News Center — Ethiopia is witnessing a deepening humanitarian crisis, with hundreds of thousands of refugees facing the threat of famine due to funding shortages and declining food assistance.

The United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) warned on Monday, December 1, that refugees in Ethiopia are at risk of hunger because of a severe funding shortfall that is forcing the organization to reduce food rations. The agency noted that in October it was compelled to cut food rations for 780,000 refugees from Sudan and South Sudan across 27 camps in Ethiopia—from 60% of their needs to just 40%.

The WFP’s Country Director and Representative in Ethiopia said they are facing “extremely difficult choices,” adding: “We are striving to reach as many refugees as possible with reasonable quantities of food.” He stressed that without additional funding, these reductions may be only a prelude to a complete halt in food distributions, which would endanger the lives of those who currently depend on the assistance. He noted that shrinking food rations means more hungry children, mothers forced to skip meals, and families pushed even closer to the brink.

The WFP issued an urgent appeal for $230 million to sustain its humanitarian operations over the next six months, warning that without immediate additional funding, it may be forced to entirely suspend food distributions to all refugees in Ethiopia in the coming period.

The organization is also facing a critical shortage as its supply of therapeutic food for malnourished children and mothers is nearing exhaustion—expected to run out completely by the end of December. This means that assistance for one million malnourished children, as well as pregnant and breastfeeding women, will cease unless urgent funding is secured.

In April, the WFP issued an emergency appeal warning that funding for nutrient-rich food supplies was close to depletion, putting life-saving support for vulnerable children and mothers at serious risk