Syria Archives - World Food Program USA

DAMASCUS – An average monthly wage in Syria currently covers about a quarter of a family’s food needs, the United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) said today, highlighting an urgent need for increased humanitarian assistance as the country grapples with the devastating impact of recent earthquakes and a 12-year-long conflict.

Some 12.1 million people, more than 50% of the population, are currently hungry and a further 2.9 million are at risk of sliding into hunger. Meanwhile, recent data show that malnutrition is on the rise, with stunting and maternal malnutrition rates reaching levels never seen before.

“Bombardment, displacement, isolation, drought, economic meltdown and now earthquakes of staggering proportions. Syrians are remarkably resilient but there’s only so much that people can take,” says Kenn Crossley, U.N. World Food Programme country director in Syria. “At what point does the world say enough?”

The February 6 earthquakes came as food prices in Syria were already soaring. The selection of standard food items that the U.N. World Food Programme uses to track food inflation has almost doubled in price in 12 months and is 13 times more expensive than three years ago. The upwards trajectory is expected to continue.

The recent earthquakes have highlighted the urgent need for increased humanitarian assistance in Syria, not only for people hit by the earthquakes, but also for those who were already grappling with sky-rocketing food prices, a fuel crisis and consecutive climate shocks. Food and fuel prices are at their highest in a decade after years of inflation and currency devaluation.

Stunting rates among children have reached 28% in some parts of the country and maternal malnutrition prevalence 25% in northeast Syria.

A country that used to be self-sufficient in food production now ranks among the six countries with the highest food insecurity in the world, with heavy dependency on food imports. Damaged infrastructure, high cost of fuel and drought-like conditions have slashed Syria’s wheat production by 75%.

The U.N. World Food Programme provides food assistance for 5.5 million people across the country through a mixture of food distributions, nutrition programs, school meals, cash assistance and support for livelihoods, resilience, and social safety nets. Since the earthquake hit north Syria, the U.N. World Food Programme has reached 1.7 million quake-affected people, including people who already benefit from monthly food assistance.

A funding crunch for the U.N. World Food Programme in Syria threatens to curtail the assistance, exactly when people need it most. The U.N. World Food Programme urgently requires a minimum of $450 million to keep up assistance for over 5.5 million people across Syria for the rest of 2023. This includes $150 million to support 800,000 people affected by the earthquake for six months.

Without sufficient resources, the U.N. World Food Programme will have to drastically reduce the number of beneficiaries it serves from July onwards, leaving millions of people in deep need without food assistance.

“The world has now forgotten us. That’s what we hear from many Syrians, and it’s a stark reminder that we need to do more,” said the U.N. World Food Programme’s Regional Director for the Middle East, North Africa and Eastern Europe Corinne Fleischer. “We need the funds to continue to provide food for millions of families – until Syrians can feed themselves again.”

As well as providing immediate food assistance, the U.N. World Food Programme is working on finding long-term solutions to help communities in Syria become less reliant on direct food assistance. Across Syria, the U.N. World Food Programme supports the rehabilitation of irrigation systems, mills, bakeries and markets. Such projects carry greater return on investment compared to traditional food distributions. For example, each $1 invested in rehabilitation of bakeries or irrigation canals can reduce the annual cost of general food assistance by over $3.

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The United Nations World Food Programme is the world’s largest humanitarian organization, saving lives in emergencies and using food assistance to build a pathway to peace, stability and prosperity for people recovering from conflict, disasters and the impact of climate change.

CAIRO/ROME – The United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) has stepped up its emergency response to support earthquake survivors in Syria and Türkiye, providing emergency food assistance to nearly half a million quake-affected people in the two countries through hot meals, ready-to-eat food packages and family food rations.

U.N. World Food Programme teams in the two countries are delivering immediate relief in the affected areas and at the same time assessing needs and supporting logistics efforts. Because the U.N. World Food Programme has ongoing operations in both countries, it has partners, staff and a robust supply chain in place. This means the U.N. World Food Programme could respond to food needs within the first hours of the disaster.

“Families tell me they left everything behind when the earthquake hit, running for their lives. The U.N. World Food Programme’s food is a lifeline for them. While they think about their next steps in the destruction left by the earthquake, their children can eat,” said Corinne Fleischer, U.N. World Food Programme regional director for the Middle East, North Africa and Eastern Europe. “We have scaled up rapidly and requests for more food are coming every day from cities and communities. We are there for them, but the U.N. World Food Programme can’t do it alone. We urgently appeal for funding to help us reach those in need.”

