THE UNITED NATIONS WORLD FOOD

Published purpose

Refugees and displaced persons often live in difficult conditions for long periods of time, and rely heavily on an uninterrupted supply of international food assistance to camps where they are often confined for lengthy durations. While the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) plays the lead role in helping to ensure the protection of refugees and internally displaced populations, the World Food Programme (WFP) also contributes to address situations of critical food insecurity. Given the needs of other WFP operations, donors often overlook refugee programs. As a result, in many operations, rations for refugees are often below minimum standards. UNHCR and WFP have thus joined efforts to raise awareness on programming gaps affecting refugees, and to address acute malnutrition in humanitarian contexts.