Funds from Korea help WFP provide emergency food assistance to Syrians in need
More than half these funds – US$2 million – help WFP provide monthly cash assistance for refugees in Lebanon. This the first ever multi-year funding WFP has received from Korea.
The funds will also go towards supporting the food needs of nearly half a million Syrians living in Jordan. In Turkey, these funds will help WFP equip Syrian refugees with the skills they need to find job opportunities and become self-reliant through vocational and paid-on-the-job training.
Inside Syria, Korea’s funds will support pregnant and nursing mothers, who will be able to use electronic vouchers to buy fresh produce like meat, fruit and vegetables that are not included in WFP’s general food rations.
“Thanks to this timely contribution from the Government of Korea, WFP will able to respond to the urgent needs of Syrians, inside the country and to refugees across the region,” said Gordon Craig, WFP’s Deputy Regional Director for Middle East, North Africa and Central Asia. “WFP values its longstanding relationship with the people and Government of Korea who have continued to support the people of Syria since the onset of the crisis in 2011.”
To date, Korea has contributed over US$15 million to WFP's response to the Syrian regional crisis in the past decade. Korea has become a new major donor that has a growing portfolio in the regional crisis.
The Syria response is one of WFP’s largest and most complex emergency worldwide. Each month, WFP provides food assistance to some 6.5 million Syrians inside and outside Syria. Syrian refugees remain the largest refugee group in the world.
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The United Nations World Food Programme is the 2020 Nobel Peace Prize Laureate. We are the world’s largest humanitarian organization, saving lives in emergencies and using food assistance to build a pathway to peace, stability and prosperity for people recovering from conflict, disasters and the impact of climate change.
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