Ask not for whom the bell tolls; it tolls for the World Food Programme. The agency will slash 25% to 30% of its workforce, or up to 6,000 jobs, by next year, according to an all-staff email sent last Thursday and seen by Devex.
The world’s largest humanitarian agency has been struggling with a financial crisis for years as international support has waned. It’s funded entirely through voluntary contributions from governments, individuals, and the private sector. The U.S. is WFP’s largest donor, contributing 46% of its budget in 2024. That’s why drastic funding cuts due to the Trump administration’s dismantling of the U.S. Agency for International Development have been such a big blow, my colleague Ayenat Mersie writes. WFP’s work was at first labeled “lifesaving” and safe from Trump’s aid cuts, but many of its contracts were canceled anyway, and in some cases, reinstated and then canceled again.
It’s not yet known which WFP country offices will be most affected, or whether any will close entirely.
The timing couldn’t be worse for the agency — and the millions of food-insecure people it feeds annually. Catastrophic hunger crises are worsening in Sudan, Gaza, Haiti, and elsewhere. An estimated 343 million people faced food insecurity in 2024 — most of them in war zones — and that figure is on the rise, driven by conflicts, economic instability, and climate shocks.
In an interview with PBS Newshour on Friday, WFP Executive Director Cindy McCain called the funding cuts “heartbreaking,” saying that the agency has lost 40% of its budget. She was calling in from Haiti, where gang violence is making it extremely difficult for WFP and other groups to deliver food and humanitarian aid.
Meanwhile, in Gaza, WFP has totally depleted its food stocks as Israel has blocked all commercial and food supplies from entering the territory for more than 7 weeks — the longest closure Gaza has ever faced. Food prices have skyrocketed 1,400%.
“Our people that have been on the ground [in Gaza] from the very beginning, because they can't get out — I worry about their well-being,” she said. “It is a very dark period. The world has turned its back on what we really need to be doing.”
“Food is not political,” she added. “And to make food political is something that is unconscionable, number one, but, number two, it just shouldn't happen.”
WFP’s announcement comes as U.S. President Donald Trump completes 100 days in office — a relatively short period of time considering the mass chaos into which the global development and humanitarian industry has been thrown. More than 80% of USAID’s programs have been terminated, leaving at least 36 million people without urgent humanitarian support, according to an analysis from the Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency, or SIDA.
Furthermore, a recent article in the journal Nature tried to quantify the impact of Western donors’ aid cuts on nutrition: The authors, all members of the Standing Together for Nutrition coalition, projected at least 369,000 additional child deaths per year, with 163,500 linked to U.S. aid reductions alone.
As WFP’s layoffs show, the aftershocks of the Trumpquake keep coming. Experts tell Devex they expect more U.N. cuts going forward. A proposed plan to reorganize the State Department would cut 89% of what the U.S. currently contributes to the U.N.
Exclusive: WFP to cut up to 30% of staff amid aid shortfall
Background reading: Already strapped for cash, WFP faces post-USAID future
See also: How Trump’s first 100 days have meant chaos for US foreign aid
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FAO, say it ain’t so
More than 50 agriculture industry groups are lobbying the Trump administration to ensure the U.S. doesn’t leave the U.N. Food and Agriculture Organization. Last week they sent a letter to senior administration officials stressing the importance of U.S. membership in the Rome-based agency. The Trump administration is currently conducting a 180-day review of its involvement in all multilateral institutions, following an executive order in February.
“FAO serves a vital organizational role in advancing science-based policies and leading initiatives that promote plant and animal health, enhance food safety, and support nutrition security,” the industry groups write. “Critically, FAO administers the Codex Alimentarius Commission (Codex) and International Plant Protection Convention (IPPC), ensuring that international food safety and plant health standards are based on sound science and risk assessment which, amongst other objectives, reduce non-tariff barriers to trade for U.S. agriculture.”
The letter was addressed to U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio, Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins, Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Lee Zeldin, Department of Health and Human Services Secretary Robert Kennedy, Jr., and U.S. Trade Representative Ambassador Jamieson Greer. At FAO’s council meeting in Rome earlier this month, the U.S. laid out a vision that, in its view, brings the agency “back to its core mandate” by stripping away any diversity, equity, and inclusion policies as well as an “unnecessary and distracting focus on climate.”
