AMMAN — The United Nations World
Food Programme (WFP) announced that 21,000 Syrian refugees will no longer
receive their monthly food assistance as of July following a prioritization
exercise driven by a shortage of funds.
اضافة اعلان
The organization said in a
statement that recent contributions from donors have averted wide-scale cuts
that would have affected a larger number of people, but resources still fall
well short of meeting the needs of all vulnerable refugees in Jordan. WFP
urgently needs $58 million to continue food assistance until the end of the year
for the half million refugees it supports.
“Desperate times call for
desperate measures. We have to make some difficult choices to stretch the
limited resources we have and ensure that we meet the needs of the most
vulnerable refugees. These are families who cannot put food on the table
without WFP assistance”, said Alberto Correia Mendes, WFP Representative and
Country Director in Jordan.
“These are painful choices. What’s
more, if we do not receive further contributions. we may find ourselves having
to cut food assistance for another quarter of a million refugees living outside
the camps by September.”
The cuts are coming at the worst
time for families, the statement added, when many are struggling to earn money
or have lost their jobs due to the COVID-19 pandemic. A recent WFP survey
revealed that 68 percent of the refugees have seen their income drop since the
beginning of the pandemic.
Statistics provided by the
organization depict an already grave situation for around 600,000 Syrians
refugees registered in Jordan.
Food insecurity among refugees in
Jordan, it said, has doubled in the last year to reach 25 percent. Two in three
refugees – 64 percent – are on the edge of food insecurity.
Refugees living in Zaatari and
Azraq camps and extremely vulnerable families living in local communities
receive $32 (JD23) per person each month, while refugees living outside camps
who are classified as vulnerable receive monthly assistance of $21 (JD15) per
person.
"WFP urgently requires
funding to continue assistance to vulnerable refugees, to stop families falling
into further food insecurity and deeper poverty. WFP is working closely with
partners including the Jordanian Government, donors, UN agencies and NGOs to
raise the required funds."
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