May 13 (Reuters) – The World Food Programme said on \u2060Wednesday \u2060it had halved emergency food \u2060assistance in Syria due to funding shortages, warning that millions \u200bremained vulnerable despite signs of stabilisation in parts of the country.<\/p>\n
The U.N. agency’s biggest donor, the \u200cUnited States, has slashed its \u200cforeign aid under President Donald Trump, and other countries have also made or announced \u2060cuts in \u2060development and humanitarian assistance. \u00a0<\/p>\n
The WFP said in a statement the number \u200bof people receiving emergency food aid in Syria fell to 650,000 in May from 1.3 million, while scaling back operations in all 14 Syrian governorates to just seven.<\/p>\n
Meanwhile, 7.2 million people \u200bin Syria remain acutely food insecure, including 1.6 million facing severe hunger, the WFP \u2060said. \u2060Many households were already reducing \u2060meal portions, \u200beating less nutritious food or skipping meals altogether, it added.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe reduction in WFP\u2019s assistance \u200bis driven solely by \u2060funding constraints, not by a decrease in needs,\u201d Marianne Ward, the WFP\u2019s country director in Syria, said in the statement.<\/p>\n
The WFP also halted a bread subsidy programme that had supported more than 300 bakeries with fortified wheat flour, helping provide subsidised bread to up \u2060to four million people daily in some of Syria\u2019s most vulnerable areas.<\/p>\n
Syria has \u2060faced a deep economic crisis after more than a decade of conflict that devastated infrastructure, displaced millions and battered livelihoods. Although fighting has eased in many parts of the country since the ouster of former President Bashar al-Assad at the end of 2024, aid agencies say humanitarian needs remain severe.<\/p>\n
The WFP said it requires $189 million between June and November to sustain and restore assistance inside Syria.<\/p>\n
It said funding shortages were also affecting Syrian refugees in neighbouring \u2060countries.<\/p>\n
In Jordan, the agency halted cash-based food assistance for 135,000 Syrian refugees living in host communities, while maintaining reduced support for around 85,000 refugees in camps. In Egypt, support for 20,000 Syrians has been reduced, while many refugee households \u200bin Lebanon remain heavily dependent on aid.<\/p>\n
(Reporting by Alvise Armellini; Writing \u200bby Feras Dalatey; Editing by Emelia Sithole-Matarise)<\/p>\n
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