U.S. aid cuts looming over vast hunger crisis
Proposed cutback could slash programs for most vulnerable as millions at risk in Africa
NAIROBI, KENYA— The world’s largest humanitarian crisis in 70 years has been declared in three African countries on the brink of famine as U.S. President Donald Trump’s proposed foreign-aid cuts threaten to pull the United States from its historic role as the world’s top emergency donor.
If the deep cuts are approved by Congress and the U.S. does not contribute to Africa’s current crisis, experts warn that the continent’s growing drought and famine could have far-ranging effects, including a new wave of migrants heading to Europe and possibly more support for Islamic extremist groups.
The hunger crises in Nigeria, Somalia and South Sudan have culminated in a trio of potential famines hitting almost simultaneously. Nearly 16 million people in the three countries are at risk of dying within months.
Famine has been declared in two South Sudan counties and one million people there are on the brink of dying from a lack of food, UN officials have said. Somalia has declared a state of emergency over drought and 2.9 million of its people face a food crisis that could become a famine, according to the UN. In northeastern Nigeria, severe malnutrition is widespread in areas affected by violence from Boko Haram extremists.
“We are facing the largest humanitarian crisis since the creation of the United Nations,” Stephen O’Brien, the UN humanitarian chief, told the UN Security Council after a visit this month to Somalia and South Sudan.
At least $4.4 billion is needed by the end of March to avert a hunger “catastrophe” in Nigeria, Somalia, South Sudan and Yemen, UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres said in late February. According to UN data, only10 per cent of the necessary funds have been received.
Trump’s proposed budget would “absolutely” cut programs that help some of the world’s most vulnerable people, Mick Mulvaney, the president’s budget director, told reporters last week, saying it would “spend less money on people overseas and more money on people back home.”
The United States has been the largest donor to the UN and gives more foreign aid to Africa than other continents.
“Without significant contributions from the U.S. government, it is less able to catalyze contributions from other donors and meet even minimal life-saving needs,” Nancy Lindborg, president of the United States Institute of Peace, said to the Senate foreign relations committee.