Hunger Crisis Hits Kenya’s Kakuma Refugee Camp After US Aid Freeze

Edited by: Widad WAHBI

In the arid plains of northwestern Kenya, the Kakuma Refugee Camp—home to more than 300,000 people—faces a worsening humanitarian emergency. Following the freeze of U.S. funding in March, hunger has become a daily reality for tens of thousands of refugees who depend on international aid for their survival.

Kakuma has long relied on support from the United States, which previously contributed 70% of the World Food Programme’s (WFP) budget for the camp. But with aid halted, food rations have been drastically reduced, and monthly cash transfers that allowed refugees to buy basic supplements like vegetables and protein have ceased. Refugees now receive only 3 kilograms of rice per month—far below the 9 kilograms recommended by the UN for basic nutritional needs.

For many residents, the consequences are devastating. “When we can’t find anyone to help us, we become sick,” says Martin Komol, a Ugandan refugee. “But when we go to the hospital, they say it’s just hunger and send us home.”

The International Rescue Committee (IRC), which runs Kakuma’s main hospital, has seen a surge in cases of severe malnutrition, especially among children. In March, the hospital’s stabilization ward admitted 58 children. That number jumped to 146 in April. Fifteen children died in April alone, triple the monthly average. Supplies of nutrient-rich porridge and fortified peanut paste—once provided by U.S. donors—are nearly depleted.

Health workers fear worse is yet to come. Colin Buleti, head of WFP operations in Kakuma, warns that if no new funding is received by August, only a fraction of the refugee population will continue to receive food assistance. Meanwhile, school feeding programs—often the only source of nutrition for children—are under increasing pressure and could also be cut.

In a ward filled with crying infants, Susan Martine from South Sudan watches over her two-year-old daughter, whose body is swollen from acute malnutrition. She says her family frequently goes to bed hungry, surviving on whatever limited aid they can find.

As international focus shifts elsewhere, the crisis at Kakuma is deepening. Aid workers and residents alike now wait anxiously, knowing that if additional support does not arrive soon, the camp may face an irreversible humanitarian disaster.