WASHINGTON – Today, as the UN World Food Program (WFP) faces a critical funding shortfall and millions of refugees risk losing access to food and other forms of humanitarian support, U.S. Senator Chris Murphy (D-Conn.), Ranking Member of the U.S. Senate Foreign Relations Subcommittee on the Near East, South Asia, Central Asia and Counterterrorism, called on the United States and its allies around the world to increase their donations to the humanitarian agency in an effort to avoid further cutbacks.

More than 12 million civilians inside of Syria and another 4 million Syrian refugees in neighboring countries like Turkey, Lebanon, Iraq, and Jordan are currently in need of humanitarian assistance. In fact, more than 25% of Lebanon’s 4.5 million residents are now Syrian refugees – a proportion equivalent to the United States absorbing 80 million refugees, or more than 65% of Mexico’s population.

To date, the United States has contributed $3.4 billion to the Syrian humanitarian response, including more than $1.1 billion to the WFP’s operations in Syria and neighboring countries. The United States’ contributions nearly match the amount contributed by all other donors combined.

“The Syrian conflict has produced a refugee crisis of staggering proportions,” said Murphy. “These refugees rely on international aid to survive, but the World Food Program funding pipeline for Syria is once again facing serious shortfalls and struggling to meet the urgent needs of millions of displaced people. Without new funding from donors, operations will be significantly disrupted in Syria, Lebanon, Turkey, Jordan and Egypt. The WFP has already started making cuts to refugee vouchers – food operations are being run on a hand-to-mouth basis – and for some refugees, operations have already run out.”

Murphy continued, “The United States cannot let the World Food Program shut down its Syrian refugee efforts, and the Appropriations Committee should allocate whatever sums are necessary to keep this vital program operating. It's simple - if refugees don't get food from the World Food Program, many will turn to extremist groups to avoid starvation. Failing to fund emergency food programs for Syrian refugees essentially is a gift to ISIS - more hunger drives individuals and families into their arms. We can't let this happen. Money for refugee food programs is just as important, if not more important, than funding for our military operations against ISIS."