The U.S. is the largest contributor to FAO’s budget, comprising 14% of the agency’s total resources in 2024. FAO recently announced that it would eliminate 600 staff positions due to funding cuts. It has received termination notices for more than 100 U.S.-funded programs, valued at approximately $382 million.
ICYMI: UN food agency caught in Trump administration’s crosshairs
Pour one out for water finance
The global water sector will face a staggering $7 trillion financing gap by 2030. That means critical infrastructure upgrades, climate resilience projects, and basic water and sanitation services could fall far short unless new funding sources are mobilized. One proposed solution: private sector investment.
At a World Bank-IMF Spring Meetings event last week hosted by WaterAid, panelists dug into the risks and realities of that approach. While private finance could help plug some gaps, speakers warned that without strong public governance, the move could backfire, deepening inequalities and undermining the human right to water.
“We need to get the basics right before we can even make private finance work the way that we want it to work,” said Barbara Schreiner, executive director of the Water Integrity Network, emphasizing that systemic issues such as corruption, governance failures, and weak regulatory capacity must be addressed first. “There’s no way we’re going to get the billions out of the private sector” without broader reforms, she added.
WaterAid’s Azman Chowdhury, speaking about challenges in Bangladesh, said, “Private finance is essential, but it should also be based on trust,” pointing to the need for inclusive governance and transparent data to avoid harming vulnerable communities.
The message from the session was clear: Private money alone won’t solve the water crisis. Justice, equity, and integrity must be built into every deal.
ICYMI: Climate goals quietly survive at the World Bank despite Trump tensions
Brain food
Are we solving hunger all wrong? That’s the claim put forth by journalist Roger Thurow in his investigative book, “Against the Grain: How Farmers Around the Globe Are Transforming Agriculture to Nourish the World and Heal the Planet,” in which he challenges the foundations of modern agriculture.
Thurow’s own reporting with the Wall Street Journal brought him to Ethiopia, where he witnessed the devastating 2003 famine. He started questioning whether agricultural practices meant to feed the world — namely, the Green Revolution and other efforts that prioritize maximizing agricultural yields above all else — are destroying the planet.
“Agriculture and the process of nourishing us puts a tremendous strain and takes a toll on our environment,” Thurow tells Devex President and Editor-in-Chief Raj Kumar in the latest episode of the Devex Book Club podcast. “Our own actions are contributing to this strange prospect that we need to change.”
Bringing home the bacon
Regional Director, Africa
Feed the Children
Multiple locations in Africa
His research also highlights a sad irony: Most people receiving food aid globally are themselves farmers. He concludes that the answer to food security isn’t industrial agriculture — but Indigenous, regenerative practices that can nourish both people and planet. Farmers themselves are leading this revolution already, Thurow says. Following their lead could solve one of the world’s biggest crises.
Listen to the episode Hungry farmers: Roger Thurow on the great food paradox of our time
Chew on this
A $1 million anonymous donation to the University of Illinois’ Feed the Future Soybean Innovation Lab will keep it operating after it was set to close due to USAID cuts. [University of Illinois ACES News]
Financing health for all requires bold moves away from aid. [Devex Opinion]
Organizations including World Food Program USA, which raises money for WFP, are quietly removing references to climate change from their websites. [The New Humanitarian]
Consuming large amounts of ultra-processed food increases the risk of premature death, according to research conducted across eight nations. [American Journal of Preventative Medicine]
Ayenat Mersie contributed reporting to this edition of Devex Dish.
About the author
Tania Karas@TaniaKaras
Tania Karas is a Senior Editor at Devex, where she edits coverage on global development and humanitarian aid in the Americas. Previously, she managed the digital team for The World, where she oversaw content production for the website, podcast, newsletter, and social media platforms. Tania also spent three years as a foreign correspondent in Greece, Turkey, and Lebanon, covering the Syrian refugee crisis and European politics. She started her career as a staff reporter for the New York Law Journal, covering immigration and access to justice.
