WFP warns US food aid cuts is 'death sentence' to millions

UNITED NATIONS: The United Nations World Food Programme has warned that the United States' decision to cut emergency food aid to 14 countries could amount to a death sentence for millions of people facing extreme hunger.

The World Food Programme (WFP), which was already grappling with a 40 percent drop in funding for this year, said it had been advised of the new American aid halt to 14 countries.

In comments on X, the agency did not name these countries.

“If implemented, this could amount to a death sentence for millions of people facing extreme hunger and starvation,” the agency said.

The WFP is not the only UN body hit by US funding cuts, as the United States under President Donald Trump turns sharply inward and stops trying to help other countries around the world as part of an isolationist agenda.

The Trump administration told the UN Population Fund, an agency dedicated to promoting sexual and reproductive health, that it was ending two programmes, the organisation told AFP on Monday.

One of the programmes was for Afghanistan, while the other involved Syria.

Other countries besides the United States have also announced funding cuts in recent months, causing alarm among NGOs and international organisations.

The Trump administration has largely gutted USAID, the main US humanitarian assistance organisation. It previously had a yearly budget of $42.8 billion, which was 42 percent of all aid money disbursed around the world.