US halts millions in food aid, disrupting global hunger relief

The United Nations’ World Food Programme (WFP) has been instructed by Washington to cease work on dozens of U.S.-funded grants. 

The directive, issued five days after U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio approved an emergency food assistance waiver, has disrupted vital food aid efforts worldwide, Caliber.Az reports via foreign media.

The affected grants, overseen by the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID), are worth tens of millions of dollars and support food assistance in some of the world’s most impoverished nations, including Yemen, Sudan, South Sudan, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, the Central African Republic, Haiti, and Mali.

A significant number of the suspended projects fall under the Food for Peace Title II programme, which donates U.S. commodities for international food assistance. The programme, which accounts for much of America’s foreign aid in this sector, is jointly managed by USAID and the U.S. Department of Agriculture.

On January 20, U.S. President Donald Trump ordered a 90-day pause on foreign aid to assess whether contributions align with his “America First” agenda. A subsequent State Department cable, dated January 24, instructed a halt to all existing foreign assistance, while new aid was also put on hold. However, Rubio had authorized exemptions for emergency food and life-saving humanitarian aid, including medicine, shelter, and medical services.

Despite this, an email sent to WFP on January 29 from USAID’s Bureau for Humanitarian Assistance listed dozens of halted projects. A senior WFP official in Washington responded with concerns about the freeze, particularly regarding the Title II and Commodity Credit Corporation (CCC) awards.

“The pause in Title II and CCC awards has disrupted WFP’s massive food supply chain, affecting over 507,000 metric tonnes of food valued at more than $340 million,” the official wrote. They warned that the disruption would have “far-reaching consequences” for vulnerable communities reliant on the aid.

According to WFP, food supplies are already in transit, with some en route by sea, others in warehouses across 23 countries, and further shipments being loaded at U.S. ports, including Houston.

Humanitarian organizations have criticized the Trump administration’s efforts to overhaul American foreign aid, warning it could severely impact the global system designed to prevent and respond to famine. USAID has been a target of government restructuring, led by businessman Elon Musk, a close Trump ally. The administration reportedly plans to retain fewer than 300 USAID staff from its current workforce of thousands.

Despite the cuts, Trump’s incoming U.N. Ambassador Elise Stefanik recently praised WFP as “a very successful programme” during her Senate confirmation hearing, noting its “significant bipartisan support” in Congress.

By Aghakazim Guliyev