OUAGADOUGOU, Burkina Faso — The World Food Program warns it will soon need to cut assistance to thousands of people living with HIV/AIDS in Burkina Faso because of a funding shortage.

Jean-Charles Dei, the local WFP representative, said the shortage threatens more than 12,000 patients and other people affected by HIV/AIDS, imperiling their health and making it difficult for patients to continue drug treatment.

WFP normally distributes 117 tons of food assistance to the group, but Dei said the program had received only 27 percent of its current funding needs, allowing it to provide aid to only 3,000 people.

The United Nations HIV/AIDS agency estimates there are 110,000 people living with HIV in Burkina Faso. The adult prevalence rate is just under 1 percent, down from a high of 6.5 percent in 2001.