The US’ slashing of foreign aid is threatening the health of almost 13 million displaced people and 14 million children are in danger of going hungry, the United Nations has warned.  

The UN’s refugee agency UNHCR says the aid cuts by the US and other donors could have “serious consequences” for refugees and the countries that harbour them.

And UNICEF says at least 14 million children are expected to face disruptions to nutrition support and services.

Recently, eight people in South Sudan, including five children, were reported to have died on a three hour walk in 40-degree heat seeking treatment for cholera.

Humanitarian organisations around the world have been reeling since US President Donald Trump took office in January, invoking an anti-refugee and anti-migrant stance and immediately freezing almost all US foreign aid funding.

Recently, eight people in South Sudan, including five children, were reported to have died on a three hour walk in 40 degree heat seeking treatment for cholera.

The UNHCR has said that other major traditional donors were also reducing their funding.

“The reality is that this funding uncertainty will have, and is already having, an impact on some of the most vulnerable people on the planet: refugees,” a statement said.

“Without adequate resources, an estimated 12.8 million displaced people, including 6.3 million children, could be deprived of life-saving health interventions by 2025,” UNHCR’s head of public health Allen Maina told international media.

About a million Rohingya refugees in Bangladesh are facing a serious health crisis, with the freezing of funding threatening access to medical services, Mr Maina said.

He said in Burundi, the suspension of nutrition programmes in several camps means that thousands of refugee children under the age of five are at risk of not receiving adequate treatment for malnutrition.

In the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), the UNHCR’s 2025 health budget has been cut by 87 per cent compared to 2024.

“The health consequences of the funding cuts are expected to be devastating, exposing more than 520,000 refugees to an increased risk of infectious diseases and death”, Mr Maina said.

In Egypt, all UNHCR medical treatment for refugees has been suspended, with the exception of vital emergency procedures.

Meanwhile, UNICEF has said at least 14 million children are expected to face disruptions to nutrition support and services because of recent and expected global funding cuts, leaving them at heightened risk of severe malnutrition and death.

The analysis was presented by UNICEF recently at the Nutrition for Growth Summit in Paris.

UNICEF says the funding cuts have come at a time of unprecedented need for children who continue to suffer from record levels of displacement, new and protracted conflicts, disease outbreaks, and the deadly consequences of climate change.

UNICEF Executive Director Catherine Russell said the circumstances amounted to a perfect storm which is undermining access to adequate nutrition.

“Over the last decades, we have made impressive progress in reducing child malnutrition globally because of a shared commitment and sustained investment,” she said.

“Since 2000, the number of stunted children under the age of five has fallen by 55 million, and the lives of millions of severely malnourished children have been saved. But steep funding cuts will dramatically reverse these gains and put the lives of millions more children at risk,” Ms Russell said.

UNICEF said the cuts would have impacts across 17 high priority countries, including more than 2.4 million children suffering from severe acute malnutrition going without Ready-to-use-Therapeutic-Food (RUTF) for the remainder of 2025.

And, up to 2,300 life-saving stabilisation centres – providing critical care for children suffering from severe wasting with medical complications – are at risk of closing or severely scaling back services.

Also, almost 28,000 UNICEF-supported outpatient therapeutic centres for the treatment of malnutrition are at risk, and in some cases have already stopped operating.

The agency said children under five remain and adolescent girls and women are especially vulnerable.

Even before the funding cuts, the number of pregnant and breastfeeding women and adolescent girls suffering from acute malnutrition soared from 5.5 million to 6.9 million – or 25 per cent – since 2020, UNICEF said.

The agency expects these figures to rise without urgent action from donors as well as adequate investments from national governments.

“UNICEF is calling on governments and donors to prioritise investments in health and nutrition programmes for children and is urging national governments to allocate more funding to domestic nutrition and health services. Good nutrition is the foundation of child survival and development, with impressive returns on investment. Dividends will be measured in stronger families, societies and countries, and a more stable world,” Ms Russell told international media.