The Trump administration’s initiative to reduce and reshape U.S. foreign aid is severely impacting the global system designed to prevent and tackle famine.
The international system for monitoring and addressing hunger crises was already struggling before U.S. President Donald Trump was reelected. Now it faces significant setbacks due to the abrupt halt of U.S. foreign aid.
Trump ordered a spending freeze upon taking office on January 20. This freeze is expected to last 90 days while his administration reviews all foreign-aid programs. Secretary of State Marco Rubio indicated that emergency food assistance would continue.
However, much of that assistance is temporarily suspended as humanitarian organizations seek clarification on which relief programs can keep operating. Additionally, Trump recently decided to shut down the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID), the government’s primary relief provider.
Currently, around 500,000 metric tons of food, valued at $340 million, are in limbo. They are either in transit or stored as humanitarian organizations await approval from the U.S. State Department to distribute them.
Aid workers informed Reuters that cash assistance aimed at helping people buy food and other essentials in Sudan and Gaza has also been suspended. Funding for community kitchens in Sudan, which rely on American support to feed people in areas inaccessible to traditional aid, has also been halted.
Humanitarian organizations face delays in receiving payment for emergency food operations. Many aid workers have not received responses to their inquiries about which programs are eligible for exemptions from the spending freeze because most USAID officials have been placed on leave.
The Famine Early Warning Systems Network (FEWS NET), which produced essential food security alerts, has also been shut down. Its absence deprives aid organizations of critical guidance on how and where to deploy humanitarian relief.
Moreover, the U.S. government has issued stop-work orders to two major nutritional supplement manufacturers. This action reduces the supply of crucial food for severely malnourished children worldwide.
Mark Moore, chief executive officer of Mana Nutrition in Georgia, emphasized the urgent need for help, stating, “We are the one thing that nearly everyone agrees on – that little children who are starving and need emergency aid need help.”
Shortly after this report, the U.S. government informed Mana and the other supplier, Edesia Nutrition from Rhode Island, that the stop-work orders had been lifted.
However, the U.S. State Department did not provide any comments on the matter.
PAUSED STOCKPILES
Conflict continues to thrust many people into dire hunger, and the U.S. remains the largest donor of aid. Over the past five years, it has provided $64.6 billion in humanitarian assistance, accounting for at least 38% of total contributions recorded by the United Nations.
As of 2023, nearly 282 million people in 59 countries faced extreme food shortages threatening their lives or livelihoods, according to the 2024 Global Report on Food Crises.
Even before the U.S. aid pause, the famine-fighting system was already under tremendous strain due to conflict and political instability. The halt creates a dual crisis for humanitarian organizations: it disrupts programs aimed at preventing mass starvation and hampers efforts to respond to ongoing crises and save lives.
Among the food aid currently stuck around the globe is almost 30,000 metric tons intended for acutely malnourished children and adults in famine-stricken Sudan. Some of this food is sitting in hot warehouses and at risk of spoiling.
The food supplies include lentils, rice, and wheat, enough to feed at least 2 million people for a month. Some items have short expiration dates and may become inedible by the end of Trump’s 90-day freeze.
Aid groups remain uncertain about which relief programs qualify for waivers under the spending freeze and if they will even be able to obtain these waivers, as most USAID staff are currently on leave.
MISSING GUIDE
The closure of FEWS NET threatens to severely diminish the world’s capacity to predict, prevent, and respond to food insecurity crises.
Established in 1985 by the U.S. government after severe famines in East and West Africa, FEWS NET is funded by USAID and managed by Chemonics International, located in Washington, D.C. Its main role is to provide early warnings to U.S. policymakers regarding hunger crises that may necessitate humanitarian responses. The organization gathers data from federal agencies, scientists, and other humanitarian groups to generate a continuous flow of food security reports. USAID and various humanitarian organizations rely on FEWS NET reports to determine where to allocate food aid.
Researchers focused on food insecurity and famine assert that FEWS NET is vital in combating hunger globally. They highlight its agility and productivity in comparison to the Integrated Food Security Phase Classification (IPC), a U.N.-backed program that assesses food insecurity in numerous countries.
The IPC often requires consensus from local government officials and representatives from humanitarian organizations. This requirement can lead to political manipulation, delay, and hinder its ability to signal potential crises, according to a recent investigation by Reuters.
In contrast, FEWS NET does not have to secure consensus, enabling it to act more swiftly and efficiently. In 2024, FEWS NET issued over 1,000 reports on food insecurity, outlooks, and alerts covering more than 34 countries. The IPC, on the other hand, published only 71 reports in 33 countries.
The IPC did not comment on FEWS NET’s closure. Frank Nyakairu, a spokesperson for IPC, remarked that the “implications for the initiative remain unclear.”
On January 27, Chemonics received a stop-work order from USAID, leading to FEWS NET’s website going offline just two days later. This removal cut public access to thousands of reports funded by American taxpayers.
“Ending FEWS NET is sort of like taking the steering wheel off the car,” explained Andrew Natsios, a Texas A&M University professor and former USAID head from 2001 to 2006. “Even if the car is working fine, if there’s no steering wheel, you don’t know where the car is going.”
FEWS NET has played a crucial role in evaluating food insecurity during the world’s most severe hunger crises. It has served as an important data source for the IPC and the global humanitarian system. Its reports provided crucial insights on how conflict and various issues affect food security in specific regions. The organization also pressed the IPC to take action when political delays hindered its activities.
Without FEWS NET, “the single most important component of the IPC system is knocked out,” stated Alex de Waal, executive director of the World Peace Foundation at Tuft University’s Fletcher School.
A December report by Reuters indicated that the Sudanese government had attempted to stall an IPC famine assessment in Darfur. Meanwhile, FEWS NET had already determined that famine was occurring there and advocated for the IPC’s Famine Review Committee to convene despite objections from Sudanese officials. Ultimately, the IPC committee decided to announce the existence of famine in Zamzam, a large camp for internally displaced people in North Darfur.
However, FEWS NET’s tendency to deliver direct assessments has sometimes drawn criticism in Washington. In December, the organization warned of a potential famine in northern Gaza by early 2025. After the report’s release, Jack Lew, the U.S. ambassador to Israel from October 2023 until January, criticized the finding as “irresponsible.” FEWS NET subsequently withdrew the report for “further review” and indicated it would provide an update in January.
With the cessation of funding from USAID, FEWS NET employees express doubt about the organization resuming operations.
Its closure creates “a gaping hole” in humanitarian crisis reporting, according to Chris Newton, an analyst focused on early warning and food security at the International Crisis Group, a Brussels-based think tank. He warns that this loss will hinder efforts to address famine in Sudan and prevent it in other regions. It may lead to the collapse of a crucial network of data providers essential for understanding global humanitarian risks.
“Famine was disappearing from the world in the 2000s, and now its return will likely accelerate as we become increasingly blind to it, even as it becomes a more common tool of politics and war,” Newton remarked.
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