Syria | World Food Programme

After 13 years of conflict and economic collapse, Syrians are finding it increasingly difficult to support their families. The country has the world’s second-highest number of internally displaced people, with figures expected to rise following the escalation of conflict in Lebanon.

Nearly 13 million people, more than half of the population, are food insecure, including 3.1 million who are severely food insecure. Both maternal malnutrition and acute malnutrition in children under 5 are at global emergency thresholds.

The Syrian economy is collapsing. The cost of living has tripled in Syria over the past three years, with the minimum wage buying only a fifth of a family’s basic food needs and a tenth of essential needs.

The impact of the crisis in Lebanon risks exacerbating humanitarian needs and increasing social tensions. Most people displaced from Lebanon are being hosted in communities which already had high levels of food insecurity, adding to the needs of the Syrian population.

The World Food Programme (WFP) had to reduce assistance by nearly 80 percent in 2024, due to funding shortfalls, and prioritize support to severely food-insecure people. We are able to provide assistance to 1 million people in most severe need.

WFP is committed to fighting hunger in Syria and to continuing advocating on behalf of Syrians grappling with hunger. We call on international partners to step up their support, to reach those most in need of urgent food and nutrition assistance.

What the World Food Programme is doing in Syria

Emergency assistance: Over 240,000 people have crossed from Lebanon into Syria since the escalation of hostilities in Lebanon in September 2024. The number is expected to increase as hostilities worsen. WFP is distributing life-saving meals upon arrival (fortified date bars and fresh meals). We are also scaling up our response to those who have settled in hosting centres and communities, including through ready-to-eat rations and hot meals, as well as exploring e-vouchers where feasible. WFP urgently requires US$54.4 million to cover the needs of 400,000 displaced persons over the next 6 months.
Food assistance: WFP rolled out its Targeted Food Assistance programme in 2024, identifying the most severely food-insecure households via community consultations and referrals from health facilities. At its current funding level, WFP is only able to serve a third of the 1 million severely food-insecure people in Syria through this programme.
Nutrition: WFP's nutrition programme supports over 470,000 pregnant and breastfeeding women, girls and children aged 6 months to 2 years, across all 14 governorates, to prevent and fight malnutrition. It provides supplementary food and value vouchers to diversify diets and improve nutrition.
School meals: WFP provides fortified snacks and fresh meals to over 850,000 schoolchildren in Syria, along with electronic vouchers for their families to redeem at stores. This helps prevent micronutrient deficiencies and short-term hunger. The school meals programme employs vulnerable women, many widowed by the conflict, and provides them with training and an income so they can support their families.
Resilience: WFP supports Syrian families in restoring their livelihoods and improving their food security and resilience, through restoring infrastructure such as irrigation canals and bakeries. This has a significant return on investment, where just US$14 million can irrigate 28,000 hectares of land, help 600,000 people transition off food assistance, create jobs for 84,000 people and increase wheat production by 90,000 metric tons.