By Enyichukwu Enemanna
The UN’s World Food Programme (WFP) on Friday hinted that it may quit humanitarian assistance in Somalia by April if new funding support is not received.
The Rome-based agency said it had already been forced to reduce the number of people receiving emergency food assistance from 2.2 million in early 2025 to just over 600,000 today.
“Without immediate funding, WFP will be forced to halt humanitarian assistance by April,” it said in a statement.
In early January, the United States suspended aid to Somalia over reports of diversion of aid materials and government interference, following the destruction of a US-funded WFP warehouse in the capital Mogadishu’s port. Washington later announced a resumption of WFP food distribution on January 29.
However, all UN agencies have warned of serious funding shortfalls since the United States began slashing aid across the world following President Donald Trump’s return to the White House last year.
“The situation is deteriorating at an alarming rate,” WFP Director of Emergency Preparedness, Ross Smith said in a statement on Friday.
“Families have lost everything, and many are already being pushed to the brink. Without immediate emergency food support, conditions will worsen quickly. “We are at the cusp of a decisive moment; without urgent action, we may be unable to reach the most vulnerable in time, most of them women and children.”
About 4.4 million people in Somalia are facing crisis-levels of food insecurity, according to the WFP, the largest humanitarian agency in the country.
The Horn of Africa country has faced security challenges and also suffered two consecutive failed rainy seasons, which has plagued the African nation into a prolonged drought.