In Syria, in addition to providing immediate food assistance in quake-affected cities, the U.N. World Food Programme has resumed its regular general food assistance for 5.5 million people every month following a brief pause after the earthquakes. This includes regular monthly assistance, either in-kind or cash-based, to 1.4 million people in non-government-controlled areas of the northwest.

Between February 13 – 16, 52 U.N. World Food Programme-contracted trucks crossed into northwest Syria through Bab al-Hawa and Bab al-Salam.

With humanitarian access expanded through the opening of two additional border crossing points from Türkiye to northwest Syria, the U.N. World Food Programme plans to use all three Turkish-Syrian border crossings, Bab al-Hawa, Bab al-Salam and Al Ra’ee, to ensure a constant reach of aid to non-government-controlled areas of northwest Syria.

Prior to the earthquake, food insecurity and poverty in Syria were already at alarming rates with a population suffering the effects of 12 years of conflict and successive shocks. Over 12 million people across the country were categorized as food insecure, including 2.5 million people severely food insecure. In addition, 2.9 million were at risk of slipping into food insecurity.

The Syrian economy is too fragile to withstand external shocks and the earthquake-affected cities of Syria have been severely impacted by the conflict. In northwest Syria, 90% of the population, 4.1 million people, were already relying on humanitarian assistance prior to the earthquake.

“We rely on the international donor community to stand up for Syrians, otherwise, the February 6 earthquakes will turn an already dire situation into an unbearable scenario for millions of people,” says U.N. World Food Programme Representative and Country Director in Syria Kenn Crossley. “No population can face this alone after years of conflict, a pandemic and catastrophic economic decline.”

The U.N. World Food Programme is appealing for $80 million to provide assistance through hot meals, ready-to-eat meals, vouchers and cash.

The U.N. World Food Programme is also appealing for funding for both the earthquake affected population and the millions of people in Syria that receive the agency’s lifesaving food assistance every month. The U.N. World Food Programme urgently requires a minimum of $386 million to maintain its regular emergency assistance program across all of Syria.

Without sufficient resources, the U.N. World Food Programme will be forced to dramatically reduce up to 70% of the people it assists in Syria from July onwards.

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ANKARA/DAMASCUS – The United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) is on the ground responding to the devastating impact of the two earthquakes that hit Türkiye and Syria on Monday. U.N. World Food Programme food assistance has been underway since Tuesday with plans to reach half a million people in both countries.

As of Wednesday morning, the U.N. World Food Programme had reached nearly 64,000 people in urgent need of food assistance, providing ready-to-eat meals, family food packages and hot meals. The food being distributed requires no cooking and provides immediate relief for families whose precarious position is made worse by freezing temperatures.

In southeast Türkiye – the area closest to the quakes’ epicenter – the U.N. World Food Programme is coordinating with authorities to provide family food packages to people in temporary camps. The camps already house around 44,000 Syrians under temporary protection and now include newly displaced Turkish nationals. The U.N. World Food Programme is delivering family food packages to 16,400 affected people in Osmaniye Cevdetiye camp, east of the epicenter.

In areas where supermarkets and supply chains are struggling because of damaged infrastructure, the U.N. World Food Programme will provide family food packages to Turkish nationals for 1-2 weeks while services stabilize.

The U.N. World Food Programme will also support municipalities in the southeast to reactivate and expand soup kitchens set-up during the COVID-19 pandemic to provide daily hot meals to quake-affected families. The U.N. World Food Programme is working closely with the Turkish Red Crescent and partners.

In Syria, the U.N. World Food Programme and its local partners have delivered ready-to-eat meals and daily hot meals to 38,000 affected people in shelters.

“The world woke up to devastating news on Monday. A region plagued by years of compounding crises, faces yet another one, with unimaginable loss and destruction. Immediate relief cannot be delayed,” said U.N. World Food Programme Regional Director in the Middle East, Northern Africa and Eastern Europe Corinne Fleischer. “The U.N. World Food Programme’s strong footprint in both countries enabled us to immediately mobilize our staff, logistics capacity and partners to respond to people’s most immediate food needs.”

