Three entities of the United Nations (UN) in Algeria have called for urgent food and nutrition support for Sahrawi refugees in the country.

Development Diaries reports that the UN entities – United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNCHR), the World Food Programme (WFP), and the United Nations Children’s Emergency Fund (UNICEF) – made the call following a deteriorating nutrition situation in the camps.

With over 75 percent cuts in food rations, the WFP and other humanitarian actors in the Sahrawi refugee camps are facing significant funding gaps.

According to the UN team, funds required for food assistance alone doubled to U.S.$39 million in 2022 compared to U.S.$19.8 million before the outbreak of the Covid-19 pandemic.

In a joint statement, the UN Resident Coordinator, Alejandro Alvarez, said the impacts of the pandemic, the subsequent global rise in food and fuel prices, and the effects of the war in Ukraine have deeply affected all sectors of humanitarian support.

Alvarez also said that international solidarity is crucial to reverse the rapid deterioration of the nutrition situation in the refugee camps, with long lasting effects for the population, especially children.

The forced 75 percent reduction of WFP’s lifesaving monthly rations is particularly concerning as it is less than half of the recommended daily intake of calories per person.

Each beneficiary, it was gathered, now receives less than 5kg ration compared to the planned 17kg per person per month.

Algeria has been hosting Sahrawi population in refugee camps since 1975. Women, children and men in camps near the town of Tindouf, in western Algeria, rely primarily on humanitarian assistance for food and livelihood needs.

Photo source: EU Civil Protection and Humanitarian Aid