The United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) is warning that severe disruptions to six of its most critical humanitarian operations are expected by the end of the year due to dwindling global funding, which could push millions into emergency levels of hunger and endanger the lives of millions of vulnerable people. This warning comes at a time when overall global humanitarian funding is drying up, with less than a quarter of this year's appeal being funded, and hunger reaching record highs.
A new report released by the UN agency on Wednesday, titled 'A Lifeline at Risk', reveals that major cutbacks to food assistance for a current 13.7 million recipients could push them from crisis (IPC3) to emergency (IPC4) levels of hunger, representing a one-third increase.
“The world is facing a rising tide of acute hunger that threatens millions of the most vulnerable – and the funds needed to help us respond are drying up,” said WFP Executive Director Cindy McCain in a statement.
“Every ration cut means a child goes to bed hungry, a mother skips a meal, or a family loses the support they need to survive. The lifeline that sustains millions of people is being cut before our eyes.”
The six operations most at risk include those in Afghanistan, the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), Haiti, Somalia, South Sudan and Sudan. Each country faces its own unique challenges, including conflict, displacement and climate shocks, which primarily affect children, women, refugees and internally displaced persons (IDPs).
Six critical humanitarian operations
In Afghanistan, for instance, less than 10 percent of the 9.5 million food-insecure people have received assistance, despite soaring malnutrition rates. WFP is on track to reach only 8 percent of its winter humanitarian response target, as it faces a funding shortfall of $622 million over the next six months. Without adequate support, millions will suffer through the winter months.
In the Democratic Republic of the Congo, a record 28 million people – one in four – are food insecure, including 10.3 million in the conflict-hit eastern provinces. WFP had planned to assist all 2.3 million people in IPC 4 in 2025, but only 1 million people have received support this year due to funding gaps. This figure is set to fall further to 600,000 people from October, with a complete pipeline break looming in February 2026. The DRC operation has a funding shortfall of $351.7 million over the next six months.
The situation in Haiti is similarly dire, with over half of the population – 5.7 million people – facing acute food insecurity. Hot meal programs have been suspended and families facing emergency-level hunger are receiving only half of the WFP's standard monthly rations due to funding delays. The country operation faces a $44 million funding shortfall over the next six months.
In Somalia, where 4.4 million people are facing high levels of food insecurity, the assistance program has been repeatedly scaled back, and now only reaches 350,000 people compared to 2.2 million a year ago. This follows initial cuts in April, when the number of people receiving assistance halved from 2.2 million to 1.1 million. The country operation has a $98.3 million funding shortfall over the next six months.
In South Sudan, where 7.7 million people are experiencing acute food insecurity, the UN agency is also operating under severe funding constraints. These constraints have limited the scale of assistance and forced the prioritization of communities experiencing emergency and catastrophic levels of hunger (IPC4 and IPC5).
Of the 2.7 million people receiving WFP food assistance, all are getting only between 50 and 70 percent of their required rations, and from October, food baskets will be missing key food items as WFP faces further pipeline breaks. The country operation has a funding shortfall of $398.9 million over the next six months.
In Sudan, where 25 million people — half the population — are facing acute food insecurity, with famine confirmed in multiple areas, WFP currently supports four million hungry people per month, including 1.8 million in areas at risk of famine. However, the UN agency requires an additional $600 million over the next six months to scale up its support to around eight million people per month.
WFP reports 40 percent less funding for 2025
As global hunger reaches record levels, with 319 million people facing critical levels of acute food insecurity and in need of food assistance, including 44 million in emergency levels (IPC4), WFP is facing mounting challenges in securing funding.
Concurrent famines have taken hold in Sudan and Gaza, and the number of people categorized as experiencing famine, being on the brink of famine, or facing catastrophic levels of hunger (IPC 5) has doubled in just two years, affecting 1.4 million children, women, and men.
WFP reports that its funding has never been more challenged. The UN agency expects to receive 40 percent less funding for 2025, resulting in a projected budget of $6.4 billion, down from $10 billion in 2024.
“The gap between what WFP needs to do and what we can afford to do has never been larger,” McCain said.
“We are at risk of losing decades of progress in the fight against hunger. It’s not just countries engulfed in major emergencies.”
The WFP chief gave the example of the Sahel region, where 500,000 people had been lifted out of aid dependence through integrated food assistance and resilience programs. Without continued support, these hard-won gains could soon be wiped out.
“The devastating harm inflicted by cuts to food assistance not only threatens lives, but also risks undermining stability, fueling displacement, and stoking wider social and economic upheaval,” she said.
WFP is urging governments, civil society organizations, private donors, and humanitarian actors to take urgent action to avert a further deterioration of the crisis. The UN agency emphasizes that the potential to positively impact the lives of millions is within reach.
However, the UN agency warns that the projected surge in people facing emergency levels of hunger only accounts for the impact of reduced WFP assistance on current recipients, not other factors that could exacerbate food insecurity.
These factors may include new and worsening emergencies, as well as funding cuts to other humanitarian programs, including food and nutrition assistance provided by non-governmental organizations.
Even though the WFP is the world’s largest humanitarian organization, it joins hundreds of other international, national, and local aid organizations that have been impacted by the crisis in global humanitarian funding.
Overall, global humanitarian funding drops drastically
In 2025, global humanitarian funding plummeted, primarily due to severe funding cuts implemented by the United States. However, other major donors, including the United Kingdom, Germany, and Sweden, have also reduced their support, with those responsible residing in Washington, Berlin, London, and other capitals of some of the world’s most prosperous nations.
Despite rising needs, global funding has been declining since 2022, and this year's levels have fallen to record lows. On Tuesday, the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) issued a fresh warning about the dire state of humanitarian funding.
With only three months remaining in the year, OCHA reports that, as of the end of September, just 21 percent of the required funds for meeting global humanitarian needs in 2025 have been secured. This equates to approximately $9.6 billion of the necessary $45.3 billion.
Compared to the same period last year, when 60 percent of the required funds were raised, this situation marks a significant decrease in funding, resulting in a 40 percent drop. The consequences of these funding gaps are far-reaching for millions of people in need.
The Global Humanitarian Overview 2025 (GHO), the annual global assessment of humanitarian needs, aims to support 181 million vulnerable people in 70 countries, out of an estimated 300 million people worldwide who currently are in need of humanitarian assistance. Major aid shortfalls in the first months of 2025 prompted OCHA to launch a hyper-prioritized global appeal within the broader GHO in June of this year. This revised plan aims to address the most pressing needs of 114 million people worldwide.
On Tuesday, OCHA emphasized that existing funding gaps are having devastating consequences for millions of people, leaving them without healthcare, food, or education.
For instance, over 420 health facilities have closed in Afghanistan, leaving 3 million people without access to essential healthcare services, while approximately half a million Rohingya refugee children in Bangladesh have lost access to education due to insufficient funding.
Meanwhile, aid agencies are doing all they can to reach as many of the most vulnerable people as possible with the limited funding available.
As the humanitarian system is under severe strain, OCHA urges donors to increase their investment in humanitarian aid to help bridge the gap between current funding levels and the needs of those affected by crises. The humanitarian office stresses that, at a time when global needs are immense, more support is critical to saving lives.
Further information
Full text: A lifeline at risk: food assistance at a breaking point, global brief, World Food Programme (WFP), report, released October 15, 2025
https://docs.wfp.org/api/documents/WFP-0000168974/download