Latest news with #RaniaDagash-Kamara
Zawya
29-03-2025
- Health
- Zawya
Tens of millions risk starvation as funding cuts deepen crises in Democratic Republic of Congo (DR Congo): World Health Organization (WHO), World Food Programme (WFP)
The United Nations agency has received only $1.57 billion of the $21.1 billion required to sustain its operations this year, with donations slashed by 40 per cent after cuts from major donors like the United States. ' WFP is prioritizing countries with the greatest needs and stretching food rations at the frontlines. While we are doing everything possible to reduce operational costs, make no mistake, we are facing a funding cliff with life-threatening consequences,' said Rania Dagash-Kamara, WFP Assistant Executive Director for Partnerships and Innovation. 'Emergency feeding programmes not only save lives and alleviate human suffering – they bring greatly needed stability to fragile communities, which can spiral downwards when faced with extreme hunger.' The drastic reductions are threatening the organization's global programs in 28 regions, including Gaza, Sudan, Syria, and the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC). Bracing for the rainy season With the rainy season looming in fighting-stricken South Sudan, two-thirds of its estimated 12.7 million people facing acute food insecurity could go even hungrier. WFP delivers food and nutrition aid to 2.3 million people in the east African country who have escaped war, extreme climate events, and economic downturn. More than one million people have fled to the impoverished nation from neighboring Sudan. Outbreaks surging Meanwhile, shortages in medical supplies are likely to worsen the crisis in conflict-torn eastern DRC, with the public health system on the brink of collapse and spikes in viral outbreaks, the World Health Organization (WHO) warned on Friday. After recent clashes in Walikale, in the western part of the city of Goma, nearly 700 people are seeking treatment in a hospital, but funding cuts, disease outbreaks and blocked aid are hampering their access to healthcare. 'There is no possibility for access – no partner, nobody can really join that place,' said Dr. Thierno Baldé, WHO Incident Manager for Eastern DRC. Some 2,000 people have already died, Dr. Baldé stressed, adding that the crisis is also affecting neighboring countries such as Burundi, Rwanda, Uganda and Tanzania. One in 10 infected people is currently dying of cholera in a major outbreak near the Congolese border with Burundi, he said. The region is seeing a surge in outbreaks of infectious diseases, including cholera and mpox, and the dire humanitarian situation is driving spikes in mortality rates, Dr. Baldé reported. A drop in the ocean Emergency medical teams are 'doing the best they can', mobilizing local people for additional support in providing care. The World Health Organization was recently able to ship 20 tons of medical supplies on roads all the way from Uganda over Kenya and Tanzania into Goma, providing some relief, but as Mr. Baldé highlighted, all of this was just a 'drop in the ocean' in the country where 50 million people are affected by the crisis. Vaccines out of stock Funding cuts in humanitarian aid directly threaten half of the 4 million people living in North Kivu. 'Vaccines for routine immunization are almost out of stock in Goma,' Mr. Baldé warned. In the imminent danger of vaccines running out, Ms. Margaret Harris, spokesperson for the World Health Organization added, that this concerns the whole world. 'Infectious diseases don't care about borders; they don't care about elections and governments. If you don't vaccinate everywhere, you're going to be affected everywhere,' she said. Amidst the US Government announcing to suspend financing the Alliance for Vaccine (GAVI), a driving force in providing children vaccinations in poor countries, a out that an estimated 154 million lives have been saved over the past 50 years thanks to global immunization drives. 'It's madness not to invest in vaccination,' she concluded. Refugees at risk Providing further proof of the health threats caused by funding cuts, Allen Maina, Public Health Chief of the UN Refugee agency (UNHCR) stated, that nearly 13 million displaced people, including six million children are 'at risk of not being able to access lifesaving health and nutrition care.' Echoing that infectious diseases such as cholera, hepatitis, malaria are more likely to break out, Mr. Maina stressed that the problem doesn't only stem from'overwhelmed hospitals and health systems', but also in disrupted water supply systems, sanitation facilities and waste management. 'This situation is devastating, but it's coming on top of longstanding shortfalls in humanitarian assistance,' Mr. Maina reminded, highlighting that in Ethiopia's Gambela region, operations in four out of seven refugee sites have recently been closed due to the funding cuts. '99 severely malnourished children had to be discharged immediately because programmes had to close', he said, maintaining that for 980 acutely malnourished children, there were only two staff members available. 'We're talking about people here. We talk about men and women. We talk about children, worried whether their parents will live to see another day, Mr. Maina stressed. Distributed by APO Group on behalf of UN News.
