Due to the reduction in aid from the United States, food for millions of people is rotting in warehouses
Kyiv • UNN
Due to cuts in US aid, $98 million worth of food rations, enough for 3.5 million people, are spoiling in warehouses. The Trump administration has cut programs, and supplies may be disposed of.
Food rations, which would be enough to provide for 3.5 million people for a month, are rotting in warehouses around the world due to reduced aid from the United States of America (USA). Humanitarian aid is at risk of becoming unusable. This is reported by the Reuters agency, reports UNN.
Details
According to three former employees of the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) and two former employees of other humanitarian organizations, food stocks are stuck in four government warehouses in the United States of America after the Trump administration decided in January to reduce global aid programs.
According to Reuters, some stocks, which expire as early as July, are likely to be destroyed. They will be disposed of or used as animal feed.
According to five interlocutors, warehouses managed by the USAID Bureau of Humanitarian Assistance store between 60,000 and 66,000 metric tons of food received from American farmers and producers.
The inventory list of warehouses located in Djibouti (South Africa), Dubai and Houston indicates that they store more than 66,000 tons of goods, including high-calorie cookies, vegetable oil and enriched grain.
According to a document seen by Reuters, which was provided by an official of a humanitarian organization and confirmed by a source in the US government, these supplies are currently valued at more than $98 million.
A State Department spokesman, which oversees USAID, said in response to detailed questions about food stocks that it is working to ensure the continued smooth continuation of aid programs and their transfer by July as part of the USAID liquidation process.
USAID is constantly consulting with partners on where best to distribute goods in pre-prepared USAID warehouses for use in emergency programs before they expire
According to a Reuters analysis based on data from the World Food Program, the world's largest humanitarian organization, this food could feed more than a million people for three months, or the entire population of Gaza for a month and a half.
According to the UN, one ton of food, which usually includes cereals, legumes and oil, can meet the daily needs of approximately 1,660 people.
50 countries affected by suspension of USAID funding - WHO13.02.25, 09:42 • 110876 views
President Donald Trump's liquidation of USAID and cuts in humanitarian aid come amid rising hunger levels in the world due to conflict and climate change, which are causing more and more people to go hungry, negating decades of progress, Reuters notes.
According to the World Food Program, 343 million people worldwide face acute food shortages. Of these, 1.9 million people are suffering from catastrophic hunger and are on the brink of starvation. Most of them are in Gaza and Sudan, as well as in parts of South Sudan, Haiti and Mali.
Recall
On February 27, the US administration suspended nearly 5,800 USAID grants, retaining only 500 worth $57 billion.
On March 10, US Secretary of State announced the closure of most USAID programs after a 6-week analysis. The reason was the misuse of billions of dollars, which was not in the interests of the United States.
