UN / SYRIA WFP PRESSER

World Food Program (WFP) Deputy Country Director for Syria, Ross Smith told reporters, “WFP is using the two new crossing points to increase our operational options,” adding that “as of today, more than 400 trucks had moved through the crossing points for the last two weeks since the earthquake, including more than 190 from WFP alone.” UNIFEED

• Categories: News & Features / News Stories / Unifeed
• Video Length: 00:02:11
• Production Date: 27 February 2023
• Asset Language: English
• Corporate Name: WORLD FOOD PROGRAMME - WFP
• Subject Topical: EARTHQUAKES; FOOD SECURITY; HUMANITARIAN ASSISTANCE
• Geographic Subject: SYRIA
• MAMS Id: 3015392
• Parent Id: 3015392
• Alternate Title: unifeed230227d

Description

STORY: UN / SYRIA WFP PRESSER
TRT: 2:11
SOURCE: UNIFEED
RESTRICTIONS: NONE
LANGAUGE: ENGLISH / NATS

DATELINE: 27 FEBRUARY 2023, NEW YORK CITY / RECENT

Shotlist

RECENT – NEW YORK CITY

1.Wide shot, exterior, United Nations Headquarters

27 FEBRUARY 2023, NEW YORK CITY

2.Wide shot, press briefing room
3.SOUNDBITE (English) Ross Smith, Deputy Country Director for Syria, World Food Program (WFP):
“WFP is using the two new crossing points to increase our operational options, it's also quite symbolically important. As of today, more than 400 trucks had moved through the crossing points for the last two weeks since the earthquake, including more than 190 from WFP alone and we've had more than 17 cross border missions of UN staff into the northwest Syria.”
4.Wide shot, press briefing room
5.SOUNDBITE (English) Ross Smith, Deputy Country Director for Syria, World Food Program (WFP):
“I would mention that crossline access from Aleppo areas into areas of northwest Syria, into Idlib are very important and we are disappointed that they haven't happened yet. So we're standing by and we're ready to move with envoys from Aleppo crossline and it's important that all partners have influence keep pushing for this.”
6.Wide shot, press briefing room
7.SOUNDBITE (English) Ross Smith, Deputy Country Director for Syria, World Food Program (WFP):

“I would highlight the biggest challenge for us is really financial challenge - the funding challenge. So we need more than $450 million just to maintain our emergency food assistance for the rest of 2023, including to these earthquakes affected households. So without sufficient resources, we will have to do cuts. We'll have to cut significantly the number of people that we provide support to, and that's going to come on top of an earthquake crisis and an economic crisis.”
8.Wide shot, press briefing room
9.SOUNDBITE (English) Ross Smith, Deputy Country Director for Syria, World Food Program (WFP):
“As you know from the news, we have more than 8,500 people killed in Syria from the earthquake itself. Thousands more injured and many thousands more beyond that directly affected and displaced. And the one thing I want to mention here is that this earthquake has come on top of an already unprecedented crisis in Syria. So we have more than 12.1 million people food insecure. Another three million people at the risk of becoming food insecure, at that border of hunger. And that's two thirds of the population in the country.”
10. Wide shot, press briefing room

Storyline

World Food Program (WFP) Deputy Country Director for Syria, Ross Smith told reporters, “WFP is using the two new crossing points to increase our operational options,” adding that “as of today, more than 400 trucks had moved through the crossing points for the last two weeks since the earthquake, including more than 190 from WFP alone.”

Briefing the reporter today (27 Feb) via a video link from Damascus, the Deputy Country Director said that “crossline access from Aleppo areas into areas of northwest Syria, into Idlib are very important and we are disappointed that they haven't happened yet.”

He said that WFP is “standing by and we're ready to move with envoys from Aleppo crossline and it's important that all partners have influence keep pushing for this.”

Smith highlighted that the biggest challenge for them is the financial challenge - the funding challenge.

He said, “we need more than $450 million just to maintain our emergency food assistance for the rest of 2023, including to these earthquakes affected households. So without sufficient resources, we will have to do cuts.”

The Deputy Country Director explained, “we'll have to cut significantly the number of people that we provide support to, and that's going to come on top of an earthquake crisis and an economic crisis.”

Smith also said, “As you know from the news, we have more than 8,500 people killed in Syria from the earthquake itself. Thousands more injured and many thousands more beyond that directly affected and displaced. And the one thing I want to mention here is that this earthquake has come on top of an already unprecedented crisis in Syria. So we have more than 12.1 million people food insecure. Another three million people at the risk of becoming food insecure, at that border of hunger. And that's two thirds of the population in the country.”