News releases

CAIRO – The war in Ukraine has dealt a fresh hammer blow to Syria’s ability to feed itself just as the country struggles to deal with levels of hunger that are up by half since 2019, the United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) said today on the eve of the annual donor pledging conference held in Brussels.

CAIRO – As the Muslim holy month of Ramadan begins, the soaring cost of food staples in import-dependent Middle Eastern and North African countries is creating ever greater challenges for millions of families already struggling to keep hunger at bay, the United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) said today.

DAMASCUS – The United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) in Syria has welcomed a donation of US$5 million from the Government of Japan to provide lifesaving food to vulnerable families to help them through the harsh winter months.

DAMASCUS/BEIRUT – United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) Executive Director David Beasley has warned that more Syrians are in the grip of hunger today than at any time during their country’s decade-long conflict, blaming a deadly combination of conflict, climate change, COVID and rising food and fuel costs.

CAIRO – The United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) welcomes a donation package totalling €7.5 million (approximately US$8.1 million) from the Government of Belgium to support the food agency’s response to rising food needs in Ethiopia, Jordan, Lebanon, Palestine, and Syria.

BAGHDAD – The United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) has received a US$1 million contribution from the Republic of Korea to support WFP’s food assistance for up to 327,000 internally displaced people (IDPs) and Syrian refugees until the end of the year, who are living in camps.

DAMASCUS – The United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) has welcomed a new contribution of EUR 3 million from the European Union to scale up cash-based assistance to approximately 30,000 vulnerable and food insecure Syrians who are in urgent need of humanitarian assistance.

DAMASCUS – At a time when humanitarian needs across Syria are greater than ever, the United Nations Humanitarian Air Service (UNHAS) in Syria has received 1 million Euro from the European Union (EU) to ensure that humanitarians can continue to reach vulnerable families.

DAMASCUS – With a record number of Syrians struggling to meet their basic needs, the United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) welcomes a donation of 109 million Euro from the German Federal Foreign Office (GFFO) to provide lifesaving food and nutrition support to millions of vulnerable people in 2021 - 2022.

ROME – Millions of refugees are looking to a future of uncertainty and hunger as the effects of the pandemic on aid budgets play out in funding shortages for emergency operations, the United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) warned ahead of World Refugee Day.

Rome/Geneva/New York - Millions of people are pressed up against the border in an active war zone in north-west Syria and remain in need of humanitarian aid to survive. The UN needs cross-border and cross-line access to reach those most in need.

CAIRO - The United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) launched this weekend a Ramadan campaign on social media to raise awareness on the suffering of 690 million hungry people around the world.

CAIRO – As a critical conference opens in Brussels on the future of war-ravaged Syria, the United Nations World Food Programme is appealing for the funds it needs to provide urgent food assistance to millions of Syrians who today face the worst humanitarian conditions since the start of the conflict.

ROME – Acute hunger is set to soar in over 20 countries in the coming months without urgent and scaled-up assistance, warn the UN's Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) and World Food Programme (WFP) in a new report issued today.

DAMASCUS – After a decade of upheaval, conflict and displacement, Syrians are facing the worst humanitarian conditions since the start of the crisis, with millions of people sliding into hunger in the last year alone, according to the United Nations World Food Programme (WFP).

CAIRO – A record 12.4 million Syrians - nearly 60 percent of the population - are now food insecure, according to alarming new national data from the UN World Food Programme (WFP). In just over one year, an additional 4.5 million Syrians have become food insecure.

DAMASCUS – The United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) in Syria welcomes a generous donation of US$20 million from the Russian Federation to provide food assistance for up to 2.3 million Syrians – including nutritional support for mothers and children.

DAMASCUS – The United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) welcomes a donation of €2 million from the European Union (EU) for monthly food assistance for Syrian families facing unprecedented levels of hunger.

AMMAN, 8 October 2020 - UN Agencies* in the region unveiled today “Rej’et El Sineh” [‘Learning is Back’], a song to encourage the return to learning for all children and youth across the region.

DAMASCUS – Syrians today face an unprecedented hunger crisis as the prices of basic foods reach levels unseen even at the height of the nine-year conflict and millions of people are pushed deeper into poverty, the United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) said, on the eve of a donors pledging conference for Syria.

DAMASCUS – As a record number of Syrians are food insecure and struggling with rapidly increasing food prices, the United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) welcomes a donation of EUR 130 million from the German Federal Foreign Office (GFFO) to provide life-saving humanitarian assistance to 4.8 million people.

DAMASCUS – The United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) has welcomed two generous donations totalling US$3.2 million from the Government of Japan to support Syrian families to fight hunger and increase their food security. Both contributions will help WFP meet the immediate food needs and build the resilience of nearly 460,000 vulnerable people in Syria.

ANKARA – As Syria enters its 10th year of conflict, which has forced more than 5.6 million people to flee their country, a survey of a major WFP cash assistance scheme in Turkey indicates that European Union-funded support has helped prevent 1.7 million vulnerable refugees – mostly Syrians – from falling deeper into poverty.

CAIRO – The United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) continues to provide emergency food assistance to people in desperate need in northwest Syria despite escalating hostilities which this week caused a 24-hour break in distributions.

Damascus – The United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) says it has so far provided emergency food assistance to more than 300,000 people in Syria as a result of recent military operations in the northeast of the country. Those assisted include people displaced by hostilities and families providing shelter to the displaced. Many fled their homes with little or nothing, finding refuge in schools or with family and friends living further to the south.