AMMAN, 4 December 2014 – UNICEF Ireland joins the appeal for urgent support to the World Food Programme (WFP) after the UN agency was forced to cut food assistance for 1.7 million vulnerable Syrians across the region.
This cut will contribute to the growing sense of desperation particularly among children. Families risk being driven towards destitution and many children might be forced into the workplace to increase family income for the purchase of basic food items.
Peter Power, Executive Director of UNICEF Ireland said: “Syrian children and their families are paying a huge price as a result of the on-going crisis,” says . “As winter approaches, the lack of funds for food will have a devastating impact on them. Here in Jordan, we are witnessing at first hand the appalling conditions which Syrian children are forced to live in. We are gravely concerned that the withdrawal of food support will make a desperate situation even worse. Here in the Za’atari refugee camp, 40,000 children are depending on these food supports. This will make a terrible humanitarian crisis into a real tragedy for many children.”
UNICEF urgently calls on the donor countries to further support the critical needs of Syrian children and their families and avert a looming disaster.
Please click here for more information about UNICEF Ireland’s Syria Winterisation Appeal.
For further information, please contact:
Clare Herbert, UNICEF Ireland, Communications and Media Manager, clare@unicef.ie / +353 87 942 1281 / + 353 1 878 3000
