U.N. food agency to suspend food aid for 750,000 people in Somalia next month

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NAIROBI, Kenya (AP) — The U.N. food agency announced on Friday that it is cutting food assistance for hundreds of thousands of people in Somalia, where millions are facing devastating effects of climate change and acute levels of hunger.

The World Food Program said the number of people receiving emergency food assistance in the country will decrease from 1.1 million in August to 350,000 in November due to “critical funding shortfalls.”

“We are seeing a dangerous rise in emergency levels of hunger, and our ability to respond is shrinking by the day,” said Ross Smith, the agency's director of emergency preparedness and response. “Without urgent funding, families already pushed to the edge will be left with nothing at a time when they need it most.”

According to the U.N.’s latest report, 4.6 million people in Somalia are facing crisis levels of hunger, and 1.8 million children are projected to suffer from acute malnutrition this year. Out of these, 421,000 children are facing severe malnutrition, and the U.N. food agency has only been able to assist about 180,000.

Somalia is not only dealing with the devastating impacts of climate change, including drought and flooding, but also with conflict and insecurity that have destabilized the country for decades. The al-Qaida-linked militant group al-Shabab controls some of its regions.

U.S. foreign aid cuts have worsened the response by humanitarian agencies that were already struggling to meet the needs of the growing number of vulnerable people.

The World Food Program says it needs $98 million to “sustain a minimum of life-saving operations for 800,000 people through the lean season until March 2026.”