Funding shortages may halt global child malnutrition programmes, warns WFP

GENEVA: Programmes to help prevent malnourishment in children in Yemen, Afghanistan and Syria could be suspended within months if urgent funding is not found, the UN's World Food Programme warned on Wednesday.

"If we fail to act, we are condemning millions of children to a lifetime of suffering", said WFP Executive Director Cindy McCain in a statement ahead of a summit in Paris on Wednesday where governments and charities will discuss tackling growing global malnutrition and hunger.

The WFP has suffered severe financial setbacks after the US, its single largest donor, announced a 90-day pause on foreign aid assistance while it determines if programmes are aligned with the Trump administration's "America first" policy.

The US provided $4.5 billion of the $9.8 billion budget last year for the WFP, which gives food and cash assistance to people suffering from hunger due to crop shortages, conflict and climate change worldwide.

The organisation called on Wednesday for $1.4 billion to deliver malnutrition prevention and treatment programmes for 30 million mothers and children in 56 countries in 2025, saying malnutrition is worsening worldwide due to war, economic instability and climate change.

It did not give details on its financial shortfall or mention the US. 

Prevention programmes in Yemen, where one-third of children under the age of five are malnourished, could stop from May if additional funding was not received, the WFP said. The UN children's agency Unicef said on Tuesday that western coastal areas of Yemen are on the verge of a catastrophe due to malnutrition.

McCain said that the WFP is being forced to make tough choices such as prioritising treatment over prevention due to lack of funds. Programmes in Afghanistan could also be stopped by May, while in Syria and the Democratic Republic of Congo programmes could be reduced from June unless money is found.

Earlier this month, the WFP announced potential cuts to food rations for Rohingya refugees, raising concern among aid workers of rising hunger in the overcrowded camps.

The WFP said the reduction was due to a broad shortfall in donations, not the Trump administration's move to cut foreign aid globally.

But a senior Bangladeshi official told Reuters that the US decision most likely played a role, as the US has been the top donor for Rohingya refugee aid.