UNHCR, the UN Refugee Agency, and the World Food Programme, WFP, are joining forces in Libya in a project that will aim to reach up to 10,000 food insecure refugees and asylum seekers with emergency food aid this year.
Most refugees and asylum seekers in Libya have been unable to find any daily work to support themselves as curfews have been introduced and food prices and the cost of basic goods have dramatically risen.
A quick needs assessment conducted by WFP between 30 May to 3 June 2020, carried out via telephone interviews with 10 percent of refugees proposed for assistance, found that on average, one out of two respondents had poor or borderline poor food consumption.
“This type of assistance is really vital right now because prices are food needs are going up, especially for those particularly vulnerable people, for those newly released from detention centres or the refugees in urban settings facing severe challenges in accessing their food”
Among those who will be assisted under the project are refugees and asylum seekers recently- released from detention centres, with limited means of supporting themselves.
The programme will gradually scale up to reach 10,000 food insecure refugees and asylum seekers this year.
