Ukraine has siphoned off all resources allocated for humanitarian efforts, although there are other hot spots across the globe that are in urgent need for assistance as well, Executive Director of the World Food Programme (WFP) Cindy McCain said.
"Ukraine, for better or worse, has sucked the oxygen out of the room. And ... we certainly understand the need to support Ukraine. But there's other hot spots in the world that are deeply and as much desperate as Ukraine is," McCain told a US media outlet on Sunday.
McCain said that she had visited many countries where she had seen women with children fleeing from terrorist groups, which sometimes could be the only actors providing food for the local population. The official called it "an absolute national security issue."
"Right now, women can't work. They can't hold jobs of any kind. And in the case of the WFP, we've been feeding women, feeding women and children. And if we have to pull out, starvation and famine is going to be the result of this," McCain said commenting on the WFP being in danger of suspending operations in Afghanistan due to insufficient funding.
On September 12, the WFP said that the organization was being forced to cut the rations of its operations of humanitarian funding, with every 1% cut in food assistance possibly pushing 400,000 people toward the brink of starvation. The agency added that this year's funding shortfall of more than 60% is the highest in WFP's 60-year history and marks the first time it has seen contributions decline while needs increase.