Aid to 3.6 million Ethiopians overall is at risk unless new support is sourced, the World Food Programme warns.
The World Food Programme (WFP) said it is suspending aid for 650,000 malnourished women and children in Ethiopia due to a lack of funding.
The UN agency warned on Tuesday that 3.6 million people in Ethiopia overall are at risk of losing access to food aid in the coming weeks unless new financial support can urgently be sourced.
“WFP is being forced to halt treatment for 650,000 malnourished women and children in May due to insufficient funding,” the UN agency said in a statement.
The agency said it had planned to reach two million mothers and children with life-saving nutrition assistance in 2025 but will fall short due to a predicted funding shortfall of $222m between April and September.
“Cash and in-kind food assistance for up to one million refugees will stop in June if additional funding is not received,” the agency warned.
Like many aid agencies, the WFP is caught in the crosshairs of funding cuts instituted by the administration of United States President Donald Trump. Shortly after his inauguration in January, Trump signed an executive order freezing all foreign aid.
Conflict, instability and drought
Conflict, instability and drought are key reasons why more than 10 million of Ethiopia’s 130 million people face the threat of hunger, the UN agency said.
The East African country is recovering from two years of brutal civil war between federal forces and rebels in the northern region of Tigray, which ended in November 2022 and killed at least 600,000 people.
Tensions are again mounting between longtime foes Ethiopia and Eritrea over Addis Ababa’s quest for maritime access, causing fears of yet another conflict in the Horn of Africa barely seven years after the two neighbours restored ties.
Continued violence and instability in Ethiopia’s Amhara region are also obstructing humanitarian operations, the WFP said, adding that below-average rainfall forecast through May in southeastern Ethiopia could further exacerbate conditions.