UN cuts emergency food aid to Syria by 50%

ROME: The UN said Wednesday it was cutting emergency food assistance to Syria by 50% and halting a bread subsidy programme that had supported millions because of funding shortfalls.

The World Food Programme, the UN's Rome-based food aid agency, said in a statement it was reducing the number of people covered by emergency aid from 1.3 million to 650,000.

The agency said Syria has stabilized since the end of the civil war, but there are still 7.2 million people suffering acute food insecurity.

As part of its operations, WFP said it had supported more than 300 bakeries with fortified wheat flour.

"The bread subsidy programme has been a vital lifeline, keeping this staple food affordable," the organization said.

"The reduction in WFP’s assistance is driven solely by funding constraints, not by a decrease in needs," said Marianne Ward, WFP director in Syria.

"This is a critical moment for Syria. Recovery remains fragile, needs are still severe, and we are being forced to withdraw a vital safety net."

The organization said funding shortfalls were also affecting Syrian refugees in neighboring countries such as Jordan and Lebanon.

“Across the region, vulnerable families are facing the cumulative effects of prolonged crises, rising costs, and shrinking assistance,” said Samer Abdeljaber, WFP regional director for the Middle East, North Africa, and Eastern Europe.

The agency said it needed $189 million over the next six months to sustain and restore assistance in Syria.