Head of UN food relief agency appeals for continued support to Syrian refugees

The head of United Nations World Food Program (WFP) called Thursday on the international community to continue supporting Syrian refugees displaced in neighboring countries, appealing to the world "not to forget" the crisis and to provide the agency the means to meet their needs, The UN News Center reported.

"I met young Syrians who because of the conflict may never realize their incredible potential. This conflict robs them of their education, their childhoods and their dreams,” WFP Executive Director Ertharin Cousin said, stressing that the conflict is pushing families below the poverty line and “into desperation.”

She added that major funding shortfalls forced the agency to cut food assistance by up to 50 per cent.

During her four-day visit to Jordan and Lebanon, which she concluded Thursday, Cousin met with Syrian refugees and government officials, bringing attention to the plight of millions facing extreme hardship as a result of these cuts.

Acknowledging the heavy burden host countries carry, she visited shops where half a million Syrian refugees in Jordan and 770,000 in Lebanon benefit from WFP’s electronic voucher program (e-cards). While generating income for host communities by injecting more than $1.1 billion into the local economies of the five neighboring countries, the program has also created thousands of local jobs in the food retail sector.

WFP’s regional refugee operation immediately needs $163 million to continue to support desperate people through October. In 2014, WFP globally received $5.38 billion in contributions – 27 per cent higher than in 2013.