The World Food Programme (WFP) received this month a generous donation of US$500,000 from the People’s Republic of China to support WFP to provide food assistance for some 15,700 of the most vulnerable Syrian refugees in January.
The donation is the first of its kind from China to WFP in Lebanon.
“We are delighted to receive this much needed support from China to our operation in Lebanon,” said WFP Lebanon Representative and Country Director Dominik Heinrich. “In total, 750,000 refugees in Lebanon are totally dependent on such contributions, which allow them to buy the nutritious food they need to feed their families.”
Using an electronic card, eligible refugees are able to buy enough food to sustain their families each month from any of 490 contracted shops across Lebanon. This system is particularly effective in Lebanon, where shops are plentiful and the technology exists to support it. Such monthly food assistance can reduce the need for families to resort to begging or sending their children out to work.
WFP Lebanon requires US$20 million per month to continue to provide life-saving assistance to Syrian refugees in the country. Without these funds, 750,000 of the most vulnerable Syrian refugees will not have access to food assistance that they depend on to be able to provide for themselves and their children.
