The World Food Programme Warns of Worsening Hunger in Syria Amid Funding Decline<\/p>\n
The United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) has warned of the worsening hunger crisis and food insecurity in Syria, as severe funding shortages have forced it to reduce its food aid by half and scale back its operations. It has called for urgent funding to restore support for the most needy populations.<\/p>\n
In its country report issued in August 2026, the programme explained that the number of beneficiaries of food aid has decreased from approximately 1.3 million people to 650,000, while the scope of its operations has shrunk from 14 Syrian provinces to just seven.<\/p>\n
The report indicated that around 7.1 million people are facing acute levels of food insecurity, while nearly 15.6 million require some form of humanitarian assistance, out of an estimated total population of about 24.4 million.<\/p>\n
The programme noted that the funding crisis has also led to the suspension of the national bread support programme, which had benefited more than six million people. It highlighted that the suspension of support contributed to a more than 18 percent rise in bread prices, adding further burdens on low-income households.<\/p>\n
It warned that the reduction in emergency food assistance increases living pressures on the most vulnerable groups and affects local markets, potentially exacerbating social tensions and weakening community cohesion.<\/p>\n
The World Food Programme called for an urgent provision of $200 million before the end of 2026 to restore basic food assistance to about 1.3 million people facing food insecurity or displacement and economic pressures. It noted that around $186 million is needed to cover funding requirements between August 2026 and January 2027.<\/p>\n
According to the report, the programme provided assistance to approximately 682,000 people in July, shipped around 3,987 tons of food, and made cash transfers worth $4.9 million. Over 142,000 people benefited from ready-to-eat emergency assistance since the beginning of the year.<\/p>\n
In the field of nutrition, the programme managed to reach approximately 230,000 children, pregnant women, and nursing mothers during the first half of the current year. More than 52,000 people received treatment for moderate acute malnutrition in July, and about 49,000 benefited from preventive programs.<\/p>\n
The programme also implemented dozens of projects to support food security and livelihoods, including rehabilitating bakeries and grain silos, providing electricity generators, and projects related to agricultural and water infrastructure.<\/p>\n
The World Food Programme warned that the continued lack of funding, alongside security risks, floods, seasonal fires, and climate changes, threatens further deterioration in food security and the livelihoods of millions of Syrians, and limits the ability of humanitarian organizations to respond to the increasing needs.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
The World Food Programme Warns of Worsening Hunger in Syria Amid Funding Decline The United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) has warned of the worsening hunger crisis and food insecurity in Syria, as severe funding shortages have forced it to reduce its food aid by half and scale back its operations. It has called for …<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":144982,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"rop_custom_images_group":[],"rop_custom_messages_group":[],"rop_publish_now":"initial","rop_publish_now_accounts":{"facebook_108372464460192_245495985553329":""},"rop_publish_now_history":[],"rop_publish_now_status":"pending","footnotes":""},"categories":[12],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-144983","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-syria"],"yoast_head":"\n