Lack Of Funds Forces Un To Slash Aid To Syrian Refugees

The World Food Program (WFP) is to slash its aid to Syrian refugees due to a lack of funding, the UN agency announced on Wednesday.



This month the agency will halve the value of food vouchers given to refugees in Lebanon to $13.50 per person per month.



Furthermore, the WFP said in a statement that it fears having to suspend all assistance to Syrian refugees living outside camps in Jordan, leaving around 440,000 without food, unless it receives immediate funding by August.



"Just when we thought things couldn't get worse, we are forced yet again to make yet more cuts," said WFP regional director Muhannad Hadi said. "Refugees were already struggling to cope with what little we could provide."



The agency said it was currently 81 percent underfunded and needs $139 million to continue helping refugees in Jordan, Lebanon, Egypt, Turkey and Iraq until September.



It has already reduced its assistance to 1.6 million Syrian refugees due to a lack of resources.



"We are extremely concerned about the impact these cuts will have on refugees and the countries that host them," Hadi added. "Families are taking extreme measures to cope such as pulling their children out of school, skipping meals and getting into debt to survive. The long-term effects of this could be devastating."



More than 220,000 victims Syrians have been killed in Syria's four-year civil war, according to the UN. Up to 3.8 million Syrians are currently registered in Turkey, Jordan, Lebanon and Iraq, with Turkey hosting nearly 2 million. - Ankara