Yahoo
28-03-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
UN's WFP says 58 million face hunger crisis after huge shortfall in aid
ROME (Reuters) - The U.N. World Food Programme warned on Friday that 58 million people were at risk of extreme hunger or starvation unless urgent funding for food aid is secured, after drastic shortfalls from donors so far this year, including the United States. The Rome-based agency said it faced a 40% slump in donations in 2025 compared to last year, adding that the shortfall threatened feeding programmes for in 28 crisis zones around the world, including Gaza, Sudan, Syria and Congo. "WFP is prioritising the worst-affected regions and stretching food rations to maximize impact. But make no mistake, we are approaching a funding cliff with life-threatening consequences," said Rania Dagash-Kamara, WFP Assistant Executive Director for Partnerships and Innovation. WFP, which describes itself as the world's largest humanitarian organisation, said 343 million people globally were experiencing severe food insecurity, driven by conflict, economic instability, and climate change. It aims to assist 123 million of them in 2025, nearly half of whom face an imminent loss of food support, it said. According to WFP's website, the U.N. agency had received just $1.57 billion in funding up until March 24. For the whole of 2024, WFP received $9.75 billion, well below the $21.1 billion it had sought. WFP did not point the finger at specific countries for cutting contributions, but a breakdown on its website showed the United States, long the biggest donor, had so far contributed just under 10% of the $4.45 billion it gave for the full year 2024. U.S. President Donald Trump's administration is reviewing its foreign aid programmes and has largely shut down the foreign aid agency USAID. U.S. donations to WFP of food purchased from American farmers were briefly suspended by the Trump administration but resumed in February under a waiver authorising emergency food aid. Other countries are also falling short of commitments from previous years, the WFP website showed, including Britain, which has said it will slash foreign aid this year to fund a defence buildup. Anti-poverty group Caritas Europa has said a number of European countries are also looking to cut foreign aid budgets. WFP said it required $2.49 billion to sustain emergency relief efforts in the coming months in Sudan, South Sudan, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Palestine, Syria, Yemen, Lebanon, Myanmar, Haiti, Sahel and Lake Chad Basin. Earlier this week, it said programmes to help prevent malnourishment in children in Yemen, Afghanistan and Syria could be suspended within months if urgent funding was not found. It also announced it was reducing rations for Rohingya refugees in Bangladesh due to a lack of resources. Earlier this month it said it was closing its Southern Africa bureau due to funding constraints.
Reuters
28-03-2025
- Politics
- Reuters
UN's WFP says 58 million face hunger crisis after huge shortfall in aid
ROME, March 28 (Reuters) - The U.N. World Food Programme warned on Friday that 58 million people were at risk of extreme hunger or starvation unless urgent funding for food aid is secured, after drastic shortfalls from donors so far this year, including the United States. The Rome-based agency said it faced a 40% slump in donations in 2025 compared to last year, adding that the shortfall threatened feeding programmes for in 28 crisis zones around the world, including Gaza, Sudan, Syria and Congo. "WFP is prioritising the worst-affected regions and stretching food rations to maximize impact. But make no mistake, we are approaching a funding cliff with life-threatening consequences," said Rania Dagash-Kamara, WFP Assistant Executive Director for Partnerships and Innovation. WFP, which describes itself as the world's largest humanitarian organisation, said 343 million people globally were experiencing severe food insecurity, driven by conflict, economic instability, and climate change. It aims to assist 123 million of them in 2025, nearly half of whom face an imminent loss of food support, it said. According to WFP's website, the U.N. agency had received just $1.57 billion in funding up until March 24. For the whole of 2024, WFP received $9.75 billion, well below the $21.1 billion it had sought. WFP did not point the finger at specific countries for cutting contributions, but a breakdown on its website showed the United States, long the biggest donor, had so far contributed just under 10% of the $4.45 billion it gave for the full year 2024. U.S. President Donald Trump's administration is reviewing its foreign aid programmes and has largely shut down the foreign aid agency USAID. U.S. donations to WFP of food purchased from American farmers were briefly suspended by the Trump administration but resumed in February under a waiver authorising emergency food aid. Other countries are also falling short of commitments from previous years, the WFP website showed, including Britain, which has said it will slash foreign aid this year to fund a defence buildup. Anti-poverty group Caritas Europa has said a number of European countries are also looking to cut foreign aid budgets. WFP said it required $2.49 billion to sustain emergency relief efforts in the coming months in Sudan, South Sudan, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Palestine, Syria, Yemen, Lebanon, Myanmar, Haiti, Sahel and Lake Chad Basin. Earlier this week, it said programmes to help prevent malnourishment in children in Yemen, Afghanistan and Syria could be suspended within months if urgent funding was not found. It also announced it was reducing rations for Rohingya refugees in Bangladesh due to a lack of resources.
