The World Food Programme (WFP) announced it will suspend critical food assistance for 650,000 malnourished women and children in Ethiopia starting in May due to a severe funding gap. The agency warned that up to 3.6 million people could lose access to humanitarian aid in the coming weeks unless emergency funding is secured. “This situation has become untenable,” said Zlatan Milišić, WFP’s Country Director in Ethiopia. “We have no other choice but to cut life-saving support.”
The WFP is currently facing a $222 million funding shortfall for its operations in Ethiopia between April and September 2025. The decision to suspend aid comes at a time when over 10 million Ethiopians are battling hunger and malnutrition, with the country reeling from ongoing conflict, displacement, inflation, and climate shocks.
Ethiopia, home to more than 125 million people, is also absorbing the fallout from regional conflicts in Sudan, South Sudan, and Somalia, which have forced more than 1 million people to flee their homes, further straining resources. The risk of another devastating drought—following a historic five-season dry spell that ended in 2023—remains high, according to WFP, heightening the urgency for humanitarian action.
The crisis has been exacerbated by major cuts in international aid. The United States, long the WFP’s largest donor, slashed its foreign aid budget under President Donald Trump’s administration. Ethiopia, once the largest recipient of U.S. aid in sub-Saharan Africa, received $1.8 billion in 2023, but future allocations remain uncertain. European countries have also scaled back aid commitments, contributing to the current funding crisis. “Millions of Ethiopians are just one shock away from catastrophe,” said Milišić. “We urgently need a swift and generous donor response to ensure the country’s most vulnerable people get the assistance they need.”
