<figure id="attachment_3185429" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-3185429" style="width: 1600px" class="wp-caption alignnone"><img loading="lazy" class="size-full wp-image-3185429" src="https://media.freemalaysiatoday.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/10/ffad5bc3-afp__20120203__par6790745__v1002__midres__somaliaunrestrelief_cropped_1.webp" alt="" width="1600" height="1000" /><figcaption id="caption-attachment-3185429" class="wp-caption-text">Some 4.4 million people in Somalia are facing crisis-levels of food insecurity. (AFP pic)</figcaption></figure>
ROME: The UN&#8217;s World Food Programme (WFP) warned Friday it would have to stop humanitarian assistance in Somalia by April if it did not receive new funding.
The Rome-based agency said it had already been forced to reduce the number of people receiving emergency food assistance from 2.2 million in early 2025 to just over 600,000 today.
&#8220;Without immediate funding, WFP will be forced to halt humanitarian assistance by April,&#8221; it said in a statement.
In early January, the US suspended aid to Somalia over reports of theft and government interference, following the destruction of a US-funded WFP warehouse in the capital Mogadishu&#8217;s port.
The US announced a resumption of WFP food distribution on Jan 29.
However, all UN agencies have warned of serious funding shortfalls since Washington began slashing aid across the world following President Donald Trump&#8217;s return to the White House last year.
&#8220;The situation is deteriorating at an alarming rate,&#8221; said Ross Smith, WFP Director of Emergency Preparedness and Response, in Friday&#8217;s statement.
&#8220;Families have lost everything, and many are already being pushed to the brink. Without immediate emergency food support, conditions will worsen quickly.
&#8220;We are at the cusp of a decisive moment; without urgent action, we may be unable to reach the most vulnerable in time, most of them women and children.&#8221;
Some 4.4 million people in Somalia are facing crisis-levels of food insecurity, according to the WFP, the largest humanitarian agency in the country.
The Horn of Africa country has been plagued by conflict and also suffered two consecutive failed rainy seasons.

MatchPoint Times

UN says it risks halting Somalia aid due to funding cuts

The UN’s World Food Programme said it had already cut emergency food recipients from 2.2 million in early 2025 to just over 600,000 today.

Mother raises concerns over son’s sudden death at army camp

Tiong blames Sim over shophouse collapse, earns ire of 6 SUPP branches