The United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) has warned that refugees in Ethiopia are facing worsening hunger as severe funding shortages force major cuts in food assistance. In October, WFP reduced food rations for 780,000 refugees across 27 camps from 60 percent to just 40 percent of their daily requirements. This reduction means that each refugee now receives less than 1,000 calories a day—far below the minimum needed for survival. Only 70,000 recently arrived refugees fleeing conflict in Sudan and South Sudan will continue to receive full rations for the next six months, despite already facing high levels of hunger and malnutrition.
WFP Ethiopia Country Director and Representative Zlatan Milisic described the situation as dire, noting that the organization is being forced to make “impossible choices” due to the lack of funds. He warned that, without urgent financial support, the reductions could lead to a complete suspension of food assistance, placing hundreds of thousands of lives at immediate risk. “Every ration cut is a child left hungrier, a mother forced to skip meals, a family pushed closer to the edge,” Milisic said, highlighting the devastating impact of the cuts on vulnerable families.
To sustain its operations for the next six months, WFP is urgently appealing for US$230 million in new funding. Without this support, the agency may be unable to continue delivering life-saving aid to refugees. Supplies of specialized nutritious food for malnourished children and mothers are also running dangerously low and could run out completely by December. This would end critical nutrition support for one million malnourished children and pregnant and breastfeeding women across Ethiopia.
Earlier this year, WFP had already raised an alarm about dwindling resources, which temporarily improved after donor interventions in April. However, the gap between humanitarian needs and available resources has widened significantly since then. WFP is also collaborating with the Government of Ethiopia to assist 700,000 people in the drought- and flood-affected Somali region, stretching its limited supplies to continue providing full rations where possible.
Milisic warned that WFP’s operations in Ethiopia have been “hanging by a thread” for months, undermining the agency’s capacity to support food-insecure populations and respond to new emergencies, including potential refugee influxes or climate shocks. Since May 2023, when the last ration cuts were implemented, conditions have continued to deteriorate. Between January and October this year, WFP reached 4.7 million vulnerable people in Ethiopia through food assistance, nutrition programs, school meals, and resilience activities. However, ongoing insecurity—particularly in the Amhara region—continues to further disrupt humanitarian operations across the country.
