WASHINGTON — On Tuesday, the State Department announced it had reversed a number of significant funding cuts initially applied to U.N. World Food Program (WFP) emergency initiatives in 14 disadvantaged nations. Initially, some contracts providing critical aid were mistakenly terminated, prompting this reconsideration.
State Department spokeswoman Tammy Bruce addressed the matter, stating, “A few programs in various countries were mistakenly cut, but those have now been reinstated.” However, she did not provide specific details on which countries saw their funds restored, nor did she elaborate on how the cancellations arose in error.
Efforts to reach the World Food Program for comments did not receive an immediate response.
Earlier reports highlighted that the Trump administration had slashed funding previously designated for WFP emergency efforts, which play a crucial role in sustaining millions of people in Afghanistan, Syria, Yemen, and other nations severely affected by conflict. This news came from officials familiar with the matter.
Despite former commitments by Secretary of State Marco Rubio and other administration officials to protect essential food aid and humanitarian programs—amidst the dismantling of the U.S. Agency for International Development by the Trump administration and Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency—a considerable number of USAID’s international development contracts were still eradicated.
The latest notifications, issued last week, indicated that U.S. financial support for the WFP’s emergency projects in 14 nations was among roughly 60 cancellations throughout the Middle East, Africa, Central and South America, and the Pacific Islands. These measures were allegedly taken “for the convenience of the U.S. Government.”
Jeremy Lewin, a senior official responsible for the termination of USAID programs, reportedly directed these latest terminations, as documented in memos sent to partners.
The World Food Program, recognized as the largest global provider of food aid, had publicly urged the U.S. to rethink the cuts, which could deprive food programs of hundreds of millions of dollars. In an emotional plea, the WFP stated on X that the decision “could amount to a death sentence for millions of people facing extreme hunger and starvation.”