DAMASCUS – Ertharin Cousin, World Food Programme (WFP) Executive Director said the agency needs 64 million dollars immediately to support Syrian refugees in neighbouring countries during December.
She said on Tuesday in Damascus, that if the funds were not made available many Syrian families would still go hungry, in spite of spending food aid to more than 1.7 million refugees.
“The situation is getting bad, refugees are already struggling to survive the harsh winter, the consequences of halting this assistance will be devastating,” she said.
Cousin said that WFP has been giving destitute refugees vouchers to buy food in local shops in countries neighbouring Syria.
“The agency is assisting people inside Syria, too, but has enough resources to feed aid recipients there until January,’’ she said.
Abeer Etefa, WFP Spokeswoman said the funding issue was coming at a very bad time, because the agency has finally gained access to areas that have been cut off for months.
“But we are now facing a situation where we can’t feed the people we have gained access to recently,” she said.
Etefa said that more than 3 million Syrians have fled into neighbouring countries, while 6.45 million people are displaced inside Syria.
Meanwhile, The U.S., which has given more than 3 billion dollars for humanitarian needs in and around Syria including 935 million dollars to WFP, has called on governments in the region “to do more” in response to UN appeals for Syrian humanitarian needs.
Jen Psaki, State Department Spokeswoman said in Washington, that the countries in the region that can do more.
She noted that humanitarian assistance was one of five stakes in the international coalition against the Islamic State militant group, which has seized territory in both Syria and Iraq. (dpa/NAN)