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WFP: Over 6.5m suffer from food insecurity in Syria

May 22, 2018 at 3:46 pm

A Syrian boy receives food aid in a plastic bucket at a tent city as it snows in the Azaz town of Aleppo, Syria on 21 December, 2016 [Mamun Ebu Omer/Anadolu Agency]

More than 6.5 million Syrians are food insecure, a report by the World Food Programme (WFP) stated.

“10.5 million Syrians are in desperate need of food assistance, while 2.3 million people live in areas that are difficult to reach in Syria.”

It explained that: “65,500 Syrian children under the age of five years are malnourished, while 18,700 children under the age of five years also suffer from acute malnutrition.”

The collapse of the economy, soaring food prices, loss and disruption of livelihoods as well as the decline in food production have contributed to widespread food insecurity across Syria. Recent surveys by the WFP show that almost 80 per cent of the households across the country are struggling to cope with the lack of food or money to buy it.

WFP: Syria regime refused humanitarian aid for 200,000 civilians

More than half the population is displaced and 11,000 live in besieged areas, many of which are deprived of food, medicine and other basic necessities by the Syrian regime.

Syria has been devastated by intense conflict since early 2011 and civilians continue to bear the brunt of the crisis, confronted with violence, sieges and displacement across the country. Every day, more than 6,000 people are forced to flee, while many more suffer from attacks resulting in thousands of injuries and deaths.