United Nations’ World Food Program is running out of funds to feed Syrian refugees. Without funding support from the global community, many more refugees will be forced to flee to Europe.
According to Huffington Post, WFP head Ertharin Cousin told an Associated Press reporter earlier this year that the agency was dealing with one of the highest demands on humanitarian efforts since World War II. Its supplies were being depleted by having to deal with four crises all at once - those in Syria, Iraq, Central African Republic and South Sudan, on top of the Ebola epidemic in West Africa. As a result, adds HP, WFP had to cut food aid to six million Syrians “by 30 percent in January.”
Since then, further depletion of funds has forced the WFP to cut all aid to over a third of the 600,000 Syrian refugees living in Jordan. Now WFP says it needs $236 million just to feed those currently receiving aid through November.
So far Canada’s contribution this year to the WFP has been comparable to its donations in the past. However, the current crisis calls for an extra emergency allocation from Canada and all other countries to end the current shortage crisis and prevent another in the near future.
Ask Canada’s MP’s to approve emergency funding to help WFP feed the Syrian refugees.
We, the undersigned, say that the current crisis is an emergency that calls on all countries that are able to increase contributions to the World Food Program.
As Ms. Cousin noted in a more recent interview with the Associated Press, the current “need is outpacing the traditional generosity."
Countries like the US, Canada and Britain, in particular, must take the initiative to end this food shortage crisis before more Syrian refugees are forced to risk the dangerous journey that has already resulted in about 2500 drowning deaths.
The longer this food shortage crisis continues, notes ThinkProgress, the more desperate the refugees will become. Canada’s spokesperson for the WFP, Julie Marshall, told Huffington Post that some refugees have already sold all of their possessions, given up needed medications and have even taken children out of school to work for wages to help feed the family.
There are no good options left for these desperate refugees but to flee unless capable countries like Canada come to their immediate aid.
It is imperative that Canada contribute it’s fair share to the alleviation of this urgent food crisis. We ask that Members of Parliament approve emergency funding to the WFP.
Thanks for your consideration of this urgent request.
