Report predicts aid for Sudanese refugees in Egypt and three countries will run out

Aid for Sudanese refugees expected to run out

Report predicts aid for Sudanese refugees in Egypt and three countries will run out

The World Food Programme (WFP) has warned that aid for Sudanese refugees in four neighboring countries will run out within the next two months unless new funding is urgently injected, warning of rising levels of malnutrition.

More than four million Sudanese refugees have fled the civil war in their country, which has been raging for more than two years, to seven neighboring countries, where conditions are severely unsuitable due to ongoing funding shortages. Sean Hughes, WFP Emergency Coordinator for the Sudan Regional Crisis, said at a press conference in Geneva: "Unless new funding is provided, all refugees will face aid cuts in the coming months," calling for $200 million over six months.

He added: "In four countries—the Central African Republic, Egypt, Ethiopia, and Libya—WFP operations are so severely underfunded that all support could cease in the coming months as resources run out." He later explained that this could happen within two months. A joint UN report released last month by the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) and the World Food Programme (WFP) stated that the country is at imminent risk of famine.

Hughes said that any reduction or suspension of food rations would increase the risk of malnutrition among refugee children. When asked about the reason for the decrease in funding, he pointed to overall donor reductions and increasing humanitarian needs. He added that the United States, which has significantly reduced its foreign aid spending under President Donald Trump, remains Sudan's largest donor.