A demonstration was held in Gaza to protest the United Nation’s World Food Programme’s (WFP) decision to make cuts to aid organizations.
People in need gathered in front of the WFP Gaza branch and called for the assistance that was provided to aid organizations to resume.
“We are here to protest the severing of WFP support to organizations that provided food aid to orphans, widows and people with special needs,” said Elderly Care Center Manager Besman al-Ashiy.
Since 2014, food aid has been constantly limited, and was currently cut completely, al-Ashiy added.
He also said that the needy people in Gaza were in a difficult situation due to the cancellation and highlighted the importance of resuming the food aid.
Close to 35 aid organizations that received support from WFP announced on Monday that the program had been cut.
In a June WFP statement, it was reported that in July, food aid for 150,000 people would be suspended in Gaza and the West Bank if no new funds were available.
“Food insecurity in Palestine is driven by high unemployment and people’s limited ability to purchase food. More than a quarter of the Palestinian population – or 1.6 million people – require food assistance. In Gaza, where the unemployment rate exceeds 40 percent, more than 46 percent of people require food assistance,” said a WFP press release on the funding crunch.
The WFP is the UN’s food assistance branch, and is the world's largest humanitarian agency fighting hunger worldwide.
