Thousands of South Sudanese refugees are fleeing escalating violence and hunger, seeking safety in Ethiopia’s western Gambella Region. Among them is Nyibol, a mother of four, who walked for two weeks with no food before reaching Ethiopia. Though she and her children escaped the conflict, they now face hunger and uncertainty as humanitarian funding shortfalls have forced the World Food Programme (WFP) to drastically reduce food assistance across the country.
The WFP, which was the first agency to respond to the new refugee influx with high-energy biscuits, is struggling to maintain predictable food supplies due to shrinking donor contributions. According to WFP’s Country Director Zlatan Milisic, tens of thousands of new arrivals could lose access to the food and aid that keep them alive without urgent funding. The crisis is worsening in Gambella, home to about 440,000 South Sudanese refugees, mostly women and children who arrive exhausted and malnourished after walking for days to escape violence.
Food cuts have forced WFP to reduce rations to just 1,000 calories per day—barely 40% of the minimum daily requirement. This global aid reduction is pushing millions deeper into food insecurity and malnutrition. In Ethiopia’s refugee camps, hunger is driving families to skip meals, sell what little they have, or take exploitative jobs just to survive. Even new arrivals like Nyibol, who currently receive full rations, face an uncertain future as aid is set to run out by year’s end.
Seasonal rains are worsening the situation, cutting off access to key areas such as Matar, near the South Sudan border, where many refugees live in makeshift shelters. The Ethiopian Government and humanitarian partners are working to establish new camps and register new arrivals. Refugees initially receive a six-month food basket of cereals, pulses, oil, and salt, along with nutritional supplements for mothers and children.
For refugees like Nyantut, another South Sudanese mother who fled after losing her sister and husband in an airstrike, survival remains a daily struggle. “My niece and nephew don’t know what happened to their mother,” she says through tears. “For now, we are safe, but I don’t know for how long.” WFP warns that unless new funding arrives immediately, critical food, health, and education support for Ethiopia’s refugees will be exhausted by December.
