Bangkok, Sep 16 (AP) A confluence of natural calamities and escalating global conflicts, coupled with significant reductions in international aid, is causing severe food shortages for some of the world’s most vulnerable populations, with more aid cuts looming, a United Nations official reported on Tuesday.
Carl Skau, Deputy Executive Director and Chief Operating Officer of the World Food Programme (WFP), noted that with increasing needs and declining funding, the agency is striving to enhance efficiencies, encourage greater self-reliance among the communities it supports, and seek new donation sources to address the widening gap.
“We are navigating globally a perfect storm, with food security demands skyrocketing,” Skau told The Associated Press during a visit to Bangkok, where he aimed to secure assistance from Thai officials after traveling to India.
“We’ve experienced a threefold increase just in the past five years. This year has been particularly challenging with rising conflicts, extreme climate events, and now a funding shortfall, with the WFP facing a 40% reduction in funding,” he stated. In the region, recent flooding in Pakistan and a massive earthquake coupled with drought in neighboring Afghanistan have worsened difficult situations, leaving millions in need.
The decision by US President Donald Trump earlier this year to cut more than 90% of the United States Agency for International Development’s foreign aid contracts, along with a USD 60 billion reduction in global assistance—and additional cuts from several European countries—has further strained the WFP and other organizations’ response capabilities, he added.
“In Afghanistan, two years ago, we were supporting 10 million people; today, it’s around 1.5 million, and we lack resources to preposition food in areas that will be inaccessible during winter,” Skau stated.
He noted a recent surge in malnutrition, particularly among young children, in Afghanistan. “This winter, children will die, and it’s not just about mortality. When children are severely, acutely malnourished, there are lasting damages to their brains and organs,” Skau explained.
In parallel, conflicts in Myanmar, Sudan, and Gaza have made it extremely difficult to reach those in need, with Sudan and Gaza already grappling with famine conditions. A 7.7 magnitude earthquake in Myanmar in March has exacerbated needs and presented new challenges for delivering humanitarian aid.
The civil war in Myanmar has also led to an increased exodus of Rohingya refugees to Cox’s Bazar in neighboring Bangladesh, with no immediate prospects of safe return, Skau highlighted.
“We have 1.3 million people essentially in a camp that resembles a prison, depending entirely on international aid,” said Skau, who visited Cox’s Bazar earlier this month.
The WFP currently provides refugees there with a USD 12 monthly food voucher, sufficient for survival, but with funding expected to run out by the end of November, the agency may have to either reduce the amount or the number of people it supports.
When it temporarily had to reduce monthly assistance to USD 8 in 2023, tensions and violence escalated in the camp, with many turning to crime and desperate individuals attempting to travel to Indonesia, Malaysia, or elsewhere by boat, according to Skau.
“These situations have numerous negative implications,” he warned. “Frankly, regional stability is at stake, with consequences stretching beyond the immediate region.”
(Only the headline of this report may have been reworked by Editorji; the rest of the content is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