Arab News
28-03-2025
- Politics
- Arab News
UN's food aid body warns of crisis as funding cut by 40%
ROME: The UN's World Food Programme warned Friday of an 'unprecedented crisis' as it faces a 40 percent drop in funding this year, risking life-saving aid for 58 million WFP said that despite the generosity of many governments and individuals, it is 'experiencing a steep decline in funding across its major donors.''Right now, the organization is facing an alarming 40 percent drop in funding for 2025, as compared to last year,' the Rome-based agency said in added: 'The severity of these cuts, combined with record levels of people in need, have led to an unprecedented crisis for tens of millions across the globe reliant on food aid.'It did not name any individual country, but the United States, by far the WFP's biggest donor, has dramatically cut its aid funding since President Donald Trump took office in countries have also cut overseas aid, including Germany, the second biggest development aid donor behind the United States, and the UK, which is instead boosting defense spending.'WFP is prioritizing countries with the greatest needs and stretching food rations at the frontlines,' said Rania Dagash-Kamara, WFP Assistant Executive Director for Partnerships and Innovation.'While we are doing everything possible to reduce operational costs, make no mistake, we are facing a funding cliff with life-threatening consequences.'The WFP highlighted 28 of its most critical operations which it said were facing severe funding constraints and 'dangerously low food supplies' through to include Lebanon, Sudan, Syria, South Sudan, Chad, Afghanistan, Myanmar, Uganda, Niger, Burkina Faso, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Yemen, Mali, Bangladesh, Venezuela, Haiti, Mozambique, Nigeria, Somalia, Kenya, Ukraine, Malawi, Burundi, Ethiopia, the Palestinian territories, Central African Republic, Jordan, and WFP had Thursday warned it had only two weeks' worth of food left in Gaza, where 'hundreds of thousands of people' are at risk of severe hunger and malnutrition.
Zawya
21-02-2025
- General
- Zawya
United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) delivers life-saving nutrition supplies to remote communities in Madagascar via unmanned aircraft
The United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) has for the first time in three months, delivered life-saving nutrition supplies for malnourished children in the remote region of Farafangana, southeastern Madagascar. The consignment of Plumpy'Sup - a lifesaving supplement for children suffering from malnutrition, was delivered via an Unmanned Aircraft System (UAS) marking a milestone in the use of UAS technology to reach remote and isolated communities. 'In regions like southern Madagascar, where humanitarian needs are pressing, droughts are relentless and cyclones destroy roads and bridges, such innovations are vital,' said Franklyn Frimpong, WFP's Chief of Aviation. 'This milestone shows how innovation can help us reach those in need faster and more efficiently in challenging operational contexts.' Communities in Farafangana often wait for weeks or even months for assistance, with food supplies sometimes dropped in distant locations. Communities then embark on a gruelling half-day trek, wading through unpredictable rivers and climbing steep and slippery paths to bring food home. With UAS, WFP can now deliver up to 160 kilogrammes of relief items per drop with several deliveries planned to remote landlocked villages in southern Madagascar over the next three months. WFP is working with communities to build awareness and understanding of this delivery system, ensuring they can safely access the relief items. "Technology must be an integral part of our supply chain toolkit," said Rania Dagash-Kamara, WFP Assistant Executive Director for Partnerships and Innovation. "This groundbreaking aerial operation is revolutionizing the way we deliver aid, elevating response efforts, not only for WFP, but for the entire humanitarian community. We are witnessing significant interest from partners and are eager to expand this initiative globally.' The innovative approach exemplifies WFP's commitment to leveraging technology to enhance the efficiency and effectiveness of humanitarian aid delivery, ensuring assistance reaches all those who need it, especially those in insecure and hard-to-reach locations. It is a result of WFP's collaboration with private sector partners and donors. Distributed by APO Group on behalf of World Food Programme (WFP).
