Syria: 12.4 million people food insecure
The pandemic has further worsened the economic situation in a Syria devastated by ten years of war.
AFP - DELIL SOULEIMAN
Text by: RFI Follow
3 min
Some 12.4 million people do not have enough to eat in Syria, said Saturday, February 13, the World Food Program (WFP), which considers this level "alarming".
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In Syria, 12.4 million people are not getting enough food, or 60% of the population of this country of 20 million people devastated by ten years of war, according to the World Food Program on Saturday.
A number never reached before, indicates the UN agency referring to a study carried out in late 2020 across the country, when a previous record of 9.3 million people in food insecurity had been reached in May.
The Covid-19 has made the situation even worse
According to UN statistics, 83% of the Syrian population lives below the poverty line.
In recent months, the Covid-19 pandemic has made the situation even more critical with in particular a historic plunge of the Syrian pound against the dollar.
And an increase in prices.
“
The economic situation in Syria is putting pressure on families who have nothing left after years of conflict and many of them depend exclusively on humanitarian aid to survive,
” said Jessica Lawson, WFP spokesperson. to AFP.
A need for funding
To face this situation, there is only one solution, estimates for his part Abeer Etefa, regional representative of the UN agency, at the microphone of RFI.
“
The most important thing at the moment so that the Syrian population can continue to live and get enough to eat, is funding,
” she explains.
The World Food Program needs $ 377 million by July.
Despite the millions, if not billions of dollars that they have given us over the past decade, donor countries are beginning to show signs of fatigue, and to favor one humanitarian operation over another.
"
Since 2011, the war in Syria has claimed more than 387,000 lives and forced millions of people into exile.
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