WFP, UNHCR Call for Urgent Funding to Avoid Cuts to Food Aid for Refugees in Chad

MOSCOW (Sputnik) - The United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) and the UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR) warned on Tuesday of impending cuts in food aid to crisis-hit refugees in Chad unless urgent funding is secured to address serious financing shortfalls.

"The United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) and UNHCR, the UN Refugee Agency, warned today of an imminent cut to food assistance to crisis-affected refugees in Chad unless urgent funding to bridge major funding shortfalls is received imminently," the WFP said in a statement.

According to WFP, the humanitarian organization needs $161 million by the end of 2022 to prevent a suspension of its refugee assistance program and provide vital aid to crisis-affected communities in Chad, including 519,000 Sudanese and Central African refugees, who are facing severe malnutrition levels.

Starting June 2021, the organization was forced to provide half-rations to refugees and other groups due to major funding shortages, and WFP and UNHCR are concerned that any further suspension of food assistance will have a major impact on food security, nutrition and the protection of refugee communities, the statement read.

"Refugees count on us for what is sometimes the only meal they eat in a day – WFP’s food is a vital lifeline. Cutting this lifeline now will have devastating consequences on the most vulnerable, especially women, girls and children – we’re extremely concerned," WFP Country Director and Representative in Chad, Pierre Honnorat, was quoted as saying.

Besides, WFP noted that refugees depend heavily on humanitarian assistance because of limited access to fertile lands and livelihoods, while this year's unprecedented floods and soaring food costs have exacerbated the situation.

Chad hosts 577,000 refugees, more than any other country in West and Central Africa. The refugee population has increased by 10% in the past year and is mainly comprised of people who have fled political instability, social unrest, and insecurity in neighboring Cameroon, Central African Republic, Nigeria and Sudan.

In mid-June, WFP said it was forced to cut food rations to refugees in a number of East African countries due to a lack of funding.