By: Getahun Tsegaye
Staff Reporter
ADDIS ABABA, – A devastating funding shortfall is forcing the United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) to make the painful decision to suspend life-saving nutrition treatment for hundreds of thousands of women and children in Ethiopia.
In a statement issued Tuesday, WFP confirmed that beginning in May, it will halt malnutrition treatment for 650,000 people, with a further 3.6 million teetering on the edge of losing vital food support.
WFP Country Director Claude Jibidar Milisic warned that without urgent funding, “we will have serious consequences,” noting that the agency has already been forced to reduce rations in recent months. “We’ve been left no choice but to this week suspend treatment for 650,000 malnourished women and children—simply because we’ve run out of commodities and funding,” Milisic said during a press briefing in Geneva via video from Addis Ababa, Reuters reported.
According to a WFP spokesperson, the individuals being cut off from assistance are scattered across multiple regions, including the conflict-affected northern territories of Tigray and Afar. The agency is actively seeking additional funds to resume nutrition treatments and food distributions. Milisic further warned that if the funding gap is not closed by June, millions more—many already under treatment for malnutrition—will be left without support.
The funding crisis comes at a time when conditions on the ground are rapidly deteriorating. In Amhara, escalating conflict between federal forces and local militias has resulted in widespread displacement, disrupted agricultural cycles, and shuttered health facilities. Armed clashes and blockades have not only cut off aid routes but also endangered humanitarian personnel. According to aid workers, entire districts have become inaccessible, leaving thousands of families without food or medical care.
Meanwhile, the Somali, Oromia, Tigray, and Afar regions are battling overlapping crises of climate shocks and the long-term impacts of war. In many areas, back-to-back droughts have killed livestock, dried up water sources, and devastated farming communities.
Across the country, more than 10 million Ethiopians are now food insecure—including over three million people displaced by violence or natural disasters. Compounding the crisis, Ethiopia is hosting 800,000 refugees, including 100,000 who fled the war in Sudan. WFP warns that continued violence in northeastern South Sudan could push an additional 10,000 refugees into Ethiopia in the coming weeks.
WFP says it is now facing a staggering US$222 million funding gap from April to September 2025. If additional funding doesn’t arrive, operations will be cut drastically, including the suspension of food assistance for up to one million refugees by June.
“If we don’t get urgent support, we will have no choice but to reduce or halt operations across many areas,” the agency warned. “The consequences for those already living on the edge are unthinkable.”
In the first quarter of 2025, WFP provided assistance to over three million people, including nutrition treatment for 740,000 women and children, fresh food vouchers for 50,000 families, and daily school meals for nearly half a million children. But with rising insecurity and a growing gap between humanitarian needs and available resources, WFP officials say even these programs are in jeopardy.
Amid this deepening crisis, humanitarian efforts are increasingly paralyzed by violence and lawlessness. In Amhara and parts of Oromia, aid trucks have been hijacked, warehouses looted, and staff forced to evacuate.
As Ethiopia braces for yet another drought in the southeast, WFP is appealing to the international community to act swiftly.
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