Damascus, May 14 (SANA) The World Food Programme said on Wednesday it had halved emergency food assistance in Syria due to funding shortages.
According to the agency, the number of people receiving emergency food aid in Syria fell to 650,000 in May from 1.3 million, while operations were reduced from all 14 governorates to seven.
“The reduction in WFP’s assistance is driven solely by funding constraints, not by a decrease in needs,” Marianne Ward, the agency’s country director in Syria, said in a statement.
The WFP also suspended a bread subsidy programme that supported more than 300 bakeries with fortified wheat flour, helping provide subsidised bread to up to four million people daily in some of Syria’s most vulnerable areas.
The agency said it requires $189 million between June and November to maintain and restore assistance operations inside Syria.
Although the ouster of deposed regime in late 2024 had ended the war, humanitarian agencies say needs remain critical in many areas affected by the 14-year war.
The WFP said funding shortages are also affecting Syrian refugees in neighbouring countries.
In Jordan, the agency halted cash-based food assistance for 135,000 Syrian refugees living in host communities while maintaining reduced support for around 85,000 refugees in camps.
In Egypt, food assistance for 20,000 Syrian refugees was reduced, while many refugee families in Lebanon remain heavily dependent on aid, the agency added.
M.F / ABD
