Assalamu Alaikum - Hunger in Gaza, Sudan and Yemen at ‘breaking point’ amid sharp funding cuts
Assalamu Alaikum - may Allah ease the suffering of those affected.
The World Food Programme has warned that big drops in funding are pushing food aid programs in crisis-hit places like Gaza, Sudan and Yemen toward collapse. A new report called “A Lifeline at Risk” says the shortfalls are forcing cuts to rations, suspending important distributions, and in some areas cutting whole communities off from assistance.
WFP officials say six of the world’s most fragile places - Gaza, Sudan, South Sudan, Yemen, Somalia and Afghanistan - are being hit hardest. “We’re seeing people completely cut off from assistance,” the agency’s emergency director said. These are the most vulnerable families, many already barely surviving. We are at a breaking point.
Their analysis warns that about 13.7 million people could fall into emergency levels of hunger this year because of these funding gaps. This isn’t just numbers - these are real mothers and children who are being turned away from clinics and food centers. The WFP says we are facing two concurrent famines for the first time in its history, in Gaza and Sudan.
The report notes 1.4 million people across Gaza, Sudan, South Sudan, Mali and Yemen are already in the most catastrophic phase of food insecurity (Phase 5), which means famine-like conditions. In Gaza, access limits and funding shortfalls could leave large parts of the population without food in the coming weeks.
Sudan is described as the largest humanitarian crisis right now. The WFP reached 4.1 million people in August but says it could help nearly twice that number if it had the resources. “Unless urgent funding is secured, we will have to reduce our footprint in Sudan and many other places,” officials warned.
Afghanistan is also in bad shape - the WFP can currently help less than 10% of the over 10 million people facing acute food insecurity, and winter plans will reach a tiny share of those in need. In South Sudan, floods have displaced many families and funding cuts have scaled programs back to a famine-prevention model that only targets the most critical areas. Somalia has seen emergency food help cut by about 75% compared with a year ago. Haiti’s hot-meal programs for displaced people have been paused, leaving the country more vulnerable to storms.
Globally, 319 million people face acute food insecurity and 44 million are already at emergency levels of hunger. WFP staff warn there’s a dangerous narrative that some crises are no longer emergencies, and that the world may turn away just when needs are highest. They also say cuts are hurting the data and coordination systems humanitarian groups rely on - without that, responses get much harder.
The WFP expects a 40% drop in assistance this year and says further cuts could come in 2026 unless donors step up. “Famine is not inevitable,” the report says, “but without action, it is becoming increasingly likely.”
Please keep these families in your duas. May Allah grant relief, open the hearts of those who can help, and protect the most vulnerable. Insha’Allah, the international community will respond before it’s too late.
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