WFP Plans Major Cuts to Food Aid for 1 Million in Somalia, Syria Amid Funding Shortfalls

The World Food Programme (WFP) is drastically reducing its general food assistance in both Syria and Somalia due to severe funding shortages. In Syria, WFP will stop broad food aid in 2024 and focus on targeted emergency support for families facing extreme food insecurity, impacting millions including displaced persons in northwest Syria amid rising poverty and food prices. In Somalia, the number of people receiving emergency food aid will drop from 1.1 million in August to just 350,000 by November, a reduction driven by critical funding shortfalls and exacerbated by U.S. foreign aid cuts. Somalia faces compounded challenges from climate disasters, conflict, and the influence of al-Shabab militants, with millions experiencing crisis levels of hunger and acute malnutrition among children. WFP warns that without urgent funding, vulnerable families in both countries will be left without essential food assistance during critical periods. The agency estimates needing $98 million to maintain minimum life-saving operations in Somalia through March 2026 and continues programs supporting agricultural livelihoods and local food systems in Syria despite cutbacks.