BRUSSELS — The world’s largest food aid organization is experiencing severe financial constraints at a critical time.
The U.N. World Food Programme (WFP) plays a vital role in feeding over 100 million people globally and is urgently trying to address a multi-billion-dollar funding shortfall after its primary donor, the United States, froze foreign aid and reduced humanitarian budgets. Other Western nations have not stepped in to provide the necessary support.
These budget cuts come as global hunger levels escalate, with the WFP warning that acute food insecurity now impacts 343 million individuals across 74 nations. This financial crisis is forcing the WFP to make previously unimaginable decisions, including reducing food assistance for those on the edge of starvation, according to Carl Skau, the agency’s deputy executive director.
“In the past, we had to cut food aid to individuals who were hungry but not yet starving. Now we’re compelled to cut assistance even for those facing starvation,” Skau stated during an interview with POLITICO in Brussels.
“That means people will die.”
Funding Gap Widening
The WFP is led by Cindy McCain, who is navigating one of the agency’s most significant funding crises amid the aid cuts initiated by the Trump administration.
Skau, who joined the WFP in 2023, is at the forefront of efforts to secure emergency funding.
The U.S. has historically been WFP’s largest donor, contributing $4.5 billion in 2024. However, the aid freezes and changing priorities under Trump have drastically reduced support from Washington.
WFP had sought $21.1 billion from all donors in 2024 to assist 150 million food-insecure people but received less than half that amount. The situation has worsened in 2025, with projected funding at just $8.8 billion against a required $16.9 billion. Funding shortfalls existed before the aid freezes, but they have been exacerbated since.
Simultaneously, the number of acutely food-insecure individuals has surged nearly 80 percent since 2021 — rising from 193 million to 343 million.
“Now we have a 40 percent drop in our funding this year — that equation doesn’t match,” Skau remarked.
Nowhere is the crisis more dire than in Gaza, where 1.1 million individuals are facing starvation — the highest concentration of IPC5-level food insecurity in the world, according to the WFP. However, due to budget constraints, the agency has struggled to increase aid deliveries.
Syria is another critical area. After 14 years of conflict, half of the population remains food insecure; however, WFP has been unable to expand its assistance efforts. Skau discussed these challenges with POLITICO following the European Union’s announcement of an additional €5.8 billion in aid for Damascus, which is primarily aimed at long-term reconstruction rather than immediate food relief.
Without urgent support, Skau warned that recovery efforts might falter before they even begin. “We have the capacity; we have offices throughout the country … If you give us a dollar today, we can act tomorrow. But we lack sufficient funds.”
The Trump administration’s reorganization of foreign aid has caused turmoil within the humanitarian community.
The Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), an initiative led by tech billionaire and Trump advisor Elon Musk, has effectively dismantled the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID), leading to massive layoffs and the cessation of critical food and development programs. A federal judge recently ruled that DOGE’s actions likely violated the U.S. Constitution in multiple ways but did not reverse the cuts.
As funds dwindle, the WFP is making significant reductions to its programs. Food rations have been slashed for refugees in Bangladesh, Kenya, and Djibouti. The agency has closed its South Africa office, reduced staff, and frozen hiring at its Rome headquarters. In Kenya’s Kakuma refugee camp, ration cuts have triggered violent protests, necessitating police intervention to disperse the crowd.
Europe Follows Trump’s Lead
The Rome-based WFP is not the only U.N. agency facing budget challenges. Its counterpart, the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), has also been forced to suspend projects after losing approximately $300 million in annual funding from Washington.
As U.S. aid declines, the European Union faces pressure to fill the gap. However, rather than stepping up, some major donor countries are mirroring Washington’s approach by reducing their foreign aid budgets.
France, Sweden, and Finland are cutting foreign aid budgets, while Germany is contemplating redirecting funding toward migration control and trade priorities. In several nations, new right-wing coalitions have shifted resources from humanitarian programs to deportation policies, reflecting Trump’s strategy. Meanwhile, the European Union is reconfiguring development aid as a geopolitical tool, reallocating funds toward security, trade, and Europe’s strategic interests.
Some European lawmakers have urged the EU to take a leadership position in global development, warning that the USAID freeze might create a power vacuum for Russia and China to exploit. However, EU officials acknowledge that the bloc “cannot shoulder this burden alone.”
Germany remains an exception for now.
Last year, Berlin allocated nearly $38 billion in foreign aid, positioning it to surpass the U.S. for the first time since 1960, as reported by Devex.
However, the next Berlin government, likely led by the center-right Christian Democratic Union following last month’s general election, has indicated a shift towards reducing foreign assistance in favor of migration management.
