The UN World Food Programme (WFP) announced on Monday the expiration of its general food assistance programme throughout Syria.
The WFP made it clear that the reason for expiration of assistance programme is due to severe underfunding, pointing out that the food assistance will only be provided to the emergency cases and specific groups.
WFP expressed its regret at announcing the expiration of its food assistance programme across Syria in January 2024, due to shortage of funding, according to Syria TV.
The program issued a report, documenting 3 million and 219 thousand people got benefit from the food assistances.
The program emphasized that it will continue to provide assistance to children under the age of five, pregnant and lactating mothers through nutrition programs, and children in schools and education centers, in addition to agricultural families included in the livelihood support program.
The program made it clear that Syria has the sixth-highest number of people suffering from food insecurity in the world, as the WFP estimates 2.1 million Syrians are in the grip of hunger.
The report of the WFP pointed out that since 2011, it has spent billions of dollars and delivered millions of tons of food supplies in Syria.
The WFP currently supports more than 300,000 pregnant and breastfeeding women and girls, and children aged 6 months to 2 years, to access nutrient-rich foods and improve their food systems in all fourteen Syrian governorates. This includes supporting women with valuable vouchers to diversify their meals and improve their intake for vitamins and minerals, and to meet their nutritional needs.
