UN suspends food assistance in West, Central Africa over funding cuts

The World Food Programme said Friday it is suspending food and nutritional assistance across crisis-hit West and Central African countries as a result of US aid cuts, which are grinding the organization’s operations to a halt.

While the timeline varies, food stocks are projected to last until around September for most of the affected countries, leaving millions of vulnerable people potentially without any emergency aid, according to the WFP.

“We are doing everything we can to prioritize the most life-saving activities, but without urgent support from our partners, our ability to respond is shrinking by the day. We need sustained funding to keep food flowing and hope alive,” Margot van der Velden, the WFP's regional director, told The Associated Press.

Seven countries are affected in the region, with the suspension of operations already underway in Mauritania, Mali and the Central African Republic, where food stocks are projected to last only a few weeks.

Millions to be affected

Aid distribution has already been significantly scaled down in Cameroonian camps for Nigerian refugees in the country, according to the WFP.

Millions of people are expected to be immediately affected, according to WFP data seen by the AP, including 300,000 children in Nigeria at risk of “severe malnutrition, ultimately raising the risk of death”.

The WFP says it needs $494 million to cover the second half of 2025, but the funds have been totally depleted, forcing it to prioritize the most vulnerable groups. In northern and central Mali it will prioritize newly displaced refugees and children under five.