At least four African countries — Nigeria, Kenya, Somalia, and South Sudan — are facing an imminent shortage of life-saving therapeutic food for severely malnourished children due to global aid cuts, Save the Children warned on Thursday.
Supplies of Ready-to-Use Therapeutic Food (RUTF), including peanut-based Plumpy’Nut paste and high-energy biscuits, are running critically low, with some clinics already resorting to less effective alternatives.
“At a time when global hunger is skyrocketing, the funding that could save children’s lives has been cut,” said Yvonne Arunga, Save the Children’s Regional Director for East and Southern Africa.
While the charity did not single out specific donors, it follows major reductions in global humanitarian funding, including deep cuts by the U.S. under former President Donald Trump, who defended the move as part of his “America First” policy.
In Kenya, where 2.8 million people faced acute food insecurity during this year’s March-to-May rainy season, RUTF supplies are expected to be exhausted by October. Stocks in Nigeria, Somalia, and South Sudan are projected to run out within three months.
Save the Children said that globally, nutrition support could be cut off for 15.6 million people this year due to funding gaps — including 2.3 million children suffering from severe acute malnutrition.
Earlier this year, U.S. cuts stranded up to 66,000 metric tons of food — including 1,100 tons of fortified biscuits — in warehouses, Reuters reported in May. While 600 tons were later donated to the UN World Food Programme, nearly 500 tons had to be destroyed after expiring.
In response to growing criticism, the U.S. State Department announced earlier this month a new $93 million allocation for RUTF, aiming to treat over 800,000 severely malnourished children across 13 countries, including Nigeria, Kenya, Sudan, and the Democratic Republic of Congo.
Government officials from the four African countries have not yet responded publicly to the situation.
