UN World Food Program's Funding Deficit to Impact Over 190,000 Palestinians

UNITED NATIONS (Sputnik) - The World Food Program (WFP) is experiencing a major funding deficit that will negatively affect more than 190,000 people in need in Palestine, UN spokesman Stephane Dujarric said in a press briefing.

"The World Food Program (WFP) said it is facing a severe funding shortfall that will impact some 193,000 of the poorest people in the occupied Palestinian territories both in the West Bank and Gaza," Dujarric said on Wednesday. "WFP is very concerned that these cuts may have a devastating effect on the food security, livelihoods, and welfare of the people it serves in Palestine."

The spokesman said that as of January 1, 27,000 people in the West Bank will not receive further assistance and the rest will receive only 80 percent of their monthly support from the WFP.

WFP needs $57 million to continue its assistance that 360,000 people in Palestine are anticipating to receive in 2019.

After years of the deteriorating humanitarian situation, food insecurity in Palestine continues to grow, especially in Gaza where most of the population resides. The poorest communities where people live on less than a dollar per day are going to be affected the most, according to the WFP.

READ MORE: UN Agency for Palestine Refugees Confirms US Stops All Funding in 2018