Syrian Arab News Agency S A N A
Rome, SANA- The United Nations World Food Program (WFP) expressed its regret to announce the end of its general food assistance program throughout Syria next January, noting that the lack of funding and financial tightening from the program’s main donors forced it to end its work in Syria.
The program pointed out in a statement on Thursday that it will continue to support families affected by emergencies and natural disasters across the country through smaller, more targeted emergency interventions, assisting children under five years of age, pregnant and breastfeeding mothers through nutrition programmes, children in schools and learning centers through the school meals programmes, and agricultural families included in the livelihood support program, as well as continuing interventions to support the recovery of local food systems, such as rehabilitating irrigation systems and bakeries.
“Over 12 years of war and crises, we stood by the Syrian people in the face of food insecurity, and billions of dollars were spent and millions of tons of food were delivered to millions of families, even though food security is now lower than ever and despite the gradual decline in the volume of food rations and the value of e-vouchers, WFP is unable to continue providing food at its previous levels in the midst of a stifling historic funding crisis that will have untold consequences for millions of people,” the Program said.
The WFP expressed its deep gratitude to its partners in Syria for their continued cooperation in supporting the most vulnerable families.
Nisreen Othman / Mazen Eyon
