations facing dire funding shortages and dangerously low food supplies through August.
These include conflict- and crisis-affected countries such as Sudan, Syria, Afghanistan, Yemen, South Sudan, Lebanon, Chad, Somalia, Ukraine, and Haiti.
Efforts to stretch resources have led the WFP to cut rations and focus on the most urgent needs.
However, the situation remains grim, with record numbers of people facing hunger and malnutrition.
In Gaza, where ongoing violence has compounded an already dire humanitarian crisis, the WFP warned that it has only two weeks’ worth of food supplies remaining.
“Hundreds of thousands of people are at risk of severe hunger and malnutrition,” the organization cautioned.
This funding crisis comes as global hunger continues to rise, exacerbated by conflict, climate change, and economic instability.
Without adequate resources, the WFP fears millions of vulnerable people will be left without the food assistance they need to survive.
The WFP has urged governments, organizations, and individuals worldwide to step up their contributions to avert a full-scale humanitarian catastrophe.
As Dagash-Kamara stressed, “The cost of inaction will be paid in human lives.”
