US signals renewed backing for WFP with $800 million contribution

ROME – The United Nations World Food Programme said on Wednesday it welcomed an $800 million contribution from the United States, following previous funding cuts from President Donald Trump’s administration.

The funds will help scale up assistance and respond rapidly to emerging crises at a time when global hunger is at record levels and the number of people facing acute hunger is expected to rise this year, WFP said.

The US is the WFP’s biggest donor, but its contribution more than halved from 2024 to around $2 billion in 2025.

WFP said the new funding would allow it to pre-position food supplies, expand cash assistance programmes and maintain supply chains in crisis-hit areas such as Lebanon, Haiti and the Democratic Republic of Congo.

The US has long been the world’s largest humanitarian donor, though its contributions have fluctuated sharply in recent years amid shifts in foreign aid policy.

In 2025, US humanitarian funding to the UN fell to about $3.38 billion from $14.1 billion a year earlier after major spending cuts.

On Tuesday, the US State Department also announced $218 million in assistance to the UN children’s agency UNICEF.

The WFP is under temporary leadership while the US seeks to place another American at the agency’s helm, following the resignation of Cindy McCain on health grounds.