Hilary Benn – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for International Development
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Hilary Benn on 2015-11-04.
To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, what assessment she has made of the effect on Syrian refugees of fluctuations in the value of food vouchers provided by the World Food Programme.
Mr Desmond Swayne
The UK is at the forefront of the response to the crisis in Syria and the region and has pledged over £1.1 billion to date, our largest ever response to a single humanitarian crisis. By the end of June 2015, our support in Syria and the region had delivered almost 20 million food rations, over 2.5 million medical consultations and relief items for 4.6 million people.
Recent UN food security assessments have shown that fluctuations in assistance by the World Food Programme (WFP), as well as other agencies, has had an impact on refugee’s ability to provide for their basic needs. The UK is closely monitoring the situation across the region, alongside other key donors, to understand how this reduction in support will further impact the lives of Syrian refugees.
UN appeals for Syria and the region remain severely underfunded. We continue to lobby other partners to step up to the plate and match our commitment.
