The United Nations World Food Programme, which relies on the U.S. for nearly half its budget, is closing its Southern Africa bureau due to funding constraints, the agency said on Monday as the region struggles to withstand a severe drought.

The time to step up is now” for the people of Somalia, where drought threatens 1.7 million young children at risk of acute malnutrition, the UN World Food Programme (WFP) warned on Tuesday.

The UN food agency urgently requires $620 million to ensure continued support to crisis-affected people across the Sahel and in Nigeria over the next six months.

The UN’s World Food Programme (WFP) is closing its southern Africa office in the wake of the Trump administration’s aid cuts. In a statement, a spokesperson said the office in Johannesburg would close and the WFP would consolidate its southern and east Africa operations into one regional office in Nairobi, Kenya.

The World Food Programme is hampered by the Israeli blockade that began alongside the decision to continue the ceasefire into Ramzan

The United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) announced on Monday that it was closing its Southern Africa bureau due to funding constraints after United States (US) President Donald Trump’s administration announced last week that it was terminating 90 per cent of USAID’s foreign aid contracts.

The three UN agencies reiterated their commitment to promoting gender equality as a fundamental component of achieving food security, reducing poverty, and fostering resilient and sustainable agrifood systems.