By Kidus Dawit
The World Food Programme (WFP) has announced it is pausing treatment for 650,000 malnourished women and children in Ethiopia as the organization struggles to source funding for its humanitarian operations.
An update report released today cautions that without donor support, WFP could be forced to halt food and in-kind assistance to up to one million refugees in Ethiopia by June. The UN agency faces a more than USD 220 million gap in funding needed to sustain its operations through September 2025.
More than three million people residing in Ethiopia received food and nutrition assistance from the WFP over the first three months of 2025, according to the update, with refugees accounting for a third of the aid.
The organization warns that conditions are likely to grow worse in the coming months as refugees flock into Ethiopia as a result of conflict in neighboring countries, particularly in Sudan and South Sudan, and forecasts for poor rainfall in the Somali Regional State, which is still recovering from a devastating multi-year drought that ended in 2023.
Domestic conflict is another worry, with insecurity hampering WFP’s access to the Amhara Regional State and its efforts to reach more than half a million vulnerable people, according to the update.
“Criminal activities such as car hijacking, threats, and theft are on the rise and pose serious risks to staff safety and impact the delivery of life saving assistance,” it reads.
More than 10 million people in Ethiopia are facing hunger and malnutrition, according to WFP.
