WFP scales back Syria operations amid funding shortfalls

The World Food Programme is to significantly reduce its operations in Syria owing to a "critical funding shortfall", despite a continuing need for assistance in the country. The UN agency said on Wednesday that it slashed emergency food assistance to Syria by 50 per cent, reducing their reach from 1.3 million people to 650,000 in May, and halted a nationwide bread subsidy programme that helped millions every day. “The reduction in WFP’s assistance is driven solely by funding constraints, not by a decrease in needs,” said Marianne Ward, Syria director for the agency. “This is a critical moment for Syria – recovery remains fragile, needs are still severe and we are being forced to withdraw a vital safety net at a time when people need it most." UN figures show 7.2 million people in Syria face acute food insecurity 15 years after the start of the civil war, including 1.6 million who face severe conditions. The WFP warned that any disruption to its bread subsidy programme, which it described as a "vital lifeline", would accelerate hunger and damage a critical opportunity to support recovery and stability in Syria. The government-led initiative was launched in June 2025 to provide bread at affordable prices in the most food-insecure areas of the country. At the beginning of this year, distributions under the programme reached more than 300 bakeries nationwide, feeding more than four million people daily, according to WFP. The UN agency said funding gaps are also affecting Syrian refugees in neighbouring countries, including Lebanon, Jordan and Egypt. “Across the region, vulnerable families are facing the cumulative effects of prolonged crises, rising costs, and shrinking assistance,” said Samer Abdeljaber, WFP Regional Director for the Middle East, North Africa, and Eastern Europe. “Without urgent and sustained funding, we risk reversing years of progress and pushing millions deeper into food insecurity, both inside Syria and in neighbouring countries hosting refugees.” The UN agency said it requires $189 million over the next six months to sustain and restore life-saving assistance inside Syria. It said timely funding would help it "reach 1.6 million of the most vulnerable people, maintain critical nutrition support, safeguard access to affordable bread for millions more and help prevent further deterioration at a moment that remains pivotal for Syria’s recovery".