In northwest Syria, the quakes have further complicated an acute humanitarian crisis, in which 4.1 million people – or 90% of the population – already depend on humanitarian assistance. Of these, close to 3 million people have been displaced by conflict – often more than once – and despite the freezing temperatures still live in tents, makeshift shelters, or abandoned buildings.

The U.N. World Food Programme has enough ready-to-eat food inside northwest Syria to assist 125,000 people and is providing this to local partners. The U.N. World Food Programme has already provided partners with food for 30,000 people. Millions of Syrians depend on United Nations cross-border assistance from Turkey, which is enabled by a Security Council resolution.

“The U.N. World Food Programme continues to appeal for unimpeded access to northwest Syria – now more than ever – when humanitarian assistance is urgently needed to reach those affected by the quake. Nature has sadly affected those who already had to face years of compounded suffering and displacement,” added Fleischer.

Each month, the U.N. World Food Programme assists 5.5 million people across all of Syria. However, the program is now only 30% funded and the U.N. World Food Programme faces the prospect of cutting up to 70% of the beneficiaries from July onwards should additional funding not materialize on time.

The U.N. World Food Programme is committed to working with its partners to bring lifesaving assistance to families affected by the earthquakes in Türkiye and Syria. To meet the urgent food needs, the U.N. World Food Programme is appealing for $46 million for a total of 500,000 people in Türkiye and Syria. This includes hot meals and food rations to 200,000 newly displaced people in Syria and 300,000 people in Türkiye, including 70,000 refugees.

The U.N. World Food Programme mourns all the lives lost in this tragedy, including one of its own staff members.

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Our hearts go out to those in Türkiye and Syria who were impacted by the devastating earthquakes that struck on Monday where, as of this morning, more than 2,300 people have been killed and thousands injured. We are deeply saddened by the devastation and loss. We are closely monitoring the unfolding situation and stand ready to support the United Nations World Food Programme (WFP)’s emergency response.

The U.N. World Food Programme has operated in Türkiye and Syria for years and will continue to provide unconditional food assistance to vulnerable groups during the disaster recovery.

In Syria, the U.N. World Food Programme has been active since 1964, scaling operations in 2011 in response to the civil war. The U.N. World Food Programme distributes lifesaving food to 5.6 million people in Syria every month. This assistance includes 1.3 million people in the northwest via the cross-border operation from Türkiye.

The U.N. World Food Programme re-established a presence in Türkiye in 2012, in response to the Syrian crisis. With the government of Türkiye and humanitarian partners, the U.N. World Food Programme helps refugees meet their basic needs. Türkiye hosts the largest refugee population in the world with 3.6 million Syrian refugees.

We stand committed to the people of Türkiye and Syria and will do everything we can to reach vulnerable families in their time of great need. But we can’t do it without the support of donors. Please join us as we work to feed millions of vulnerable people.

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About the United Nations World Food Programme
The U.N. World Food Programme is the world’s largest humanitarian organization, saving lives in emergencies and using food assistance to build a pathway to peace, stability and prosperity for people recovering from conflict, disasters and the impact of climate change.

About World Food Program USA
World Food Program USA, a 501(c)(3) organization based in Washington, DC, proudly supports the mission of the United Nations World Food Programme by mobilizing American policymakers, businesses and individuals to advance the global movement to end hunger. To learn more about World Food Program USA’s mission, please visit wfpusa.org/mission-history.

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CAIRO – The war in Ukraine has dealt a fresh hammer blow to Syria’s ability to feed itself just as the country struggles to deal with levels of hunger that are up by half since 2019, the United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) said prior to an annual donor pledging conference held in Brussels.

With years of conflict, a severe economic downturn and food prices rising relentlessly since 2020, the Ukraine crisis is exacerbating what was already an alarming food security scenario in Syria. In March, food prices increased by 24% in just one month, following an 800% increase in the last two years. This has brought food prices to their highest level since 2013.

“Saying that the situation in Syria is alarming is a huge understatement. The heart-breaking reality for millions of Syrian families is that they don’t know where their next meal is coming from,” said U.N. World Food Programme Executive Director David Beasley. “The international community must recognize that not taking action now will inevitably lead to a catastrophic future for Syrians. They deserve our immediate and unconditional support.”

Some 12 million people in Syria – more than half the population – currently face acute food insecurity. That is 51% more than in 2019 and an additional 1.9 million are at risk of sliding into hunger. With basic meals becoming a luxury for millions, nutrition is becoming a serious issue.

