1% cut in food assistance puts over 400,000 people at risk of emergency hunger

By Anadolu staff

ISTANBUL (AA) - A recent UN agency analysis published on Tuesday warned that every 1% cut in food assistance risks pushing more than 400,000 people to the brink of starvation, emphasizing the importance of scaling up life-saving assistance.

The UN World Food Program (WFP) “is being forced to drastically cut rations in most of its operations as international humanitarian funding plummets,” the agency warned in a statement.

“Experts at the agency estimate that, as a result, an additional 24 million people could slip into emergency hunger over the next 12 months – a 50 percent increase on the current level,” it added.

Citing WFP Executive Director Cindy McCain, the statement said: “With the number of people around the world facing starvation at record levels, we need to be scaling up life-saving assistance - not cutting it.

“If we don’t receive the support we need to avert further catastrophe, the world will undoubtedly see more conflict, more unrest, and more hunger. Either we fan the flames of global instability, or we work quickly to put out the fire.”

According to the statement, there are currently 345 million people facing acute food insecurity worldwide, with 40 million of these in emergency levels of hunger.

The statement noted that the agency “has been struggling to meet the global need for food assistance while facing a funding shortfall of over 60% this year - the highest in WFP’s 60-year history.”

“And for the first time ever, WFP has seen contributions decreasing while needs steadily increase,” it added.

According to the agency’s experts, “a humanitarian ‘doom loop’ is being triggered, where WFP is being forced to save only the starving, at the cost of the hungry.”

“Massive reductions have already been implemented in almost half of WFP operations, including significant cuts in hotspots such as Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Democratic Republic of Congo, Haiti, Jordan, Palestine, South Sudan, Somalia, and Syria,” it added.

“The ripple effects of these cuts in life-saving aid will cause emergency levels of hunger to skyrocket even higher.”

McCain said: “There’s only one way out of this. We need to fund emergency operations to feed the hungry today while simultaneously investing in long-term solutions that address the root causes of hunger.”