February 17, local time, the World Food Programme, headquartered in Rome, Italy, said that 12.4 million Syrian people, who accounted for nearly 60% of Syria’s total population, were in food insecurity.
This number has increased by 4.5 million in one year.
According to the World Food Programme, the economic crisis, unemployment caused by the novel coronavirus epidemic and soaring food prices have exacerbated the plight of the Syrian people.
O’Brien, WFP’s representative in Syria and director of national projects, said that the basic food that feeds a Syrian family for a month, such as bread, rice, lentils, oil and sugar, now costs at least 120,000 Syrian pounds (about 102$), far exceeding its average wage level.
Over the past year, food prices across Syria have soared, and the price of basic goods has risen by 236%.
At the same time, the value of the Syrian pound plummeted.
The 2020 Food Security and Livelihood Assessment conducted by the World Food Programme also shows that the number of people in Syria who cannot survive without food aid has doubled in the past year to 1.3 million.
Unless urgent action is taken, 1.8 million people in the country may be in a state of severe food insecurity.
