ADDIS ABABA: The World Food Programme is on the brink of suspending food aid for millions of refugees in Ethiopia due to cuts in international aid, the UN agency said on Friday.
Ethiopia, Africa’s second most populous country, hosts many refugees from neighboring Sudan and South Sudan, and also has internally displaced residents fleeing internal conflicts.
The director of the program (WFP) in Ethiopia, Zlatan Milisic, said it needed to raise about $230 million to sustain humanitarian operations for the next six months.
“Without immediate new funding, WFP could be forced to completely suspend food assistance for all refugees in Ethiopia in the coming months,” he said in a statement.
Reductions in foreign humanitarian aid by the United States and other Western countries this year have worsened funding issues in many developing countries.
WFP said this month it was forced to cut food rations for 780,000 refugees in 27 camps across Ethiopia.
“We are making impossible choices,” Milisic said.
“These reductions are just another step toward stopping food distributions completely, putting the lives of those we currently assist at risk.”
According to the agency, the latest cuts mean refugees are now receiving fewer than 1,000 calories a day in food aid — less than half the recommended 2,100 daily intake.
Ethiopia is receiving a surge of refugees from neighboring Sudan, gripped by civil war since April 2023, and South Sudan, long troubled by instability.
The Horn of African nation is also facing internal conflicts, particularly in its two most populous regions, which have displaced tens of thousands of people.
“Every ration cut is a child left hungrier, a mother forced to skip meals, a family pushed closer to the edge,” Milisic said.
In April, WFP said it had halted aid for 650,000 malnourished women and children in Ethiopia.
From January to October, it provided life-saving assistance to 4.7 million vulnerable people across the country.
Refugees in Ethiopia risk losing food aid: UN agency
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Refugees in Ethiopia risk losing food aid: UN agency
- According to the agency, the latest cuts mean refugees are now receiving fewer than 1,000 calories a day in food aid — less than half the recommended 2,100 daily intake
- The director of the program (WFP) in Ethiopia, Zlatan Milisic, said it needed to raise about $230 million to sustain humanitarian operations for the next six months
Russian army present in six African countries: state TV
- Russian troops or military instructors have been reported to be additionally deployed in Burkina Faso, Niger, Equatorial Guinea, Central African Republic and Libya
- The Wagner group was disbanded and restructured after its leader Yevgeny Prigozhin died in a mysterious plane crash in August 2023 following a short-lived mutiny against Moscow
MOSCOW: The Russian army is operating in six African countries, state TV reported in a rare high-profile acknowledgement of the extent of Moscow’s official military presence on the continent.
Facing isolation in the West following its full-scale offensive in Ukraine, Moscow has tried to build new partnerships in Africa, where it has been growing its political, economic and military footprint in recent years.
“Officers and soldiers of the Russian Armed Forces unit are already operating in six African countries,” a state TV correspondent said in a report broadcast Sunday.
Except from Mali, the report did not specify which countries.
Russian troops or military instructors have been reported to be additionally deployed in Burkina Faso, Niger, Equatorial Guinea, Central African Republic and Libya.
The African Corps unit of the Russian defense ministry took over from the Wagner paramilitary group across the continent, diplomatic sources in the Sahel region told AFP in June.
The Wagner group was disbanded and restructured after its leader Yevgeny Prigozhin died in a mysterious plane crash in August 2023 following a short-lived mutiny against Moscow.
Its troops had been fighting in Ukraine and had been deployed across Africa.
The state TV report identified Africa Corps as part of the Russian defense ministry.
It said most of the soldiers deployed were “veterans of the Special Military Operation,” Russia’s term for the war in Ukraine.
In one shot, a flag with insignia resembling the Wagner group’s trademark skull logo could be seen at what the reporter said was a Russian base in Mali.
The video also showed two Russian bombers launching an attack and displayed heavy Russian equipment including helicopters and armored personnel carriers.
Moscow says its forces are helping several African governments repel jihadist insurgencies.
