US Restores Food Aid, But Not in Yemen or Afghanistan

Photo : AP

The United States has decided to restore some emergency food aid to several countries. However, it will still cut this aid for Afghanistan and Yemen, two countries that are very poor and have been torn apart by war.

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At first, the U.S. had decided to stop giving money to help with food and health in over a dozen countries. This was part of a big plan to reduce government spending led by Elon Musk's team. Aid workers were worried that these cuts would leave millions of people without food and stop important health programs, especially for women and children.

But after people spoke out, the U.S. decided to bring back some of the funding. An official said that the decision to change the cuts came after a lot of discussions behind the scenes with U.S. lawmakers. However, Afghanistan and Yemen were not included in the changes. The cuts there could cause even more harm to millions of people already suffering from years of war and poverty.

In the past, the U.S. had given a lot of money to help countries like Afghanistan. Last year, the U.S. gave $4.5 billion out of a total of $9.8 billion to help the World Food Program. This aid helped to reduce poverty and violence in many parts of the world.

But the current U.S. government has criticized foreign aid, calling it a waste of money. They said that the U.S. should focus on its own problems and not spend so much on other countries.

Officials later admitted that some of the cuts were mistakes and promised to restore the funding, but gave no details on which countries would benefit.

In Afghanistan, more than 23 million people, which is over half of the country's population, need help. Years of war, poverty, and bad weather have made things worse. The United States was the biggest donor to Afghanistan, giving 43% of all the international aid last year.

Now, around $560 million in humanitarian aid is being cut. This includes help for food, clean drinking water, and medical care for babies and people who have experienced violence. This cut will affect 2 million people. It will also stop support for 650,000 children and pregnant women who need nutrition.

The United Nations also said that $100 million in support for women’s health services has been taken away. This will affect many women who need care and help with violence.

Yemen has also been facing a terrible situation since 2014 when fighting broke out between groups in the country. The U.S. has been helping a group of countries that support the government in Yemen, but the war has still been going on.

Because of the war, many people in Yemen are hungry, and parts of the country were even close to famine in 2024. The U.S. cuts mean that 2.4 million people in Yemen will no longer get life-saving food assistance, and 100,000 children will lose nutritional support.

The U.S. is also carrying out airstrikes against the rebels in Yemen. These cuts will also hurt the people in southern Yemen, where the government is still in charge. The United Nations warned that stopping aid in southern Yemen could make things worse, making the economy weaker and causing more fighting.

Last year, the World Food Program helped 8.6 million people in Yemen. This included many displaced people, and a lot of them were women and children. But now, the cuts will stop support for clean water, health, and sanitation for about 2 million people.

Aid groups say that they are looking for other ways to help, but it will be hard to replace all the lost support. They are worried that many people will suffer and die because there won’t be enough food or care for them.