84 FOOD , AGRICULTURE & WATER
WFP Executive Director Ertharin Cousin ’ s Statement to the United Nations Security Council , Delivered on 24 April 2015
FOOD SECURITY & THE REFUGEE CRISIS
Mr . President , Excellencies , Ladies and Gentleman . Thank you for drawing the world ’ s attention back to the victims of Syria ’ s ongoing conflict .
Since the beginning of this crisis , the World Food Programme has worked to address the daily food and nutrition needs of 4 million people inside Syria and of 2.3 million people outside Syria .
In 2012 , I made my first visit to Jordan ’ s Zaatari Refugee Camp . WFP was there working with our partners to provide hot meals to those arriving and monthly food rations to the 17,000 Syrians then calling the camp home .
As I was walking through the camp I met women who had walked for miles carrying small children in search of shelter , food , and safety . I met children who had already been out of school for weeks , for months – and this was in 2012 . I met husbands and fathers who were angry ! Angry because conflict had forced them to leave their farms , their livestock , or their small business . Angry because they could now only feed their families by standing in lines for food , water and bread .
Because we recognized the importance of bread in the diets of Syrian families , we also began baking and distributing 130,000 pieces of pitta bread per day in addition to our usual rations .
A man began following me through the camp and shouting at me in Arabic . I asked the translator to find out what the man was shouting . He began shouting louder and crumbling a piece of the bread in his hand . The translator said “ He is angry about the bread .” “ He asks if you would feed this terrible bread to your children .”
I said , “ Ask him what is wrong with the bread .” The man shouted back to me and the growing crowd , “ This is Jordanian bread , not Syrian bread !” He shouted “ This is not our bread ! This is bad bread !” I asked “ What was his business in Syria ?” He said , “ I am a Syrian baker !”
The next day – and every day since – that man and other Syrian refugee bakers worked with our team in Zaatari to produce the right bread . We have since baked and distributed more than 360 million pieces of the right bread , Syrian bread . Bread represents the importance of getting the response right , avoiding a humanitarian response further complicating the already challenging political issues .
The WFP Syrian response team is working across the region to meet the food and nutrition needs of the most vulnerable victims of the Syrian crisis . In the five neighboring countries , we are working outside Syria to serve refugees in both the camps like Zaatari as well as refugees hosted by community neighborhoods . And we are working inside Syria to serve the displaced in opposition- as well as in regimeheld areas .
Excellencies , as you well know , the longer this crisis continues , its victims become ever more vulnerable .
The more people suffer and die from starvation and malnutrition , stunted child development , deprived of nutrition they suffer from long term consequences of deteriorating health and broad despair .
Those inside Syria ’ s highest-priority districts – with the highest concentration of displaced people – live without livelihoods , without an income , unable to meet their basic needs .
Before the conflict began Syria was a net food exporter , but drought and conflict have put food increasingly out of reach . Food is harder to produce , harder to import . Inside Syria , wheat is twice as expensive as it was before the crisis . Rice , four times as expensive . Bread prices are up 55 percent .
As a result any food available , is – too often , for too many – inaccessible . 6.8 million people require critical food assistance . More than half a million more than this time last year .
The decline in food security and the destruction and weakening of water and health services have created a serious nutritional crisis . Four million Syrian women and children require preventative and curative nutrition services .
Families face and make impossible decisions to find and access food . Parents pull their children out of school to search for work . Food becomes part of negotiations to marry off young daughters or release children to fight in armed groups .
Gandhi said “ to the mother of a hungry child , a piece of bread is the face of God .” Gandhi was right . We cannot let that piece of bread be delivered by an extremist .
We regularly monitor to ensure the appropriate distribution of WFP food .
Despite our diligence , we did have one widely reported incident where a small amount food WFP was stolen by ISIS and distributed with much publicity on social media .
Inside Syria negotiating humanitarian access to besieged areas can involve up to 50 parties . Determining which routes to take , the times to go , the quantities to be delivered , and even the land mines to avoid can take anything from ten days to ten months .
Where we reach today , we too often cannot reach tomorrow . Idleb and Ar-Raqqa — once regularly accessible — are now unreachable , even with air bridges .