The United Nations food aid agency said on Wednesday that its operations in six countries are being adversely affected by a sharp reduction in aid from its top donors and warned that about 14 million people are facing emergency-level hunger.
The World Food Program, traditionally the United Nations’ largest recipient of funds, said in a new report that its funding situation this year has been very challenging for the first time.
The main reason for this is the reduction in spending by the US and other major Western donors under the Trump administration. The agency warned that its 13.7 million food aid recipients could face emergency-level hunger due to the reduction in donations.
The agency said the six countries whose operations are being adversely affected include Afghanistan, Congo, Haiti, Somalia, South Sudan and Sudan.
The WFP said it is likely to receive 40 percent less donations this year, which will reduce its estimated budget to $6.4 billion. Last year, it received about $10 billion.
Global hunger is already at record levels. 319 million people are facing severe food insecurity. Famine has hit Gaza and Sudan.
The agency said that food aid is reaching less than 10 percent of the food-insecure people in Afghanistan, leaving them unsure where their next meal will come from.
The WFP expects to receive $1.5 billion from the United States this year, down from about $4.5 billion last year.
