Ethiopia refugees face hunger due to funding shortages

The United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) has warned that refugees in Ethiopia are facing a heightened risk of hunger because critical funding shortages have forced cuts to food rations. As of October, the agency has reduced rations for 780,000 refugees in 27 camps from 60 percent to 40 percent of the standard amount, leaving each person with fewer than 1,000 calories per day. Only 70,000 newly arrived refugees—who fled conflict in neighboring Sudan and South Sudan—will continue to receive full rations for the next six months, yet hunger and malnutrition rates are already high among this group.

Zlatan Milisic, WFP Ethiopia Country Director and Representative, said, “We are making impossible choices, trying to reach as many refugees as possible with meaningful amounts of food assistance.” Without additional funding, the reductions could lead to a complete suspension of food distributions, putting the lives of those currently assisted at risk. The WFP urgently needs $230 million to sustain humanitarian operations for the next six months; without new funding, it may have to halt food assistance for all refugees in Ethiopia in the coming months.

Supplies of specialized nutritious foods for malnourished children and mothers are also dwindling and are expected to be exhausted by December. This would end support for one million malnourished children and pregnant or breastfeeding women unless additional funds are secured. An earlier urgent appeal in April highlighted the shortage of nutrition supplies; donor contributions then allowed the continuation of nutrition programs.

The WFP is working closely with the Government of Ethiopia to meet the needs of 700,000 people in the southeastern Somali region, which has been affected by both drought and flooding. Ongoing funding challenges and insecurity—particularly in the Amhara region—continue to disrupt WFP’s humanitarian operations. Between January and October this year, the agency supported 4.7 million vulnerable Ethiopians with food assistance, nutrition support, school meals, and resilience activities. The situation underscores the urgent need for funding to prevent further cuts and to ensure the continuation of critical humanitarian operations.