The Kakuma Refugee Camp in northwestern Kenya is facing a severe food shortage. Over 300,000 refugees from Africa and the Middle East now struggle with hunger after the United States cut its funding. Food rations have been reduced to less than half of what they were, causing widespread malnutrition and despair.
Until early 2025, the United Nations provided about $4 million monthly to refugees in Kenya’s camps. This money, called bamba chakula, was given electronically and could only be spent on food. It helped families buy fresh produce, protein, and other essentials to supplement their rations.
The sharp drop in food aid followed sweeping cuts in U.S. foreign assistance announced by the Trump administration. The U.S. was the largest donor to the UN World Food Programme (WFP) in Kenya, funding roughly 70% of its operations. After the U.S. withdrew support in March, WFP had to cut rations to only 30% of the minimum needed for health.
Felix Okech, head of refugee operations for WFP in Kenya, warned, “If this situation continues, the population is slowly starving.” Refugees like 17-year-old Fatima from South Sudan skip meals to feed younger siblings. Fatima’s school attendance has dropped as she searches for work to support her family.
Kakuma camp was built for 10,000 people but now houses over 300,000 from more than 20 countries. The camp’s infrastructure is overwhelmed, and the loss of U.S. funding threatens years of progress in health, education, and nutrition.
At Amusait Hospital in Kakuma, children with severe malnutrition fill the beds. Babies like nine-month-old James suffer from acute hunger. His mother, a refugee from northern Uganda, says, “The food is insufficient; my children eat only once daily. If there’s no food, what can I give them?”
Martin Komol, a 59-year-old widower from Uganda, lives in a crumbling mud house. He survives on one meal a day or sometimes every other day, relying on neighbors’ help. When he seeks medical aid, doctors say his illness is due to hunger and send him home.
Aisha, a single mother from the Democratic Republic of Congo, watches her children weaken. Her youngest, toddler Amina, is now too weak to walk. “Every day, I pray for more food. I don’t know what else to do,” she says, holding her child in the crowded hospital ward.
The humanitarian crisis in Kakuma highlights the devastating impact of U.S. aid cuts on vulnerable refugee populations. Without urgent restoration of funding, starvation and suffering will only worsen.
Related topics:
