This article is from the source 'nytimes' and was first published or seen on . It last changed over 40 days ago and won't be checked again for changes.

You can find the current article at its original source at http://www.nytimes.com/2015/01/28/world/africa/uganda-agency-cuts-refugees-rations.html

The article has changed 3 times. There is an RSS feed of changes available.

Version 0 Version 1
Uganda: Agency Cuts Refugees’ Rations Uganda: Agency Cuts Refugees’ Rations
(about 14 hours later)
Faced with a funding shortfall, the World Food Program, the lead United Nations relief agency for fighting hunger, halved rations on Tuesday to nearly 150,000 South Sudanese refugees in Uganda. The cuts, announced by the agency’s Uganda director, Alice Martin-Daihirou, come as the program struggles to raise $30 million to fund the Uganda operation for the next six months. Ms. Martin-Daihirou called the step “a last resort to ensure we can continue providing lifesaving support.” The agency’s recurrent funding problems have forced it to cut or halt food-aid distribution. Last month, it suspended a voucher program that had helped nearly 1.7 million Syrian refugees, but resumed it after an emergency fund-raising appeal. Faced with a funding shortfall, the World Food Program, the lead United Nations relief agency for fighting hunger, halved rations on Tuesday to nearly 150,000 South Sudanese refugees in Uganda. The cuts, announced by the agency’s Uganda director, Alice Martin-Daihirou, come as the program struggles to raise $30 million to fund the Uganda operation for the next six months. Ms. Martin-Daihirou called the step “a last resort to ensure we can continue providing lifesaving support” to the 150,000 refugees, nearly half of all refugees receiving the agency’s assistance in Uganda. Their arrival predated the December 2013 outbreak of fighting in South Sudan, which caused a flight of 138,000 more South Sudanese to Uganda. The agency’s recurrent funding problems have forced it to cut or halt food-aid distribution. Last month, it suspended a voucher program that had helped nearly 1.7 million Syrian refugees, but resumed it after an emergency fund-raising appeal.