UN food programme to cut aid to poor Palestinians as US slashes funding

United Nations, Dec 19: Come January 1 and the United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) will cut its aid to nearly 2 lakh Palestinians in the Gaza Strip and the occupied West Bank. The reason is shortage of funds and more specifically, because of slashing of American aid funding under the Donald Trump Administration to humanitarian agencies working in those areas.

"WFP has been forced, unfortunately, to make drastic cuts to the number of people that we support across Palestine, both in Gaza and the West Bank," WFP country director Stephen Kearney was quoted as saying in Jerusalem by Reuters. He also said that the US's slashing of the funds affected as much as 40 per cent of the WFP's funding.

In a statement, the WFP said it was concerned that these cuts will have a major adverse effect on food security, livelihood and the welfare of the people it catered to in Palestine, Al Jazeera reported.

Kearney also said, as per Reuters, that the US has not only cut funding for UNRWA (UN Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East but also for humanitarian agencies like WFP.