FEWS NET, a U.S. database used by international aid organizations to track and predict famine risks globally, temporarily stopped publishing data on three countries experiencing severe hunger crises. Jeremy Konyndyk, president of Refugees International, discovered during a visit to the region that Somalia’s profile on the system showed no updates after July, despite the country facing a deteriorating food emergency. The same pause affected Afghanistan and Yemen, which were also removed from a regular food assistance needs outlook brief published on August 14, 2026.
The Trump administration had previously reduced aid funding to all three nations. The State Department indicated that FEWS NET’s reporting levels for specific countries shift based on need, policy priorities, access, cost-efficiency, and other considerations. However, after the reporting suspension drew criticism from organizations including the Rockefeller Foundation and former USAID employees, the State Department announced on Monday that FEWS NET would resume coverage of the three countries in September.
FEWS NET, established four decades ago, analyzes crop data, market information, and satellite imagery to create detailed, localized forecasts that can predict major crises up to nine months in advance. This advance warning enables governments and aid organizations to position supplies and coordinate responses. The system’s suspension occurred amid significant humanitarian challenges across the affected regions. Somalia faces acute food insecurity affecting approximately 6.5 million people according to U.N. estimates, while Afghanistan has 14 million facing acute hunger and Yemen has nearly 5 million in acute food insecurity.
Conditions in Somalia have been particularly severe, with a survey by Doctors Without Borders documenting that half of children under age 5 in camps near Baidoa were malnourished. In just two months, the organization treated 2,600 pregnant and breastfeeding women for malnutrition. Extended drought and repeated failed rainy seasons have driven displacement and food shortages. The United States, once Somalia’s largest humanitarian donor, froze nearly all aid in January, a significant reduction from the $770 million provided during the previous administration.
This was not FEWS NET’s first disruption. The system had been suspended for six months earlier in 2025 as part of the Trump administration’s freeze on foreign assistance. Additionally, FEWS NET has not reported on Gaza’s hunger crisis since the fall of last year. Advocates argue that maintaining consistent reporting is essential for effective humanitarian response during critical periods of food insecurity.
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