Millions of children at risk: US funding cuts trigger malnutrition crisis
Shafaq News/ Global efforts to combat severe malnutrition are at risk of collapse due to a sharp decline in international funding, particularly from the United States, humanitarian organizations have warned.
The funding shortfall threatens millions of vulnerable children and could result in widespread child fatalities if urgent financial support is not secured.
Adeline Lescanne, director of French therapeutic food manufacturer Nutriset, said thousands of orders for Plumpy'Nut—a lifesaving, ready-to-use peanut-based therapeutic food—have been canceled following a sudden drop in funding from the US Agency for International Development (USAID). The product has been a cornerstone of severe acute malnutrition treatment since 1999, and Nutriset alone accounts for about half of the global supply.
UNICEF estimates that without immediate intervention, over 2.4 million children could be deprived of this essential nutrition aid by the end of 2025. The agency’s stockpiles are running dangerously low, and over 2,300 fixed health centers and 28,000 mobile units face closure or severe cutbacks.
The impact of US funding is especially significant. In 2024, Washington provided 33% of the World Food Programme’s budget, 16% of UNICEF’s funding, and 14% of the World Health Organization’s budget, making it the largest single donor to global humanitarian efforts.
Léa Follet, spokesperson for Action Against Hunger, said the organization has halted treatment for children suffering from acute wasting due to the funding gap, despite having supported 229,000 children under the age of five last year alone.
Meanwhile, Solidarités International has suspended its programs in countries like Mozambique and Yemen, and several other NGOs are scaling back operations as resources dry up.
The World Bank previously estimated that $13 billion per year is needed over a decade to effectively tackle global malnutrition. However, despite a recent international summit in Paris in late March, donor pledges only reached $27.55 billion over four years—less than half of what is required.
