Hunger Crisis Hits Refugees in Kenya as Food Aid Cuts Put Thousands at Risk

Hundreds of thousands of refugees living across Kenya are starving after major food aid cuts hit their camps. American donors pulled back funding and left 700,000 people desperately hungry at Kakuma and Dadaab camps. The refugees only receive tiny portions of rice and lentils each month instead of proper meals. Cash help programs stopped completely and families cannot buy basic foods anymore. Aid workers from the US Committee for Refugees and Immigrants say the crisis has reached dangerous levels.

Mothers watch their babies waste away from lack of nutrition each day. Some desperate women have killed themselves rather than see their children die from hunger. Hospital beds fill up with starving kids who need urgent medical care. Pregnant mothers and young children suffer the worst effects from the food shortage. More than 13 percent of refugee children under five years old show signs of serious malnutrition.

The World Food Programme needs 44 million dollars right away to restart normal food supplies. Refugees fled wars and violence only to face starvation at camps meant to protect them. Teenagers quit school to search for any work that might bring food home. Families skip meals and share tiny amounts of rice between many people. Aid groups warn that a massive famine could kill thousands without immediate action.