UNITED NATIONS, March 16 (UPI) -- Facing a shortfall in funds, the U.N. World Food Program will slash its aid to Uganda, halving its food rations for 1.5 million refugees.
"If we don't cut them by 50 percent in the next few weeks, the relief operation would grind to a halt in May," Tesema Negash, WFP Uganda country director, said in a statement Friday.
WFP provides support for 1.2 million displaced people, 182,000 refugees and 500,000 drought victims in Uganda, WFP said. The agency asked donors and governments for $127 million for its program in the African country; however, it has only received $37 million.
It costs WFP about $11 million a month to sustain the relief and recovery operation in Uganda. "The humanitarian needs of the people remain considerable," Negash said.
WFP has reduced rations to as low as 40 percent of the minimum daily requirement per person in some areas, said Negash.
"It is vital that we do not abandon the displaced at this critical stage in the peace process," Nagash said. "Even after they have returned home, we expect them to require humanitarian support until they are able to harvest sufficient amounts of food for their families."
