REfugees

Need Food

Millions of refugees and internally displaced persons face dire levels of hunger. WFP is on the frontlines of the world’s worst hunger crises providing them with urgently needed food assistance. Support our response and send food today.

Hunger drives displacement,

and displacement drives hunger

When people experience hunger, they may leave home in search of food and water. However, on their journey to safety through bleak environments, food is often difficult to find or access. 

Forced displacement is at a record high with over 100 million people displaced from their homes. These populations face significant challenges to access food, employment and healthcare which puts them at a higher risk of hunger. In 2022, 70% of the world’s forcibly displaced people lived in countries or territories affected by hunger crises. 

Current State of Refugees

32.5M

There are 32.5 million refugees worldwide. 

#1

Syria is the world’s largest refugee crisis.

11M

WFP assisted 11 million refugees in 2023.

Difference Between Refugees & IDPs

The term “refugee” is often used loosely to describe anyone who flees from conflict or disaster. However, that term applies to a specific group of people, and there are other categories such as internally displaced persons (IDPs), asylum seekers and migrants. Here’s what they mean.

Refugee
Somalia, Bossaso, Puntland, 19 May 2015 In the Photo: A family walk on the dock after they disembarked from a boat, filled with mostly Somali’s, fleeing the war in Yemen, Tuesday at the harbour in Bossaso, Puntland. Thousands of Somali returnees and refugees are arriving in Puntland, fleeing the conflict in Yemen in recent months. Photo: WFP/Karel Prinsloo Many of the 14,000 people arriving in Somalia from Yemen are in fact Somalis returning back to their homeland after conflict broke out in Yemen. The vast majority of people arrive through the Bossaso and Berbera ports. Although Yemen is close to Somalia, crossing the Gulf of Aden can take several days depending on the condition of the vessel and if it was turned away at other ports or neighboring countries before coming to Somalia. WFP is providing warm and nutritious meals to vulnerable people passing through the transit center . In addition to food, WFP provides all pregnant women, breastfeeding mothers and small children with one month supply of nutritional food items to prevent malnutrition.

What is a refugee?

A refugee is a person who has fled their country of origin and crossed an international border in search of safety. According to the 1951 Refugee Convention, a refugee is unable or unwilling to return to their country “owing to well-founded fear of being persecuted for reasons of race, religion, nationality, membership of a particular social group or political opinion.” Refugees are protected by international law and must not be returned to situations where their life is at risk.

IDP
woman in camo tank top stands in front of tent
Haiti, Les Cayes, 21 August 2021 People in southern Haiti struggle with lack of shelter, food, water, in the aftermath of the earthquake. This is one of the two displaced camps in Les Cayes, where WFP distributes breakfast with the support of the national civil protection teams. In the photo: Berthan Edward (51) “my house was destroyed, the earthquake took everything I had. I haven’t received anything, that’s why I’m here today. I have three children. When it rains, we must run. When we felt the other shakes inside (aftershocks), people make us run. My brain can no longer function normally due to the shock and trauma. I am in pain, it hurts all over: my chest and sometimes I can’t see anything. We have nothing to eat. Thankfully when other people cook, they offer us a portion.”
Photo: WFP/Marianela Gonzalez

What is an IDP?

An internally displaced person (IDP) is a person who has been forced to flee their home but remains in their country of origin. 

Asylum Seeker
A mother carries her baby from Venezuela to Colombia to get medicine
Michelle carried her sick baby, Ashley, across a river from Venezuela into Colombia to get medicine. Four million Venezuelans have fled to neighboring countries due to lack of food and other basic necessities.
Photo: WFP/Dianna Dauber

What is an asylum seeker?

An asylum seeker is a person whose request for international protection has not yet been granted by the country they submitted it to.  

Migrant
Venezuelans making a hazardous crossing across the border into Colombia in 2018.
Photo: WFP/Jonathan Dumont

What is a migrant?

The term migrant, according to the United Nations’ International Organization for Migration, refers to a person who moves away from their usual residence “whether within a country or across an international border, temporarily or permanently, and for a variety of reasons.”

Largest Refugee Crises in the World 

Ukraine

11 million people displaced

More than 5 million people have been internally displaced, and close to 6 million are now refugees in neighboring countries like Moldova, Poland, Romania, Slovakia, Hungary and Belarus.

Syria

12 million people displaced

Nearly 7 million Syrians are internally displaced, and 5.2 million have been forced to seek safety as refugees in Lebanon, Turkey, Jordan and beyond. 

Afghanistan

6 million refugees

More than 6 million Afghans have been forcibly displaced from their homes and have fled their country. The vast majority are in Pakistan and Iran. 3.2 million people are displaced within Afghanistan.

why do refugees flee?

Conflict

War, violence and persecution are leading causes of refugee crises. When home is no longer safe, many people have no choice but to leave. Today, 103 million people are displaced from their homes worldwide. Conflicts across the world – notably in Ukraine, Syria and Yemen – have fueled this historic level of displacement. 

Climate Extremes

Extreme weather events can force people to seek refuge elsewhere, either within or across their country’s borders. In 2022, 32.6 million people were internally displaced by disasters including floods and typhoons. These disasters hurt people’s livelihoods as well as their access to food and water.  

Photo: WFP/Gabriela Vivacqua/2022

Economic Shocks

Low wages, unemployment and inflation can make it nearly impossible for families to afford essentials like food.  

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How WFP Helps Refugees & IDPs

Around the world, the United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) provides lifesaving assistance to over 100 million people experiencing severe hunger including refugees and internally displaced persons (IDPs). 

Food

WFP meets people’s immediate needs through emergency food and cash assistance. From beans to fortified powders to high-energy biscuits, we deliver the right food at the right time. 

Cash

Where markets are functioning and food is available, WFP provides refugees and IDPs with cash assistance to help cover the cost of food and other essentials like rent, electricity and healthcare. 

Nutrition

In crises, women and children are at higher risk of hunger. WFP provides them with the malnutrition prevention and treatment services they need to survive the world’s worst humanitarian emergencies. 

Food for Assets

Through the Food for Assets program, WFP combines short- and long-term assistance to help boost people’s resilience and build back their self-reliance – wherever they are in the world. 

REfugee Story:
Meet Salome

In 2020, Salomé fled her home in the Cabo Delgado Province of Mozambique due to violent conflict. “I left my homeland because of the war,” she said. “My house was all damaged. I lost eight people from my family.”  

Salomé’s family is internally displaced and now resides in the Nampula Province. “We survive thanks to aid from the U.N. World Food Programme. We receive rice, beans and oil,” Salomé explained. She still hopes her family can one day return to their home in Cabo Delgado. “If it was peaceful there, I would go back.”