Kakuma Hunger Crisis: The Impact of USAID Funding Cuts on Food and Water Shortages for Refugees
Seth Mugenyi
Executive Director at Discover | Member of Catalyst Now | Refugee Advocate | Hope Groups Program Manager, Kakuma | Designathon Works Facilitator | Empowering Refugees through Education & Livelihood Skills
The humanitarian crisis in Kakuma Refugee Camp has reached alarming levels following the reduction of food and water aid, largely due to the withdrawal of critical funding from USAID - Bureau for Humanitarian Assistance . Now thousands of refugees in Kakuma Refugee Camp are struggling to survive due to severe reductions in food assistance and a worsening water crisis. The World Food Programme (WFP) has cut food aid to just 40% of the minimum basket, citing funding shortfalls. Essential items like vegetable oil and pulses have been completely removed, leaving families with only minimal cereal portions.
For over three decades, Kakuma has been a sanctuary for refugees fleeing war, persecution, and disaster. But now, instead of finding hope, many face malnutrition, starvation, and dehydration. Pregnant women, children, and the elderly are the most vulnerable in this deepening crisis.
What Needs to Change?
As Alan Braithwaite rightly pointed out, WFP’s recent cutbacks mean that refugees now receive only 60% of the food they actually need. This means the World Food Programme (WFP) is reducing food aid to 40% of the minimum food basket due to resource shortages. Refugees in Kakuma and Dadaab will receive only 3kg of cereals per person monthly. Bamba Chakula cash assistance will increase from Ksh 650 to Ksh 820 to replace missing vegetable oil and pulses. New arrivals at reception centers will get 7.7kg of cereals, 1.5kg of pulses, and 1kg of vegetable oil. Kalobeyei cash transfers will drop to Ksh 1,165. WFP urges donors for more support to prevent worsening malnutrition. (Based on the following report) The situation is dire, and urgent action is required.
According to Henrik Stamm Kristensen , while organizations like WFP have strong logistics and a dedicated team, their donation model lacks transparency and innovation. He emphasizes the need to support local organizations that understand the crisis firsthand and can create sustainable, community-led solutions.
The Role of Refugee-Led Organizations (RLOs)
One way forward is to support and empower Refugee-Led Organizations (RLOs) like The Discover a refugee-led organization working on self-reliance programs and other many RLOs on ground and Refugee Led Networks such as Refugee ChangeMakers Network These organizations understand the needs of the community better than anyone and can provide more efficient, transparent, and long-term solutions.
A Call to Action: Global Leaders Must Act Now!
The world cannot turn a blind eye to what is happening in Kakuma and in other refugee communities across the globe. We need donors, policymakers, and humanitarian organizations to act immediately. We must:
I urge global leaders, humanitarian organizations, and funders need to act now: Alan Braithwaite , Henrik Stamm Kristensen , B. Thomas Henry , Dalton T. Sirmans , Roeland Monasch , Punit Kohli , and The Fund for Global Human Rights The World Bank Group 萬事達卡 to step in and support this cause.
Let’s ensure that refugees don’t just survive but thrive. Their dignity, nourishment, and future of thousands of refugees are at stake.
Khurshid Bhatti, CEO AHD Pakistan winner 6 international awards, HIEX-UN, WHA-2024, GSK UK, Energy Globe, APFED & Int. Energy Globe over safe drinking water in rural poor communities
6 天前Hi Refugees must be empowered to release, this is burden of long time Refugees, in Pakistan AHD handle 500 Refugees camp in 2008 and within 2.5 months all Refugees gone to respectful life ...no Refugees. Or give them solutions not Aid and they should grow vegetables and other short business and ending Refugees....if needs training to free Refugees AHD Pakistan can help
Founder & Chief Moonshot Officer @Blendhub Entrepreneurship, Partnerships, Family Business, Feeding all people in all places, sustainably
1 周Seth Mugenyi thanks for your personal commitment to human lives and wellbeing ?? I have for years been calling the attention to a profound #foodsystem change which we started ourselves with a completely different focus on localized food production closer to the Origen of the food ingredient and closer to the final consumer optimizing global supply chains to transparency and accountable sustainability. When we deployed our first Food-as-a-Service hub in India back in 2011 we understood that the potential of this solution moved far beyond our imagination and “local” could improve costs of the actual system by 20-50% on a meal to nutrition base. That was when we envisioned a global and interconnected network of local and identical food production hubs where any stakeholder in the food industry value chain can participate and we are today able to show how this network already deployed on 4 continents can move far beyond the obsolete way we ideate, test, validate and launch healthy and affordable food and nutrition to more people in more places, sustainably. https://www.weforum.org/stories/2023/06/sustainable-nutritious-and-affordable-this-entrepreneur-is-empowering-local-food-producers/
||Born Again Christian|| UNSDSN Kenya YAG|| UNFPA Kenya YAP|| YALI RLC East Africa Alumna|| Peacebuilder|| Education Enthusiast||
1 周Theo Hollander (PhD)
Life Coach, Spark Trainer, Mental Heath Advocate, Depression Treatment & Nouthetic Counselor |Co-founder Global Innovation Valley
1 周The power for transformation and change has to be revealed now! Refugee-led-organizations need critical, strategic, technical and financial support to work together with international humanitarian agencies in providing sustainable solutions to refugees in this critical, harsh conditions. The effect of food shortage and water scarcity is devastating! Hunger will cause malnutrition, increase in robberies, deaths, increase in school dropout, teenage pregnancies, amongst others; leading to psychological problems; depression, stress and trauma. We urge all humanitarian agencies, the #GovernmentofKenya and all relevant government partners to seriously look into this with no hesitation. #UNHCR #GoK #UNICEF #MASTERCARD #GIV #UN #17SGDs
Now the global humanitarian system must prioritize refugee-led organizations (RLOs) and networks, ensuring they receive direct funding and support to drive sustainable, locally led solutions for crises like Kakuma. Mastercard Foundation MAMA HOPE KKCF - Kakuma Kalobeyei Challenge Fund B. Thomas Henry Margot Hinchey