Even before U.S. President Donald Trump’s administration drastically reduced U.S. foreign aid, citing concerns about efficiency, the United Nations World Food Programme — the world’s largest humanitarian organization — was battling a funding crisis.
In 2024, WFP appealed to the international community for $21.1 billion to provide assistance to 150 million hungry and vulnerable people worldwide. By the end of the year, however, it had received just $9.75 billion — less than half of what it needed and below the roughly 60% that has become the norm for U.N. humanitarian appeals. This shortfall was at least an improvement from 2023’s totals, when WFP faced the worst funding gap in its history, securing only $8.3 billion of the $23.5 billion it had requested.
The U.S. is not the only donor slashing its aid budget: The United Kingdom and many states in the European Union have also announced major cuts recently. For 2025, WFP projects that it will need $16.9 billion to assist 123 million people. However, according to a document published on Nov. 7, it expects to receive a total of only $8 billion.
About the author
Ayenat Mersie
Ayenat Mersie is a Global Development Reporter for Devex. Previously, she worked as a freelance journalist for publications such as National Geographic and Foreign Policy and as an East Africa correspondent for Reuters.
