Funding shortages may halt global child malnutrition programs, World Food Programme warns
Programmes to help prevent malnourishment in children in Yemen, Afghanistan and Syria could be suspended within months if urgent funding is not found, the U.N.’s World Food Programme warned on Wednesday.
The WFP has suffered severe financial setbacks after the U.S., its single largest donor, announced a 90-day pause on foreign aid assistance while it determines if programmes are aligned with the Trump administration’s “America first” policy.
The U.S. provided $4.5 billion of the $9.8 billion budget last year for the WFP, which gives food and cash assistance to people suffering from hunger due to crop shortages, conflict and climate change worldwide.
The organisation called on Wednesday for $1.4 billion to deliver malnutrition prevention and treatment programmes for 30 million mothers and children in 56 countries in 2025, saying malnutrition is worsening worldwide due to war, economic instability and climate change.
