World Food Programme Fighting Hunger Worldwide

GENEVA – WFP joined other humanitarian aid agencies on Wednesday in unveiling an expanded plan to assist people fleeing fighting in Syria to neighbouring countries during the first six months of 2013.

Winter is here and in the camps housing Syrian refugees in Jordan, Lebanon, Turkey and Iraq, preparations are under way to help families get through the cold months ahead.

Humanitarian needs – especially food – are growing in Syria as fighting continues to force thousands of families to flee their homes. Here is an overview of what WFP is doing inside and outside Syria to support the people affected by the fighting.

The conflict in Syria has led thousands of Syrians to flee, seeking safety in neighbouring Jordan, Lebanon, Turkey and Iraq. Food is one of their priority needs and WFP is responding with an operation to assist refugees in all four countries. Assistance is provided through food vouchers redeemable in local shops as well as through hot meals and in-kind food packages in some communities.

Over 1.2 million people are displaced inside Syria and some 250,000 people have fled the country and became refugees in neighbouring countries. Many of them left their homes, lives and had to flee with their families with only the clothes that they were wearing.

Syrian civilians have been fleeing violence in their home country to neighbouring Lebanon. Having spent most of their savings, life has not been easy on many families despite immense efforts to provide them with humanitarian assistance. They worry of rent expenses and an approaching winter, known to be harsh in the areas where there is a heavy presence of Syrian families; the north and the Bekaa Valley. However, at least food is one thing less to worry about.

Since the beginning of July, WFP has reached more than 40,000 people in and around the embattled city of Aleppo with food supplies. But here, as in many parts of Syria, insecurity is a major challenge. From Damascus, country director Muhannad Hadi gives the low-down on one of WFP’s most complex operations of the moment.

Poor families in parts of Syria affected by the recent conflict need both immediate food aid and help with ensuring food production in coming months. Seeds, food for animals and repairs to irrigation systems are all necessary if livelihoods are to be saved.

Thousands of Syrian refugees will receive food assistance as part of an emergency operation launched by WFP in Lebanon, Jordan, Turkey and Iraq. For many, it will come in the form of food vouchers which families can use to buy food on local markets. WFP plans on reaching over 120,000 refugees with assistance by the end of the year.

The coastal town of Lattakia, in Syria, is home to thousands of Iraqi refugees, many of whom receive food aid through WFP’s new Electronic Voucher System (EVS). In recent weeks, Syria has also been home to an escalating wave of civil unrest. And yet, despite all the chaos, the system has continued to work.