Refugee funding shortfall causes concern

A funding crisis facing humanitarian operations for refugees in Africa was at its worst in Tanzania where, by July, WFP would be unable to feed 525,000 people unless contributions were received immediately, a joint WFP-UNHCR statement said on Monday. "It is unthinkable that within only a few months, there will be over half a million people in Tanzania cut off from the food aid that is crucial to their survival," said WFP's Assistant Executive Director Jean-Jacques Graisse. "The great majority of these people - some 500,000 - are refugees living in camps who have no access to agricultural land and are totally dependent on WFP's food." The refugee population in Tanzania had recently been swollen by 120,000 to 500,000, most of the new refugees arriving from Burundi. At the same time, about 25,000 poor Tanzanians who live near the camps are also receiving WFP food assistance, the statement added.