Data from 2021 shows that one in eight children in Syria suffers from stunting while pregnant and nursing mothers show record levels of acute wasting. Both facts point to devastating health consequences for future generations.

Plagued by continual crises for over a decade, Syrian families have exhausted their ability to cope. As last resort measures, people are turning to extreme measures, such as child labor, early and forced marriages, and the removal of children from school.

Meanwhile, the U.N. World Food Programme’s resources are under more pressure than ever, and funding is not keeping pace with the staggering needs of people across the country. Over time, the U.N. World Food Programme has been forced to progressively reduce the size of the monthly food ration across the country. A 13% ration cut is looming this month in Northwest Syria, where people will start receiving food that translates into 1,177 kilocalories, just over half of the recommended daily intake.

The U.N. World Food Programme is 27% funded until October, with a shortfall of $595 million. Additional funding is urgently needed to continue to assist millions of people across the country. Without new funding, the U.N. World Food Programme could be forced to undertake additional drastic cuts in the coming months.

“In a year of unprecedented needs, the compounding effect of the war in Ukraine requires our donors to step in and help us avoid reducing rations or the cutting the number of people we assist,” emphasized Beasley.

Support from donors has allowed the U.N. World Food Programme to help millions of vulnerable Syrians obtain food when they have needed it most. Each month the U.N. World Food Programme distributes lifesaving food to 5.6 million people, injects around $3 million into local economy through cash-based transfers (CBT), provides fortified date bars, fresh meals and/or food vouchers to schoolchildren, and provides nutritional support to women who have recently given birth or will do soon.

“If I knew my life would end up like this, I wouldn’t have had my children; I would have saved them all this suffering,” said one mother in the western Syrian city of Hama.

CAIRO – As the Muslim holy month of Ramadan begins, the soaring cost of food staples in import-dependent Middle Eastern and North African countries is creating ever greater challenges for millions of families already struggling to keep hunger at bay, the United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) said yesterday.

Traditionally a month of festivities, when families gather over traditional foods to break their day-long fast, this year millions will be struggling to buy even the most basic foods for their families as the war in Ukraine has pushed food prices even higher than the troubling levels at the start of the year.

“We are extremely concerned about the millions of people in this region who are already struggling to access enough food because of a toxic combination of conflict, climate change and the economic aftermath of COVID-19,” said Corinne Fleischer, U.N. World Food Programme regional director for the Middle East and North Africa. “People’s resilience is at a breaking point. This crisis is creating shockwaves in the food markets that touch every home in this region. No one is spared.”

The knock-on effect of the Ukraine crisis is adding further strain to the import-dependent region. The prices of wheat flour and vegetable oil – two key staples in the diet of most families – have consequently risen across the region. Cooking oil is up 36% in Yemen and 39% in Syria. Wheat flour is up 47% in Lebanon, 15% in Libya and 14% in Palestine.

Even prior to the conflict in Ukraine, inflation and increasing prices were putting basic food items beyond the reach of the most vulnerable. Food prices reached an all-time high in February 2022, according to the UN Food and Agriculture Organization’s Food Price Index.

The cost of a basic food basket – the minimum food needs per family per month – registered an annual increase of 351% in Lebanon, the highest in the region. It was followed by Syria, with a 97% rise, and Yemen with 81% hike. The three countries, all reliant on food imports, also reported sharp currency depreciation. Meanwhile, a drought in Syria has impacted the country’s annual wheat production.

With global prices rising, the U.N. World Food Programme’s meagre resources for operations in the region, especially in Yemen and Syria, will be under even more pressure than before. In both countries, conflict and the related economic shrinkage have left more than 29 million people in need of food assistance. The U.N. World Food Programme is supporting nearly 19 million people in the two countries.

The global food price hikes and the Ukraine conflict have resulted in the U.N. World Food Programme facing an additional cost of $71 million per month for global operations compared to 2019 – a 50% rise.

“The Ukraine crisis makes a bad funding situation worse. There are immediate humanitarian needs that demand attention. Donors have in recent years helped us provide food to millions in the region. Now the situation is critical and it’s time to be even more generous,” added Fleischer.

The U.N. World Food Programme currently has only 24% of the funding it needs in Syria and 31% of what it needs in Yemen. Due to funding constraints, the U.N. World Food Programme has already been forced to reduce food rations in both countries. Further reductions risk pushing people towards starvation.

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