Corporate Greed Amplifies Hunger Crisis in Ethiopia as WFP Halts Aid to 650,000
April 23, 2025 | Addis Ababa, Ethiopia – The World Food Programme (WFP) has suspended aid to 650,000 malnourished women and children in Ethiopia due to a critical $222 million funding shortfall, a crisis worsened by global economic dynamics including corporate greed, experts warn. This halt comes as over 10 million Ethiopians face hunger and malnutrition, driven by conflict, drought, displacement, and economic shocks, according to a WFP statement reported by Democracy Now!.
Zlatan Milišić, a WFP representative, emphasized the severity of the situation: “We are at the breaking point… 3.6 million vulnerable people could lose access to WFP assistance in the coming weeks unless funding arrives urgently.” The agency is operating at just 50% of last year’s funding, a decline partly attributed to cuts in U.S. foreign assistance. Meanwhile, cash and in-kind food assistance for up to one million refugees in Ethiopia is set to stop by June if additional funds are not secured.
The crisis in Ethiopia is not occurring in isolation. Experts point to corporate greed as a contributing factor to global hunger, particularly in vulnerable regions like the Horn of Africa. A 2022 report from Food & Water Watch highlighted how industries, including fossil fuel corporations and grocery conglomerates, exploit global crises to maximize profits, driving up prices for essentials like food and energy. “Record profits? More like record greed,” the report stated, noting that 60% of U.S. voters are “very seriously concerned” about corporate influence and price gouging. In Ethiopia, where staple food prices have surged due to inflation and low agricultural labor demand, these global trends exacerbate local food insecurity.
The WFP has reported that malnutrition rates in Ethiopia’s Somali, Oromia, Tigray, and Afar regions have surpassed the 15% emergency threshold for child wasting. This comes on the heels of the 2020-2023 drought—the longest on record in Ethiopia—leaving pastoral and farming communities devastated. Poor rainfall forecasts through May 2025 threaten to deepen the crisis, with 4.4 million pregnant and breastfeeding women and children in urgent need of treatment.Humanitarian efforts are further strained by regional instability. Ethiopia hosts over one million refugees, many fleeing conflict in Sudan, who rely almost entirely on aid to survive, according to the European Commission. However, ongoing conflicts and reported violations of International Humanitarian Law hinder aid delivery, leaving millions without access to food, clean water, and healthcare.
The intersection of corporate greed and humanitarian funding shortfalls paints a grim picture for Ethiopia’s most vulnerable. As global corporations profit from inflated prices, the lack of sufficient donor funding forces agencies like the WFP to make impossible choices, leaving 650,000 women and children without life-saving nutrition assistance. Without urgent action, the ripple effects of this crisis could push millions more into starvation, underscoring the urgent need for accountability in both corporate practices and international aid commitments.
