Syria – The World Food Program is reducing its humanitarian operations due to lack of funding

The program also reported the cessation of the National Bread Support Programme, which provided support to millions of Syrians daily, due to the financial crisis.

Although there are signs that the situation is stabilizing in parts of the country, 7.2 million people in Syria still suffer from severe food insecurity, including 1.6 million people facing extremely harsh conditions, according to the World Food Programme.

Many families find themselves unable to meet their daily nutritional needs, forcing them to reduce food portions, eat meals with less nutritional value, or abstain from eating meals altogether. Prolonged deprivation increases the risk of malnutrition – especially among children.

In this context, the World Food Program emphasized that affordable basic foods – such as bread – remain an important barrier to worsening hunger. Families already struggling to meet their daily food needs also face continuing economic pressures, livelihood disruption, and displacement-related dynamics, including returning families and communities with limited capacity to absorb returnees.

Warning of the danger of worsening hunger

The World Food Program said that the bread subsidy program remained an important lifeline, keeping this basic food affordable for everyone. Through this initiative, the program provided support to more than 300 bakeries by supplying them with fortified wheat flour, which enabled the subsidized bread to reach up to four million people daily in the most fragile areas.

The program warned that any disruption to this program risks accelerating hunger, pushing more families to adopt negative coping strategies, and weakening a critical opportunity to support recovery and stability.

The World Food Program explained that in 2025, it will be able to reach 5.8 million people in all fourteen governorates, through a combination of emergency food aid, bread support, food support, livelihood programs, and social protection.

Although these programs meet the most urgent needs, ongoing funding constraints now require a further reduction in the scope of coverage, reducing it from fourteen governorates to only seven governorates.

The recovery process remains fragile

Marianne Ward, director of the World Food Program’s office in Syria, said that the reduction in the program’s aid is due exclusively to restrictions imposed on funding, and not to a decrease in the size of needs.

added: “This is a critical moment for Syria; the recovery process remains fragile, needs remain acute, and we are forced to withdraw a vital safety net that people desperately need at this time, which has serious implications for food security, social cohesion and stability, and leaves the most vulnerable families with fewer options to cope with these conditions.”

Funding shortfalls are also affecting Syrian refugees in neighboring countries, where rising costs, continued uncertainty, and limited income opportunities exacerbate their vulnerabilities.

In Lebanon, many refugee families remain heavily dependent on aid. In Jordan, the World Food Program was forced to stop cash transfer-based food assistance to about 135,000 Syrian refugees living in host communities, while continuing to provide reduced support to about 85,000 refugees inside camps. As for Egypt, 20,000 Syrians face a reduction in the support provided to them.

A warning against wasting years of progress

Samer Abdel Jaber, World Food Program Regional Director for the Middle East, North Africa and Eastern Europe, said that vulnerable families across the region are facing the cumulative effects of protracted crises, rising costs, and dwindling aid, warning that without urgent and sustainable financing, “We risk undoing years of progress, and pushing millions into deeper levels of food insecurity – both inside Syria and in neighboring countries hosting refugees – threatening broader prospects for stability and recovery.”

The World Food Program explained that it needs $189 million over the next six months to maintain life-saving aid inside Syria and restore its levels, stressing that obtaining funding in a timely manner will enable it to reach 1.6 million people from the most vulnerable groups, maintain vital food support, ensure that millions more have access to bread at affordable prices, and help prevent further deterioration at a moment that remains pivotal to Syria’s recovery.

Despite existing constraints, WFP said it continues to prioritize emergency food assistance, targeted nutrition programmes, and support to national livelihoods and systems, while working with partners to mobilize additional funding and scale up operations as available resources allow.