US to burn 500 tons of food aid as millions face hunger worldwide

The United States will destroy close to 500 metric tons of emergency food assistance, out of a total of 60,000 tons stuck in warehouses around the globe. The action is in contrast to a severe increase in global hunger, with an estimated 343 million people suffering acute food insecurity, according to the World Food Programme.

The commodities, including high-energy fortified wheat biscuits that were meant for malnourished children in Pakistan and Afghanistan, are near expiry. Previously worth approximately USD



800,000, the biscuits were in a USAID warehouse in Dubai. About 496 tons of them are currently ruined and will be destroyed by burning at a cost of USD 130,000.

This comes after USAID was dismantled earlier this year by the Trump administration, where aid funds were frozen and logistics contracts cancelled. The shutdown has resulted in unused emergency food stocks such as fortified cereals and vegetable oil worth more than USD 98 million sitting idle in warehousing facilities like Djibouti, South Africa, Dubai, and Houston.