The World Food Programme warns that further cuts to humanitarian aid and development funding are a serious problem.
According to Mathias Mogge, secretary‑general of the World Food Programme, the German federal government’s decision to slash the budgets for development cooperation and humanitarian assistance is “more than problematic”. He told the “Neue Osnabrücker Zeitung” that this pruning, set against a backdrop of rising defence spending, contradicts the internationally agreed goal of erasing hunger by 2030. “Development cooperation and emergency aid are not marginal issues of foreign or security policy; they are core investments in global stability and security, and thus must receive proper financial prioritisation” Mogge stressed.
The World Food Programme points out that wars and conflicts are among the most significant drivers of hunger worldwide. In 2024 alone, they caused 20 food crises that affected nearly 140 million people. Mogge warned that the ongoing wars in the Middle East and North Africa could cause these figures to multiply in the future.
In other international news, the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI) released data showing that the volume of heavy weapons traded between states rose by 9.2 % in the 2021‑2025 period compared with 2016‑2020, reaching its highest level since the 1980s. European countries boosted their imports of tanks, artillery, combat aircraft, missiles and similar weaponry to more than triple the previous levels. Germany narrowly surpassed China, becoming the fourth‑largest arms exporter with a 5.7 % share of global exports.
