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Info Service on UN Sustainable Development (May25/06) Penang, 23 Apr (Kanaga Raja) — Hunger and malnutrition are on the rise in Ethiopia as ongoing conflict, regional instability, displacement, drought and economic shocks are leaving millions without sufficient nutritious food, the UN World Food Programme (WFP) said on 22 April. The UN agency warned that its life-saving response has been severely hampered by critical funding shortfalls, as 3.6 million of the most vulnerable are at imminent risk of losing food assistance, including malnutrition treatment for 650,000 women and children. Speaking at a media briefing at the United Nations Office at Geneva on 22 April, Zlatan Milisic, WFP Country Director in Ethiopia, speaking from Addis Ababa, said Ethiopia is facing a rapidly deteriorating humanitarian situation. Hunger and malnutrition are on the rise, mainly driven by a deadly combination of climate shocks, conflict, economic instability and displacement, he added. WFP is responding but without urgent funding, its ability to deliver life-saving and nutritious foods is severely at risk, said Milisic. “Over 10 million people in Ethiopia are acutely food insecure. This includes 3 million people displaced by conflict and extreme weather. Malnutrition rates are alarmingly high.” In total, over 4 million pregnant women, breastfeeding women and young children are in urgent need of treatment for malnutrition, said the WFP official. In Somali, Oromia, Afar and Tigray regions, child wasting has surpassed the 15 percent emergency threshold, he added. WFP had planned to reach two million mothers and children with lifesaving nutrition assistance in 2025 but it has been forced to cut costs after receiving only half of last year’s funding, said Milisic. “What is particularly important now is that our nutritious foods are running out,” Milisic said. “So, we are stopping that programme unless something comes really fast and we are looking and we are hopeful, but nothing has come yet.” The risk of another drought looms, particularly in the Somali region, where families are still recovering from the devastating drought of 2020 that lasted till 2023, he noted. Instability in neighbouring countries is also increasing humanitarian needs in Ethiopia, said Milisic, adding that WFP already supports 800,000 refugees in Ethiopia, including 100,000 Sudanese refugees. The deteriorating security situation in South Sudan’s Upper Nile State could drive even more refugees into Ethiopia, he warned. Milisic said in the first quarter of 2025, WFP provided food and nutrition support to over three million people. “We have already treated 740,000 children and pregnant and breastfeeding women for malnutrition and also provided 50,000 families with fresh food vouchers.” The UN agency also said it is providing daily school meals to about 470,000 children every month, including 70,000 children from refugee communities – prioritising conflict-affected and food-insecure districts in northern Ethiopia. “We are scaling up our anticipatory action in drought-prone areas, with early warning messages, cash transfers and also rehabilitating the rangeland,” said Milisic. “Now, we have been stretching out our resources as far as we can to reach only the most vulnerable communities and mostly with reduced food rations.” For example, he pointed to 60 per cent rations to most of the 800,000 refugees for the past 18 months and 80 per cent rations for the displaced and food-insecure – some severely food-insecure – Ethiopians for the past 9 months. He said: “But now we are at the breaking point. We’ve been left no choice but to suspend completely treatment for 650,000 malnourished women and children simply because we’ve run out of commodities and funding.” By June, food and cash assistance for 800,000 refugees will also run out, Milisic said, adding, “We risk losing our ability to support human rights.” On top of this, he said violence in Amhara continues to disrupt WFP’s operations, threatening access to over half a million people. “We are now operating with just about 50 percent of last year’s funding. This means that 3.6 million vulnerable people could lose access to WFP assistance in the coming weeks unless funding arrives urgently.” This is half the number that we have planned to assist and reach in 2025, said Milisic. “WFP requires US$222 million between now and September to maintain our operations and scale up to reach the target of 7.2 million people in 2025.” “We have the teams, the logistics, the capacities in place, partners, our staff; what we lack are the resources to act and the scale that this situation demands,” Milisic said. Ethiopia is absorbing crisis after crisis. What is particularly worrisome is that drought, ongoing conflict, refugee influxes are looming shocks that could push communities over the edge, he added. “We therefore urge donors to step up support to WFP so we can continue to deliver lifesaving assistance and prevent a further deterioration of this humanitarian situation. Millions of people are just one shock away from falling into catastrophe,” Milisic concluded. +
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