Malnourished kids perish due to funding reduction for USAID aid, which previously served as crucial assistance for those most afflicted with hunger worldwide.

Malnourished kids perish due to funding reduction for USAID aid, which previously served as crucial assistance for those most afflicted with hunger worldwide.

Taunting Tales from Dikwa, Nigeria

Under the dappled shade of a rustic roof, Yagana Bulama tenderly cradles her last baby. The other twin has departed, another casualty of malnutrition and the brutal international funding cuts that have slashed the lifeline for displaced communities in Nigeria's war-torn Borno state.

"Feeding is a nightmare," murmured Bulama, a 40-year-old former farmer, who fled her village due to the Boko Haram militants' merciless onslaught. She, along with around 400,000 others at the humanitarian haven of Dikwa - virtually the entire population - are reliant on assistance. The military restricts their movements to a designated "safe zone," which severely constrains farming.

For years, the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) had been the backbone of humanitarian response in northeastern Nigeria, aiding non-government organizations in providing food, shelter, and healthcare to millions. But this year, the Trump administration trimmed more than 90% of USAID's foreign aid contracts and shrunk overall assistance by $60 billion worldwide.

Programs catering to children suffered the most.

Bulama had already lost young triplets due to hunger before reaching therapeutic feeding centers in Dikwa. When she gave birth to twins last August, both were severely underweight. Workers from Mercy Corps enrolled them in a program to receive a calorie-dense paste to treat severe acute malnutrition.

Yet, in February, Mercy Corps discontinued the program, entirely financed by USAID. Two weeks later, one of the twins passed away, Bulama shared.

"I don't want to bury another child," she shuddered.

A Global Dilemma

Globally, half of the therapeutic foods for treating malnutrition in children were backed by USAID, and 40% of the supplies were produced in the U.S., according to Shawn Baker, chief program officer at Helen Keller Intl, and former chief nutritionist at USAID.

The consequences? Up to 1 million children may go untreated for severe malnutrition, leading to 163,500 additional deaths per year, Baker cautioned. For Helen Keller Intl, programs in Bangladesh, Nepal, and Nigeria have been suspended.

"It's deeply distressing," said Trond Jensen, the head of the United Nations humanitarian office in Maiduguri, Borno's capital, of the funding cuts, pointing out that other donors, such as the European Union, have taken similar measures this year. "One of the concerns is the threat to the lives of children."

UNICEF still manages a therapeutic feeding center nearby, currently assisting Bulama's surviving baby, but its capacity is at breaking point. It is turning away many people previously served by other aid groups that have vanished due to funding cuts.

Intersos, an Italian humanitarian organization, is the only remaining facility in Dikwa providing in-patient services for malnutrition, treating the most dire cases. Its staffers admit they're overwhelmed, tending to at least 10 new, seriously malnourished children daily.

"Before the USAID cut, we had made great strides," said Ayuba Kauji, a health and nutrition supervisor. "Now, my biggest worry is a high mortality rate. We don't have enough resources to keep up."

Intersos was forced to slash its staff in Dikwa from 30 to 11 following the USAID freeze. Its nutrition and health facilities now rely solely on support from the Nigerian Humanitarian Fund, a smaller pot of money contributed by a few European countries. That funding will run out in June.

The crisis is equally urgent in Maiduguri, where the economy is plummeting due to a glut of laid-off aid workers. At another Intersos-run facility, 10 out of 12 doctors have departed, leaving four nurses to grapple with 50 new admissions of malnourished children per week.

"It used to be much less," said Emmanuel Ali, one of the remaining doctors.

Beyond Hunger

The impacts of the funding cuts reach beyond merely nutrition. At the International Organization for Migration's reception center in Dikwa, thousands of displaced families and those escaping Boko Haram captivity are stranded. There are no fresh shelters being built, and no aid for relocation.

"Before, organizations like Mercy Corps built mud-brick homes and rehabilitated damaged shelters to absorb people from the IOM reception center," said one official at the center, speaking on the condition of anonymity because he wasn't authorized to talk publicly about the situation. "Now, that has come to a halt."

Jensen, the U.N. humanitarian head in Maiduguri, expressed concern, "sadly, we are not seeing additional funding to compensate for the U.S. cuts." He warned that vulnerable individuals might resort to risky coping mechanisms, including joining violent groups.

1. The cuts in international funding, particularly from the United States, are causing a global dilemma, with up to 1 million children at risk of going untreated for severe malnutrition each year.
2. In Seattle, the government is monitoring debate over the potential impacts of these funding cuts in war-torn regions like Borno state, Nigeria.
3. Despite the urgent health crisis, science and research institutions in various countries continue to focus on health-and-wellness, fitness-and-exercise, and nutrition initiatives, advocating for a balanced diet and regular exercise as a means to combat malnutrition.
4. Politicians in Europe, feeling the pressure of their citizens who are concerned about war-and-conflicts and health issues, are increasingly questioning the Trump administration's decision to cut foreign aid, particularly in regions like Nigeria.
5. Crime-and-justice reports from Maiduguri reveal an increase in criminal activity and violent incidents due to the influx of displaced people and lack of employment opportunities resulting from cutbacks in general-news sources.
6. As the funding crisis persists, migration patterns from Nigeria and other affected regions may change as people seek refuge and opportunities in countries with stronger economies, leading to political debates and policy revisions surrounding immigration.

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