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WFP and FAO warn Somalia faces worsening hunger as funds run out; WFP says aid could stop by April
Summary
WFP and FAO officials told a UN Correspondents Association briefing that 6.5 million Somalis face crisis‑level hunger, FAO needs $85 million for rural relief, and WFP has an immediate $95 million shortfall that could force most operations to stop by April without new funds.
WASHINGTON — Officials from the World Food Programme (WFP) and the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) told a United Nations Correspondents Association briefing that Somalia’s hunger crisis has intensified and that severe funding shortfalls threaten life‑saving food, nutrition and cash assistance.
Ross Smith of WFP said "6,500,000 people, a third of the population facing crisis levels of hunger through March," and described a rapid deterioration since January. He said WFP assistance has fallen from 64 districts to 42, leaving whole areas without food aid, and that the agency is currently "only assisting just over 600,000 of the 6,500,000 people facing crisis levels of hunger." Without more funding, Smith warned, "we will be stopping most of our activity by April without additional…
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