WFP to slash emergency food assistance to Somalia over funding gap

NAIROBI, Oct 3 (Reuters) – The United Nations World Food Programme said on Friday it will slash the number of people it supports with emergency food aid in Somalia by two-thirds to just 350,000 next month, down from 1.1 million in August, because of a funding shortfall. The decision means that the agency will only be able to support one in 10 people who are in need of food assistance for survival, it said in a statement. "We are seeing a dangerous rise in emergency levels of hunger, and our ability to respond is shrinking by the day," said Ross Smith, the World Food Programme's director of emergency preparedness and response. "Without urgent funding, families already pushed to the edge will be left with nothing at a time when they need it most." The compounded effects of severe drought, conflict and reduced humanitarian assistance have rapidly pushed the most vulnerable families into emergency levels of food insecurity this year, the agency said. The World Food Programme said it requires $98 million to sustain a minimum of life-saving operations for 800,000 people through the lean season until March next year. (Reporting by Hereward Holland; Editing by Mark Porter)

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