WFP could be forced to restrict humanitarian aid in Somalia due to lack of funds

The United Nations World Food Program (WFP) has warned that the supply of humanitarian aid is in danger and could restrict food rations for more than a million Somalis in June due to lack of funds to sustain its operations.

Due to the lack of funds, the agency’s spokesman, Tomson Phiri, explained that the agency is facing the situation of forcing to cut food rations by 50% for 1.3 million Somalis who are among “the poorest of the poor”, and at a time of political crisis in the country, with the elections postponed and under threat from the terrorist organization Al Shabaab.

WFP has requested some €160 million to continue Somalia operations at current levels for the next six months.

The United Nations estimates that 5.9 million people, half of the country’s population, are in need of humanitarian aid.

“They are people who live from one meal to another and the type of assistance we provide is enough for them to survive. When we restrict it to half, we are talking about a basic meal,” he said.

“It is not a three-course meal, not a five-course meal, not seven courses. No. It is just the basics,” the spokesperson said in statements collected by Voice of America.

As funding shortfalls are putting vital nutrition programs at risk, malnutrition rates are on the rise, undermining previous gains made in the fight against hunger.

“Without these programs, we are talking about up to 840,000 children who could suffer from moderate acute malnutrition, 143,000 from severe acute malnutrition and 51,000 are at risk of dying,” he warned.