World Renew Canada is supporting Middle East Revive and Thrive (MERATH) with a nine-month humanitarian response project in Homs, Hama, Tartous, As-Sweida, Dar’a, Damascus and Rural Damascus governorates in Syria.
After more than 12 years, the Syrian civil war continues to drive increased humanitarian needs across Syria. In 2023, these needs were further magnified by earthquakes that hit northern Syria. Combined with the deterioration of the Syrian economy, humanitarian needs are at the highest level they have been since the civil war began in March 2011.
One of the critical components of these extreme levels of vulnerability is the continually deteriorating food security situation. The UN World Food Program (WFP) estimates that 12.1 million people in Syria are food insecure, including 2.7 million being severely food insecure. This marks a further deterioration of the food security situation over the last year.
Increased food insecurity is being driven by a myriad of factors including the economic downturn and weakened local currency, soaring food prices, ongoing population movement, and drought like conditions across much of the country. The Ukraine crisis also continues to negatively impact markets and commodity prices.
MERATH will provide nine monthly food basket transfers to approximately 2,977 households (14,290 individuals) per month. The monthly food basket, tailored to the household size, will include rice, burghul (wheat), oil, tomato paste, spaghetti, lentils, sugar, and tea. A total of 549.5 mt of food will be distributed over the nine months of the project.