GAALKACYO , Somalia ( CNN ) -- The U.S. government is delaying `` tens of millions '' of dollars in crucial humanitarian aid over concerns that the money is being diverted to a notorious militant group , a senior U.N. official said . Al-Shabaab militants ride through Mogadishu , Somalia , after a religious gathering in September . The U.S. government , concerned about the challenges in delivering assistance in a country wracked by civil war , says allegations that Al-Shabaab is stopping aid from reaching the people are under review . Although one U.S. government source said aid continues to flow to Somalia and has n't been suspended , another said aid might not reach `` some parts of the country '' because of Al-Shabaab , the al Qaeda-linked terror group that is trying to overthrow the government . Located in the Horn of Africa , Somalia has long been a lawless , war-ravaged nation . The United Nations says that nearly half the population is dependent on humanitarian assistance , and one in five children are acutely malnourished . Somalia has suffered through five consecutive seasons of drought , and the ongoing conflict has caused more than a million people to be displaced . Kiki Gbeho , head of office for the U.N. Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs in Somalia , said the United States is reviewing whether its aid helps fund Al-Shabaab . The U.N. office , in a report issued in September , said the U.S. delay in reaching a decision on humanitarian funding `` is already impacting on many agencies and their programmes . '' The United Nations estimates that 60 percent of the people it needs to reach with emergency assistance live in areas controlled by Al-Shabaab . `` According to humanitarian principles , we have to serve people and need to deal with those in charge , '' Gbeho said . Peter Smerdon , chief spokesman for the World Food Program , the agency responsible for delivering aid to Somalia , would not comment on the U.S. funding controversy but said investigations into whether Al-Shabaab is assisted by U.N. aid assistance are `` ongoing . '' Food supplies could run out for millions of Somalis in the next few weeks , according to the United Nations . The U.S. government is traditionally the biggest donor for food assistance . The issue of breakdowns in humanitarian aid in Somalia has long concerned the United States . A senior administration official and an administration official spoke about the issue on the condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to speak publicly . The senior U.S. administration official said that Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and Transitional Federal Government President Sheikh Sharif Sheikh Ahmed discussed in August how the `` delivery of services '' to the Somali people be broadened . Clinton said publicly in Nairobi that the United States continues to provide `` humanitarian assistance to the Somali people where delivery is feasible and effective . '' The administration official said that the aid has never stopped , adding that food bound for the World Food Program in Somalia is on a vessel and should arrive in a few weeks . The senior administration official said , `` We are working with groups there to ensure that we can deliver assistance without having to pay off Al-Shabaab in the process . It does mean that aid may get to certain parts of the country but not others . ''
Somalia reviewing claims that money is being diverted to militant group . al Qaeda estimates 60 percent of people who need aid live in militant-controlled areas . one could run out of food in August , U.N. says .