Three-quarters of the total number of refugees supported by the World Food Program in East Africa saw their share fall by up to 50%, the UN agency said.
The United Nations World Food Program (WFP) has warned today that it must cut back on food rations it distributes to refugees in East and West Africa in the absence of adequate funding as needs grow.
Three quarters of the total number of refugees supported by PAMs in East Africa have seen their shares fall by up to 50%, the UN agency said, with those in Ethiopia, Kenya, South Sudan and Uganda most affected.
“We are deeply saddened by the decision to cut food rations for the refugees who depend on us for their survival,” said David Beasley, chief executive officer. PAM.
The resources available can not keep up with the growing demand for food in the world, he said.
In West Africa – particularly Burkina Faso, Cameroon, Chad, Mali, Mauritania and Niger – PAM has reduced portions “significantly”. Disturbances in food distribution are imminent in Angola, Malawi, Mozambique, Congo, Tanzania and Zimbabwe, he warns.
Last Tuesday, the PAM said it urgently needed $ 426 million over the next six months to prevent famine in South Sudan, where at least two-thirds of the population is in need of humanitarian assistance. An estimated 8.3 million people, including refugees, will face “severe and acute famine” there this year.
The war in Ukraine has significantly exacerbated the global refugee crisis and the risk of famine, not only by displacing another six million people as civilians flee conflict zones, but also by causing rising commodity prices, especially cereals.
Prior to the Russian invasion, Ukraine was one of the largest granaries in the world – exporting about 12% of the world’s wheat, 15% of corn and 50% of sunflower oil.
UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres has said that war could “lead tens of millions of people to food insecurity”.
