Every month, USAID’s Office of Food for Peace (FFP) assists 3 million people across all 14 governorates of Syria and 1 million refugees in neighboring host countries. FFP has contributed more than $2.9 billion in emergency food assistance since 2012.
SITUATION
• The UN estimates that 11.7 million people inside Syria need humanitarian assistance. Of those, 9 million require emergency food assistance to meet their basic food needs, including 6.5 million people facing life-threatening food insecurity.
• In addition to ongoing insecurity, the UN notes that inflation, high food prices, and the worst drought in 30 years—that killed high numbers of livestock and drastically reduced crop yields in 2018—have also contributed to food assistance needs across Syria in 2019. Approximately 65 percent of Syrian households have reported resorting to negative coping mechanisms—including restricting food consumption and purchasing food on credit—to meet food needs.
• According to the UN, internally displaced persons (IDPs), femaleheaded households, older people, and persons with disabilities—remain especially vulnerable and are likely to face higher levels in food insecurity during 2019 than those in more accessible areas of Syria.
• More than 5.6 million refugees from Syria reside in the neighboring countries of Egypt, Iraq, Jordan, Lebanon, and Turkey. In many host countries, Syrian refugees lack legal livelihood opportunities and depend on emergency food assistance. Due to the length of the crisis,
Syrian refugees and host communities are vulnerable to worsening food insecurity, deteriorating living conditions, and protection risks.
• The protracted crisis in Syria continues to place an enormous cost on surrounding countries. Over-burdened infrastructure, schools, and health clinics, coupled with borders closed to trade, are straining the generosity of countries hosting Syrian refugees.