The World Food Programme WFP has announced a significant reduction in food rations for refugees on Cameroonian territory. For this food aid agency of the United Nations (UN), this rationing actually concerns several other countries on the continent.
This is the case in Burkina Faso, Chad, Mali, Mauritania and Niger, where refugees have also seen their rations significantly reduced as in Cameroon. WFP also expects disruptions in Angola, Malawi, Mozambique, Congo, Tanzania and Zimbabwe. In East Africa, however, rations have been reduced by 50 percent.
“We are forced to make the heartbreaking decision to reduce food rations for refugees who depend on us for their survival,” said David Beasley, WFP’s executive director.
WFP explained that the resources currently available cannot keep up with the growing demand for food for refugees. This means that aid has to be rationed. It relies, among other things, on the generosity of its donors to alleviate the situation.
But the war in Ukraine is making the problem worse, according to the UN agency. The WFP says that “food trapped in Black Sea ports is threatening much-needed global supplies”.
UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres has said that the war could “push tens of millions of people into food insecurity”.
