Roundup: Syria needs more aid amid growing poverty

More than 5.6 million people inside Syria need assistance, an official at the World Food Program (WFP) said, warning that more Syrians are inching closer to the poverty line as the civil conflict gripping the country continues. The representative and director of the WFP in Syria, Matthew Hollingorth, said in an interview issued on Thursday in the Tishrin newspaper that the number of poor exceeds the organization's capacity, which currently serves 5.5 million displaced people inside and outside Syria.

Debit Cards and Food Security: Sustainable Solutions to Lebanon’s Massive Refugee Crisis

Food assistance to Syrian refugees in Lebanon has evolved since the start of the refugee influx. What started out as parcels full of essentials like wheat, sugar, oil and other basic food stuffs, morphed into coupons that can be redeemed for the refugees’ choice of items at designated shops and finally, became a blue debit card that refills every month and has already been given to 150,000 Syrians residing in Lebanon. The e-card has many benefits. (..) The best part is, the WFP wholeheartedly follows up on this, to make sure everything is ok. (..) Today, Kevork and Yasmine took their time and a lot of patience to gather as much information as possible for their comprehensive questionnaires to try to piece together what the refugees were eating, whether or not its healthy, balanced, fair-priced, easily accessible and stable, and how well the e-card system is running and if the specified shops are sticking to the guidelines.

UN warns of food shortages in Philippines

Filipino farmers face imminent financial hardship in the wake of super Typhoon Haiyan without further aid, the UN has warned. Dominique Burgeon, who directs emergency food relief for the UN, said that a lack of aid for farmers could force them to rely on humanitarian food assistance well into next spring. "The urgency of timing can't be overstated," Burgeon said.

2,000 families receive rice

The 2,000 families from the village of Talon-Talon, east of Zamboanga City [Philippines], who participated in the "work for food" program of the United Nations-World Food Programme (UN-WFP) received Tuesday their rice payout. Mayor Ma. Isabelle Climaco-Salazar, who led the distribution of rice as payout, said each of the family received one sack of rice for a week's work. (..) Salazar said the "work for food" program is aimed to help families displaced by the 20-day standoff get temporary livelihood as rehabilitation efforts are underway.