Critical funding shortfalls are forcing the United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) to significantly reduce its operations in Syria. On Wednesday, the WFP announced that it had reduced its emergency food assistance by 50 percent, from 1.3 million people to 650,000 in May, and had halted a nationwide bread subsidy program supporting millions daily.
“The reduction in WFP’s assistance is driven solely by funding constraints, not by a decrease in needs,” said Marianne Ward, WFP Country Director in Syria.
“This is a critical moment for Syria. Recovery remains fragile, needs are still severe, and we are being forced to withdraw a vital safety net at a time when people need it most with serious implications for food security, social cohesion, and stability, leaving the most vulnerable of families with even fewer options to cope.”
While Syria entered a new era in December 2024, the humanitarian crisis is far from over. The crisis that began in 2011 and drastically altered the political landscape of the Middle Eastern nation continues to present major challenges. Years of conflict, economic collapse and infrastructure degradation have driven vulnerability across all governorates.
Syria is still experiencing one of the world’s largest humanitarian crises, driven by protracted conflict and climate-related disasters. In 2026, more than 16.5 million people, including 6.9 million children, are in need of humanitarian assistance.
Although there have been signs of stabilization in some parts of the country, 7.2 million people in Syria are still experiencing severe food insecurity, including 1.6 million who are facing emergency levels of hunger. Many households are already unable to meet their daily food needs and are resorting to reduced portions, less nutritious meals or skipping meals altogether.
WFP warns that prolonged deprivation increases the risk of malnutrition, particularly among children. In this context, affordable staple foods such as bread remain crucial in preventing deepening hunger.
Households that are already struggling to meet their daily food requirements are also dealing with ongoing economic pressure, disrupted livelihoods and displacement, including the return of families and communities with limited capacity to support them. Regional insecurity remains a key contributor to acute food insecurity in Syria.
While Syria does not directly rely on the Gulf for imports, disruptions to regional shipping are raising global energy prices and increasing the costs of fuel, food imports, and agricultural inputs. Higher diesel, fertilizer and pesticide prices are pushing up transport and production costs, continuing to drive food prices above expected levels and further constraining access to food for poor households.
According to the Famine Early Warning Systems Network (FEWS NET), crisis levels of food insecurity (IPC Phase 3) will remain widespread in north-east and north-west Syria until September. Some households, particularly internally displaced persons (IDPs) and returnees with limited income-earning opportunities, will face emergency levels (IPC Phase 4).
Since December 2024, some 1.9 million internally displaced persons (IDPs) have returned to their areas of origin, and around 1.6 million Syrian refugees have returned to Syria. Since March 2026, more than 300,000 people have crossed from Lebanon into Syria, driven by intensified hostilities and deteriorating living conditions in Lebanon.
However, as of May 2026, more than 10 million people remain displaced within the country, across the region and beyond, including in countries such as Germany, which is the largest non-neighboring host country. This includes an estimated 4.6 million refugees living abroad and around 5.5 million IDPs, 76 percent of whom reside in communities and 24 percent in displacement sites.
Bread subsidy program comes to a halt
According to WFP, the bread subsidy program has been vital in keeping this staple food affordable. Through this initiative, the UN agency has supported over 300 bakeries with fortified wheat flour, enabling affordable bread to be provided to up to four million people in highly vulnerable areas each day.
WFP stressed that, as one of the last remaining safety nets, any disruption risks accelerating hunger, forcing more families into negative coping strategies and undermining a critical opportunity to support recovery and stability.
Despite major cuts in humanitarian funding, particularly from the United States and Germany, the UN agency reached 5.8 million people across all 14 governorates last year through a combination of emergency food assistance, bread subsidies, nutritional support, livelihood programs and social protection.
However, ongoing funding constraints are now forcing a reduction in coverage from fourteen to just seven governorates.
Syrian refugees in neighboring countries are also affected
Funding shortfalls are also impacting Syrian refugees in neighboring countries, where rising costs, ongoing instability and limited income opportunities are exacerbating vulnerability.
In Lebanon, for example, many refugee households remain heavily reliant on assistance. In Jordan, WFP has been forced to halt cash-based food assistance for 135,000 Syrian refugees living in host communities, though it is continuing to provide reduced support to around 85,000 refugees in camps. In Egypt, 20,000 Syrians are facing reduced support.
“Across the region, vulnerable families are facing the cumulative effects of prolonged crises, rising costs, and shrinking assistance,” said Samer Abdeljaber, WFP Regional Director for the Middle East, North Africa, and Eastern Europe.
“Without urgent and sustained funding, we risk reversing years of progress and pushing millions deeper into food insecurity, both inside Syria and in neighboring countries hosting refugees, risking broader prospects for stability and recovery”
WFP requires US$189 million over the next six months to sustain and restore life-saving assistance inside Syria. Timely funding will enable the UN agency to reach 1.6 million of the most vulnerable people, maintain critical nutritional support and safeguard access to affordable bread for millions more, helping to prevent further deterioration at a pivotal moment for Syria’s recovery.