Lisbon, June 1, 2026 (Lusa) - More than 130,000 children are at risk of hunger and malnutrition in Guinea-Bissau due to cuts in funding for food assistance programmes, the World Food Programme (WFP) warned on Monday.
The United Nations food aid organisation released a report today, on World Children’s Day, on the situation in Guinea-Bissau in the face of cuts to support programmes due to reduced funding, particularly from the United States, for social assistance.
According to the WFP report, children and families in Guinea-Bissau are now more vulnerable to hunger and malnutrition, particularly during the period considered to be the most food-scarce, the months of June to August.
According to the document, the cuts to programmes are occurring “at a critical time for Guinea-Bissau” and leave “more than 130,000 children without daily assistance”.
“The number of school-age children receiving school meals has already been drastically reduced from 283,400 to around 152,000”.
Quoted in the document, the WFP’s country director in Guinea-Bissau, Mahamane Badamassi, emphasises that “school meals are more than just a meal; for many pupils, they are the only nutritious food they receive every day”.
“These children are now left to fend for themselves, with no guarantee of regular meals or adequate nutrition,” he adds.
The WFP has also been “forced to suspend the distribution of specialised nutritional food for children under two years of age, leaving approximately 56,000 children without access to essential nutrition during a critical stage of development”, it warns.
A situation which, as the report notes, “raises serious concerns about a possible rise in malnutrition and increased vulnerability to disease among young children”.
“Children, as we know, are particularly vulnerable to disease during the first two years of life. There is a risk that they will become malnourished and be more exposed to disease,” according to the country director.
The organisation anticipates that, in the coming months in Guinea-Bissau, “more than one in five people [will be] unable to meet basic food needs and 73% of the population will lack essential nutrients”.
In the report, the WFP states that cuts to programmes are due to "the impact of supply chain disruptions and cost increases linked to the Middle East crisis, as well as reduced funding".
The World Food Programme is committed to maintaining assistance, but warns that it “urgently needs US$6.4 million (€5.5 million) to continue providing essential food and nutritional assistance” to Guinea-Bissau’s vulnerable population.
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