WFP admits failure in aid supply to Syrian refugees in Turkey

The UN food agency says it has failed to provide as many as nine Syrian refugees camps in Turkey with aid due to lack of funds.

According to Press TV, the World Food Program (WFP) Spokeswoman, Elisabeth Byrs, said in the Swiss city of Geneva on Friday “Unfortunately, in February, we were forced to ask the Turkish government to take over assistance in nine camps where we could not continue providing aid because we lack funds.”

She said the WFP is lacking a total sum of USD 71 million in the year 2015 for its aid program in Turkey, adding that the agency needs as much as USD 9 million each month to provide food items for the refugees on the Turkish soil.

She said “Getting more funding is really essential.” She added the WFP had supplied aid to some 220,000 Syrian refugees before February, but in the last month the number of refugees receiving assistance plunged to 154,000.

Turkey is home to some 1.7 million refugees who have fled the ongoing crisis in Syria.
The UN official further called on the international community and donors to step up efforts in providing the agency with funds it needs.